# 2018–19 Munster Rugby season

The 2018–19 Munster Rugby season was Munster's eighteenth season competing in the Pro14, alongside which they also competed in the European Rugby Champions Cup. It was Johann van Graan's second season as head coach and his first full season in the role, having joined partway through the previous season.

## Events

Munster played two pre-season fixtures ahead of the 2018–19 campaign, the first against London Irish, whose directory of rugby is former Munster and Ireland head coach Declan Kidney, and the second against Exeter Chiefs, which was the first meeting between the two clubs. Munster beat London Irish 32–28, but lost 12–0 against Exeter Chiefs.
Drawn alongside French Top 14 champions Castres and English sides Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester, Munster competed in pool 2 of the 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup. Munster opened their 2018–19 Pro14 season with a six-try 38–0 victory against South African side Cheetahs in Thomond Park on 1 September 2018. Rory Scannell, Dave Kilcoyne, Tommy O'Donnell, JJ Hanrahan, Dave O'Callaghan and Man-of-the-Match Darren Sweetnam scored the tries, with Hanrahan adding four conversions, in a match that saw Arno Botha, Mike Haley, Joey Carbery and academy players Shane Daly and Gavin Coombes make their competitive debuts for the province, whilst Neil Cronin also made his first appearance for Munster since March 2015.
Tadhg Beirne made his debut for Munster in the provinces 25–10 defeat away to Glasgow Warriors on 7 September 2018. Munster's 64–7 win against Ulster on 29 September 2018 was a record win for the province in the Pro14; Munster's previous record win being 47–0 against Zebre in 2016. In round one of the 2018–19 Champions Cup on 13 October 2018, a try from CJ Stander and five points from the boot of Joey Carbery secured a 10–10 draw in Sandy Park against Exeter Chiefs, in a match in which Dan Goggin and Neil Cronin made their competitive European debuts, whilst Tadhg Beirne, who was Man-of-the-Match, Mike Haley and Joey Carbery made their European debuts for Munster. One week later, tries from Mike Haley, Rhys Marshall, Joey Carbery, who also kicked four conversions and one penalty in a Man-of-the-Match performance, Sammy Arnold and Andrew Conway helped Munster to a 36–22 bonus-point victory at home against Gloucester.
In the December 2018 back-to-back Champions Cup fixtures against Castres, Munster won 30–5 in round 3 on 9 December, with tries from Rory Scannell, CJ Stander and JJ Hanrahan, who also scored 15 points off the kicking tee. In the return leg away to Castres on 15 December, the French side won 13–12, with Joey Carbery scoring all of Munster's points from penalties. In round 5 of the Champions Cup, Munster beat Gloucester 41–15 away from home on 11 January 2019, with the tries coming from Joey Carbery (2), Rory Scannell, Keith Earls and Andrew Conway and 16 points of the kicking tee from Carbery. In round 6, Munster beat Exeter Chiefs 9–7 in Thomond Park on 19 January 2019 to advance to a record 18th Champions Cup quarter-final. Joey Carbery scored all of Munster's points from penalties in a closely fought, physical game. Munster defeated Edinburgh 17–13 in their quarter-final in Murrayfield Stadium on 30 March 2019 to advance to a 14th Champions Cup semi-final, which Munster lost 32–16 to Saracens in the Ricoh Arena on 20 April 2019.
Munster finished second in conference A in the 2018–19 Pro14 season, with 21 wins and 5 defeats, and beat Italian side Benetton 15–13 in their quarter-final on 4 May 2019, to secure a semi-final against provincial rivals Leinster in the RDS on 18 May 2019. which Leinster won 24–9, bringing to an end Munster's 2018–19 season. During the season, Munster played 31 games, winning 22, losing 8 and drawing 1. The province scored 790 points, including 99 tries, in total, and had the best defensive record during the regular Pro14 season and Champions Cup pool stage, conceding an average of 12 points a game in the latter. In attack, Munster were the third highest try-scorers in the regular Pro14 season with 82 tries in 21 games.
Munster were unbeaten at home all season, winning 10 games in Thomond Park and 4 in Irish Independent Park, and featured in their 18th Champions Cup quarter-final and 14th semi-final, extending records for both. 55 players were used in total throughout the season across all competitions, with 37 of those having followed the Munster pathway into the professional game. 11 players made their debuts for the province: Tadhg Beirne, Arno Botha, Joey Carbery, Mike Haley and Alby Mathewson, as well as 6 academy players: Diarmuid Barron, Craig Casey, Gavin Coombes, Liam Coombes, Shane Daly and Alex McHenry. Stalwart in the second row Billy Holland became the 10th player to win 200 caps for the province, whilst Andrew Conway, JJ Hanrahan, Jack O'Donoghue and Rory Scannell all won their 100th caps for Munster, with Scannell becoming the youngest player to do at the age of 25. Mike Haley played more minutes than any other player during the season, racking up 1,876 in 26 starts.
Internationally, 13 Munster players represented Ireland during the season: Sammy Arnold, Tadhg Beirne, Joey Carbery, Andrew Conway, Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Conor Murray, Peter O'Mahony, CJ Stander, Darren Sweetnam and John Ryan. 11 players were involved in the Ireland under-20s team that won a grand slam during the 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship: Craig Casey, Seán French, Ben Healy, James McCarthy, Jonathan Wren and Josh Wycherley from the academy, and Jake Flannery, John Hodnett, Conor Phillips, Luke Masters and Billy Scannell were also involved.
There were 6 sell-out attendances during the season at Thomond Park and Irish Independent Park, with all 4 games at the latter selling-out for the first time. Attendance increased by 15% across the season, with a 10% rise in ticket sales. All 3 of Munster's home Champions Cup pool fixtures were the highest attendance for their respective rounds.

