# 2007–08 Munster Rugby season

The 2007–08 Munster Rugby season was Munster's seventh season competing in the Celtic League, alongside which they also competed in the Heineken Cup. It was Declan Kidney's third and final season as head coach, in his second spell at the province.

## 2007–08 squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Denis Fogarty | Hooker | Ireland |
| Jerry Flannery | Hooker | Ireland |
| Frankie Sheahan | Hooker | Ireland |
| Tony Buckley | Prop | Ireland |
| John Hayes | Prop | Ireland |
| Marcus Horan | Prop | Ireland |
| Darragh Hurley | Prop | Ireland |
| Federico Pucciariello | Prop | Italy |
| Tim Ryan | Prop | Ireland |
| Billy Holland | Lock | Ireland |
| Mark Melbourne | Lock | Ireland |
| Donncha O'Callaghan | Lock | Ireland |
| Paul O'Connell (c) | Lock | Ireland |
| Mick O'Driscoll | Lock | Ireland |
| Donnacha Ryan | Lock | Ireland |
| James Coughlan | Back row | Ireland |
| Anthony Foley | Back row | Ireland |
| Denis Leamy | Back row | Ireland |
| John O'Sullivan | Back row | Ireland |
| Alan Quinlan | Back row | Ireland |
| Niall Ronan | Back row | Ireland |
| David Wallace | Back row | Ireland |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Gerry Hurley | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Tomás O'Leary | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Mike Prendergast | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Peter Stringer | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Jeremy Manning | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Paul Warwick | Fly-half | Australia |
| John Kelly | Centre | Ireland |
| Kieran Lewis | Centre | Ireland} |
| Lifeimi Mafi | Centre | New Zealand |
| Barry Murphy | Centre | Ireland |
| Rua Tipoki | Centre | New Zealand |
| Brian Carney | Wing | Ireland |
| Ian Dowling | Wing | Ireland |
| Keith Earls | Wing | Ireland |
| Anthony Horgan | Wing | Ireland |
| Doug Howlett | Wing | New Zealand |
| Ciarán O'Boyle | Wing | Ireland |
| Denis Hurley | Fullback | Ireland |
| Shaun Payne* | Fullback | South Africa |

## Pre-season

* 26 August 2007
| United States XV | 6–10 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Toyota Park Attendance: 8,600
* 7 September 2007
| Munster | 15–5 | Saracens |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park
* 14 September 2007
| Munster | 36–7 | Viadana |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park

## 2007–08 Celtic League

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| Leinster | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 428 | 283 | +145 | 44 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 61 |
| Cardiff Blues | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 395 | 315 | +80 | 48 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 56 |
| Munster | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 330 | 258 | +72 | 33 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 48 |
| Edinburgh | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 313 | 285 | +28 | 35 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 48 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 340 | 349 | −9 | 31 | 38 | 1 | 3 | 46 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 403 | 362 | +41 | 45 | 38 | 6 | 5 | 39 |
| Ospreys | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 321 | 255 | +66 | 24 | 24 | 2 | 9 | 37 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 282 | 394 | −112 | 31 | 44 | 1 | 3 | 34 |
| Ulster | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 278 | 407 | −129 | 33 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 29 |
| Connacht | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 214 | 396 | −182 | 16 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows: 4 points for a win 2 points for a draw 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) (Try bonus) 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) (Losing bonus) |||||||||||||
| Source: RaboDirect PRO12 |||||||||||||
* 22 September 2007 19:30
| Munster | 26–16 | Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 3,400 Referee: Peter Allan
* 28 September 2007 18:10
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 16–26 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,537
* 5 October 2007 19:30
| Munster | 17–19 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,075 Referee: David Changleng
* 14 October 2007 16:10
| Ospreys | 16–3 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,740 Referee: Simon McDowell
* 26 October 2007 19:30
| Glasgow Warriors | 11–11 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Firhill Stadium Attendance: 1,829 Referee: James Jones
* 3 November 2007 19:30
| Munster | 19–16 | Edinburgh |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,300 Referee: Tim Hayes
* 24 November 2007 19:30
| Munster | 45–19 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,250 Referee: Rob Debney
* 30 November 2007 19:30
| Munster | 3–10 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,300 Referee: Wayne Barnes
* 27 December 2007 19:30
| Munster | 17–0 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,125 Referee: Colin Stanley
* 15 February 2008 19:30
| Edinburgh | 7–11 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Murrayfield Attendance: 4,100 Referee: Tim Hayes
* 1 March 2008 17:30
| Cardiff Blues | 25–22 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 11,269 Referee: Peter Allan
* 22 March 2008 19:30
| Munster | 42–6 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Alain Rolland
* 28 March 2008 19:30
| Connacht | 5–16 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 5,368 Referee: Simon McDowell
* 12 April 2008 18:30
| Leinster | 21–12 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 18,500 Referee: Chris White
* 19 April 2008 19:35
| Munster | 9–8 | Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 7,500
* 30 April 2008 19:30
| Ulster | 19–9 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Attendance: 12,300 Referee: Alain Rolland
* 3 May 2008 14:45
| Scarlets | 23–24 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park Attendance: 7,020
* 10 May 2008 17:00
| Munster | 18–21 | Glasgow Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 5,360 Referee: James Jones

## 2007–08 Heineken Cup
### Pool 5

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Munster (6) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 148 | 95 | 53 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| Clermont | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 189 | 128 | 61 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| London Wasps | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 152 | 127 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 28 | −20 | 74 | 213 | −139 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* 10 November 2007 17:30
| London Wasps | 24–23 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Ricoh Arena Attendance: 21,506
* 18 November 2007 16:00
| Munster | 36–13 | Clermont |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 12,003 Referee: Nigel Owens
* 8 December 2007 17:30
| Scarlets | 16–29 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park Attendance: 10,365 Referee: Wayne Barnes
* 16 December 2007 13:00
| Munster | 22–13 | Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 13,200 Referee: Dave Pearson
* 13 January 2008 16:00
| Clermont | 26–19 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Rob Debney
* 19 January 2008 17:35
| Munster | 19–3 | London Wasps |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 12,257 Referee: Nigel Owens

### Quarter-final

* 5 April 2008 17:30
| Gloucester | 3–16 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Kingsholm Attendance: 16,500 Referee: Nigel Owens

### Semi-final

* 27 April 2008 15:00
| Saracens | 16–18 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Ricoh Arena Attendance: 30,325 Referee: Nigel Owens

### Final

* 24 May 2008 17:00
| Munster | 16–13 | Toulouse |
| | Report | |
* Millennium Stadium Attendance: 74,500 Referee: Nigel Owens