## Coaching and management Staff 2018–19

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Head coach | Johann van Graan | South Africa |
| Defence coach | JP Ferreira | South Africa |
| Backs and attack Coach | Felix Jones | Ireland |
| Forwards coach | Jerry Flannery | Ireland |
| Team manager | Niall O'Donovan | Ireland |
| Head of athletic performance | Denis Logan | United States |
| Senior strength and conditioning coach | Aidan O'Connell | Ireland |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Adam Sheehan | Ireland |
| Strength and conditioning coach | PJ Wilson | Ireland |
| Performance analyst | George Murray | Ireland |

## Senior playing squad 2018–19

Munster player movements for the 2018–19 season. For a full list, see List of 2018–19 Pro14 transfers. (Player's name in italics indicates a transfer that took place during the course of the season)
The Munster senior squad for 2018–19 is:
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Rhys Marshall | Hooker | New Zealand |
| Kevin O'Byrne | Hooker | Ireland |
| Niall Scannell | Hooker | Ireland |
| Mike Sherry | Hooker | Ireland |
| Stephen Archer | Prop | Ireland |
| James Cronin | Prop | Ireland |
| Cronan Gleeson | Prop | Ireland |
| Dave Kilcoyne | Prop | Ireland |
| Jeremy Loughman | Prop | Ireland |
| Liam O'Connor | Prop | Ireland |
| Ciaran Parker* | Prop | England |
| John Ryan | Prop | Ireland |
| Brian Scott | Prop | Ireland |
| Tadhg Beirne | Lock | Ireland |
| Billy Holland | Lock | Ireland |
| Jean Kleyn | Lock | South Africa |
| Darren O'Shea | Lock | Ireland |
| Fineen Wycherley | Lock | Ireland |
| Arno Botha | Back row | South Africa |
| Chris Cloete | Back row | South Africa |
| Dave O'Callaghan | Back row | Ireland |
| Tommy O'Donnell | Back row | Ireland |
| Jack O'Donoghue | Back row | Ireland |
| Conor Oliver | Back row | Ireland |
| Peter O'Mahony (c) | Back row | Ireland |
| CJ Stander | Back row | Ireland |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Neil Cronin | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| James Hart | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Alby Mathewson | Scrum-half | New Zealand |
| Conor Murray | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Duncan Williams | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Tyler Bleyendaal* | Fly-half | New Zealand |
| Joey Carbery | Fly-half | Ireland |
| JJ Hanrahan | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Bill Johnston | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Ian Keatley | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Sammy Arnold | Centre | Ireland |
| Chris Farrell | Centre | Ireland |
| Dan Goggin | Centre | Ireland |
| Rory Scannell | Centre | Ireland |
| Jaco Taute | Centre | South Africa |
| Andrew Conway | Wing | Ireland |
| Keith Earls | Wing | Ireland |
| Calvin Nash | Wing | Ireland |
| Ronan O'Mahony | Wing | Ireland |
| Darren Sweetnam | Wing | Ireland |
| Alex Wootton | Wing | Ireland |
| Stephen Fitzgerald | Fullback | Ireland |
| Mike Haley* | Fullback | England |
* Internationally capped players in bold
* Players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality *
* Irish provinces are currently limited to four non-Irish eligible (NIE) players and one non-Irish qualified player (NIQ or "Project Player").
* Notes:
* 1 2 3 Stephen Fitzgerald joined Connacht on a three-month loan in December 2018, which was later extended until the end of the 2018–19 season. Mike Sherry joined Gloucester on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season in March 2019.

## Pre-season

* 17 August 2018 19:30
| Munster | 32–28 | London Irish |
| | Report | |
* Irish Independent Park Attendance: 5,773
* 24 August 2018 19:30
| Munster | 0–12 | Exeter Chiefs |
| | Report | |
* Irish Independent Park Attendance: 5,948

## 2018–19 Pro14

2018–19 Pro14 table
view · watch · · discuss :
| Conference A ||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS |
| 1 | Glasgow Warriors (RU) | 21 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 621 | 380 | +241 | 83 | 48 | 15 | 2 | 81 |
| 2 | Munster (SF) | 21 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 612 | 348 | +264 | 82 | 44 | 11 | 2 | 77 |
| 3 | Connacht (QF) | 21 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 475 | 394 | +81 | 60 | 55 | 7 | 6 | 61 |
| 4 | Ospreys (PO) | 21 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 445 | 404 | +41 | 53 | 47 | 6 | 4 | 58 |
| 5 | Cardiff Blues | 21 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 497 | 451 | +46 | 60 | 58 | 7 | 7 | 54 |
| 6 | Cheetahs | 21 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 541 | 606 | −65 | 80 | 80 | 9 | 3 | 46 |
| 7 | Zebre | 21 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 260 | 640 | −380 | 35 | 85 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| Conference B ||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS |
| 1 | Leinster (CH) | 21 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 672 | 385 | +287 | 95 | 49 | 12 | 2 | 76 |
| 2 | Ulster (SF) | 21 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 441 | 424 | +17 | 58 | 54 | 6 | 1 | 63 |
| 3 | Benetton (QF) | 21 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 474 | 431 | +43 | 62 | 55 | 6 | 3 | 57 |
| 4 | Scarlets | 21 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 510 | 470 | +40 | 68 | 54 | 7 | 5 | 52 |
| 5 | Edinburgh | 21 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 431 | 436 | −5 | 52 | 59 | 6 | 5 | 51 |
| 6 | Dragons | 21 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 339 | 599 | −260 | 37 | 84 | 1 | 3 | 26 |
| 7 | Southern Kings | 21 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 385 | 735 | −350 | 54 | 107 | 5 | 7 | 22 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order - number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received the fewest yellow cards received ||||||||||||||
| Green background indicates teams that compete in the Pro14 play-offs, and also earn a place in the 2019–20 European Champions Cup (excluding South African teams who are ineligible) Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earn a place in the 2019–20 European Champions Cup Yellow background indicates the loser of the play-off between the two fourth-ranked European teams in each conference, that earned a place in the 2019–20 European Rugby Challenge Cup. Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2019–20 European Rugby Challenge Cup. (CH) Champions. (RU) Runners-up. (SF) Losing semi-finalists. (QF) Losing quarter-finalists. (PO) Champions Cup play-off winners. ||||||||||||||

### Round 1

* 1 September 2018 17:15
| (1 BP) Munster | 38–0 | Cheetahs |
| Try: R. Scannell 15' m Kilcoyne 30' c O'Donnell 52' m Hanrahan 65' c O'Callaghan 70' c Sweetnam 72' c Con: Hanrahan (4/6) 31', 66', 71', 73' | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 12,265 Referee: Dan Jones (WRU)

### Round 2

* 7 September 2018 19:35
| Glasgow Warriors | 25–10 | Munster |
| Try: Gibbins 22' m Hogg 28' c Ashe 35' c Con: Hogg (2/2) 29', 36' Pen: P. Horne (1/2) 14' Hogg (1/1) 72' | Report | Try: Marshall 69' c Con: Carbery (1/1) 70' Pen: Hanrahan (1/1) 43' |
* Scotstoun Stadium Attendance: 7,351 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

### Round 3

* 14 September 2018 19:35
| (1 BP) Munster | 49–13 | Ospreys |
| Try: Penalty try 15' Carbery 21' c J. Cronin 27' c Marshall (2) 40'+1 c, 42' c Botha 45' c Sweetnam 62' c Con: Carbery (5/5) 22', 28', 40'+2, 43', 46' Keatley (1/1) 63' | Report | Try: Morgan 60' c Con: S. Davies (1/1) 61' Pen: S. Davies (2/2) 20', 26' |
* Irish Independent Park Attendance: 8,008 Referee: Stuart Berry (SARU)

### Round 4

* 21 September 2018 19:35
| (1 BP) Cardiff Blues | 37–13 | Munster |
| Try: N. Williams 6' c T. Williams (2) 16' c, 76' c Halaholo 44' c Con: Anscombe (3/4) 7', 17', 45', 77' Pen: Anscombe (3/3) 52', 63', 70' | Report | Try: Conway (2) 10' m, 13' m Pen: Carbery (1/1) 23' |
* Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 7,284 Referee: Quinton Immelman (SARU)

### Round 5

* 29 September 2018 19:35
| (1 BP) Munster | 64–7 | Ulster |
| Try: Goggin (2) 5' c, 37' c O'Donnell (2) 8' c, 30' m P. O'Mahony 50' c Carbery 62' c Arnold 66' c Earls 70' c Wootton 77' c Con: Carbery (5/6) 5', 9', 37', 51', 63 Keatley (3/3) 67', 71', 78' Pen: Carbery (1/1) 16' | Report | Try: Cave 46' c Con: Burns (1/1) 47' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 13,907 Referee: Dan Jones (WRU)

### Round 6

* 6 October 2018 18:00
| Leinster | 30–22 | Munster |
| Try: Penalty try 10' Lowe (2) 14' c, 44' c Con: R. Byrne (2/2) 15', 46' Pen: R. Byrne (3/3) 32', 40'+2, 69' | Report | Try: Beirne 19' m Stander 27' c Mathewson 66' c Con: Carbery (2/3) 28', 67' Pen: Carbery (1/1) 55' |
* Aviva Stadium Attendance: 50,120 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

### Round 7

* 27 October 2018 17:15
| Munster | 25–24 | Glasgow Warriors (2 BP) |
| Try: J. Cronin 8' c Wootton 65' m Mathewson 72' c Con: Hanrahan (1/1) 9' Keatley (1/2) 73' Pen: Hanrahan (1/1) 55' R. Scannell (1/1) 80' | Report | Try: G. Horne (2) 23' m, 35' c M. Fagerson 48' m P. Horne 59' c Con: P. Horne (1/3) 36' Thomson (1/1) 60' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 13,356 Referee: Dan Jones (WRU)

### Round 8

* 4 November 2018 14:45
| (2 BP) Cheetahs | 26–30 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Dweba (2) 26' m, 57' c Nché 51' c Smith 63' c Con: Schoeman (3/4) 52', 58', 64 | Report | Try: Botha 15' m O'Byrne 37' c L. Coombes 44' c Haley 68' m Con: Johnston (2/3) 39', 46' Pen: Johnston (1/1) 10' R. Scannell (1/1) 76' |
* Toyota Stadium Attendance: 3,368 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

### Round 9

* 25 November 2018 15:30
| Zebre | 7–32 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Giammarioli 63' c Con: Brummer (1/1) 64' | Report | Try: F. Wycherley 15' c O'Byrne 29' c R. O'Mahony 72' c R. Scannell 78' m Con: Johnston (2/2) 16', 31' R. Scannell (1/2) 74' Pen: Johnston (1/1) 40'+2 R. Scannell (1/1) 69' |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 2,400 Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

### Round 10

* 30 November 2018 19:35
| (1 BP) Munster | 44–14 | Edinburgh |
| Try: Farrell (2) 4' m, 77' m Conway (2) 14' c, 18' c Earls (3) 29' m, 33' m, 37' m Bleyendaal 63' m Con: Hanrahan (2/6) 15', 19' | Report | Try: Van der Merwe (2) 20' c, 68' c Con: Van der Walt (1/1) 21' Baggott (1/1) 69' |
* Irish Independent Park Attendance: 8,008 Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

### Round 11

* 21 December 2018 19:35
| Ulster | 19–12 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Herring 32' c Baloucoune 60' c Shanahan 76' m Con: Burns (2/3) 34', 61' | Report | Pen: Hanrahan (2/2) 11', 51' Johnston (2/2) 65', 80'+1 |
* Kingspan Stadium Attendance: 16,804 Referee: Sean Gallagher (IRFU)

### Round 12

* 29 December 2018 17:15
| Munster | 26–17 | Leinster |
| Try: Cloete 13' c Earls 71' c Con: Carbery (1/1) 15' Bleyendaal (1/1) 72' Pen: Carbery (4/4) 34', 39', 43', 64' | Report | Try: Tracy 47' c Deegan 80' c Con: Sexton (1/1) 23' Frawley (1/1) 80'+1 Pen: Sexton (1/1) 48' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 26,267 Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

### Round 13

* 5 January 2019 19:35
| (1 BP) Connacht | 24–31 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Farrell 9' c Kelleher 41' c Carty 72' c Con: Carty (3/3) 11', 42', 72' Pen: Carty (1/1) 40'+1 | Report | Try: P. O'Mahony 16' c Goggin (2) 24' c, 48' c Carbery 63' c Con: Carbery (4/4) 17', 25', 49', 64' Pen: Carbery (1/1) 56' |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 8,129 Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)

### Round 14

* 26 January 2019 15:00
| (1 BP) Dragons | 7–8 | Munster |
| Try: Fairbrother 13' c Con: Lewis (1/1) 14' | Report | Try: Kleyn 62' m Pen: Johnston (1/1) 29' |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,013 Referee: Ben Blain (SRU)

### Round 15

* 15 February 2019 19:35
| (1 BP) Munster | 43–0 | Southern Kings |
| Try: N. Cronin 13' c Conway 37' m Sweetnam 54' c Holland 60' m Marshall 66' c Kleyn 70' m R. Scannell 79' c Con: R. Scannell (4/7) 14', 55', 67', 80' | Report | |
* Irish Independent Park Attendance: 8,008 Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

### Round 16

* 22 February 2019 19:35
| (1 BP) Ospreys | 13–19 | Munster |
| Try: Dirksen 18' c Con: Price (1/1) 18' Pen: Price (2/2) 32', 62' | Report | Try: Sweetnam 4' c Penalty try 36' Haley 69' m Con: Hanrahan (1/2) 5' |
* Liberty Stadium Attendance: 5,432 Referee: Stuart Berry (SARU)

### Round 17

* 2 March 2019 17:00
| Scarlets | 10–6 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Nicholas 10' c Con: Halfpenny (1/1) 12' Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 48' | Report | Pen: Johnston (2/2) 4', 39' |
* Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 8,032 Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)

### Round 18

* 23 March 2019 19:45
| (1 BP) Munster | 31–12 | Zebre |
| Try: Loughman 40'+1 m Marshall 52' c Sweetnam 64' m N. Scannell 68' c Haley 77' c Con: Bleyendaal (3/4) 53', 69', 79' | Report | Try: Elliott 8' m Tenga 18' c Con: Canna (1/2) 18' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 14,226 Referee: Dan Jones (WRU)

### Round 19

* 5 April 2019 19:35
| (1 BP) Munster | 45–21 | Cardiff Blues |
| Try: Farrell 17' c Kleyn 29' c Stander 49' c Murray 60' c Conway 65' c Arnold 75' c Con: Bleyendaal (5/5) 17', 30', 50', 60', 66' Hanrahan (1/1) 77' Pen: Bleyendaal (1/2) 11' | Report | Try: T. Williams 6' c Summerhill 37' c Lee-Lo 47' c Con: Anscombe (3/3) 7', 39', 47' |
* Irish Independent Park Attendance: 8,008 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

### Round 20

* 12 April 2019 19:00
| Benetton | 28–37 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Benvenuti 7' c Ioane 37' m Penalty try 44' Con: Allan (1/2) 8' Pen: Allan (3/3) 5', 18', 23' | Report | Try: Marshall 10' c Goggin 13' c S. Daly 60' c Mathewson 67' c Con: Hanrahan (4/4) 11', 13', 61', 68' Pen: Hanrahan (3/3) 25', 48', 54' |
* Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

### Round 21

* 27 April 2019 19:35
| Munster | 27–14 | Connacht |
| Try: Beirne 30' c Haley 36' c Hanrahan 74' c Con: Bleyendaal (2/2) 31', 37' Hanrahan (1/1) 75' Pen: Bleyendaal (2/2) 20', 56' | Report | Try: Bealham 23' c E. McKeon 70' c Con: Dean (2/2) 24', 70' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 19,999 Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

### Quarter-final

* 4 May 2019 15:00
| Munster | 15–13 | Benetton |
| Pen: Bleyendaal (2/2) 22', 43' Hanrahan (3/3) 62', 65', 76' | Report | Try: Tavuyara 39' c Con: Allan (1/1) 40' Pen: Allan (2/2) 25', 59' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 10,042 Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

### Semi-final

* 18 May 2019 14:30
| Leinster | 24–9 | Munster |
| Try: Cronin 54' c Lowe 79' m Con: R. Byrne (1/1) 55' Pen: R. Byrne (4/4) 2', 34', 40'+6, 45' | Report | Pen: Carbery (3/3) 5', 24', 50' |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 18,977 Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)

## 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup

Munster faced Castres, Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester in pool 2 of the 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup. They were seeded in tier 3 following their fourth-place finish overall and exit from the 2017–18 Pro14 season at the semi-finals stage.
| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Munster (5) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 138 | 72 | 66 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 21 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 124 | 104 | 20 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Castres | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 97 | 142 | –45 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Gloucester | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 122 | 163 | –41 | 15 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 9 |

### Round 1

* 13 October 2018 15:15
| Exeter Chiefs | 10–10 | Munster |
| Try: Cowan-Dickie 38' c Con: Steenson (1/1) 39' Pen: Steenson (1/1) 18' | Report | Try: Stander 63' c Con: Carbery (1/1) 64' Pen: Carbery (1/1) 31' |
* Sandy Park Attendance: 12,749 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR)

### Round 2

* 20 October 2018 13:00
| (1 BP) Munster | 36–22 | Gloucester |
| Try: Haley 21' m Marshall 34' c Carbery 50' c Arnold 55' c Conway 66' c Con: Carbery (4/5) 35', 51', 56', 67' Pen: Carbery (1/1) 29' | Report | Try: Grobler 62' c Woodward 68' m Morgan 78' c Con: Twelvetrees (2/3) 63', 78' Pen: Cipriani (1/1) 24' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 23,068 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (FFR)

### Round 3

* 9 December 2018 13:00
| Munster | 30–5 | Castres |
| Try: R. Scannell 42' c Stander 67' c Hanrahan 74' Con: Hanrahan (3/3) 44', 68', 75' Pen: Hanrahan (3/3) 6', 20', 57' | Report | Try: Laveau 80' m |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 21,861 Referee: JP Doyle (RFU)

### Round 4

* 15 December 2018 17:30
| Castres | 13–12 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Faʻanunu 23' c Con: Urdapilleta (1/1) 24' Pen: Urdapilleta (2/3) 10', 56' | Report | Pen: Carbery (4/7) 2', 19', 50', 66' |
* Stade Pierre-Fabre Attendance: 9,746 Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)

### Round 5

* 11 January 2019 19:45
| Gloucester | 15–41 | Munster (1 BP) |
| Try: Thorley 51' m Balmain 63' c Con: Twelvetrees (1/2) 63' Pen: Twelvetrees (1/1) 13' | Report | Try: Carbery (2) 23' c, 67' c R. Scannell 40'+2 c Earls 56' c Conway 65' c Con: Carbery (5/5) 24', 40'+3, 57', 66', 68' Pen: Carbery (2/2) 19', 26' |
* Kingsholm Attendance: 15,500 Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)

### Round 6

* 19 January 2019 17:30
| Munster | 9–7 | Exeter Chiefs (1 BP) |
| Pen: Carbery (3/3) 6', 22', 72' | Report | Try: Armand 12' c Con: J. Simmonds (1/1) 13' |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 26,267 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR)

### Quarter-final

* 30 March 2019 12:45
| Edinburgh (4) | 13–17 | (5) Munster |
| Try: Dean 26' c Con: Van der Walt (1/1) 27' Pen: Van der Walt (2/2) 35', 50' | Report | Try: Earls (2) 18' c, 70' c Con: Carbery (1/1) 19' Bleyendaal (1/1) 71' Pen: Bleyendaal (1/1) 46' |
* Murrayfield Attendance: 36,358 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)

### Semi-final

* 20 April 2019 15:00
| Saracens (1) | 32–16 | (5) Munster |
| Try: Rhodes 42' c B. Vunipola 71' c Con: Farrell (2/2) 43', 73' Pen: Farrell (6/7) 1', 17', 26', 40', 47', 53' | Report | Try: Sweetnam 60' c Con: Hanrahan (1/1) 62' Pen: Bleyendaal (2/2) 9', 30' Murray (1/1) 36' |
* Ricoh Arena Attendance: 16,235 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR)