# 2009–10 Munster Rugby season

The 2009–10 Munster Rugby season was Munster's ninth season competing in the Celtic League, alongside which they also competed in the Heineken Cup. It was Tony McGahan's second season as Director of Rugby.

## 2009–10 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 |
| Damien Varley | Hooker | Ireland |
| Julien Brugnaut | Prop | France |
| Tony Buckley | Prop | Ireland |
| John Hayes | Prop | Ireland |
| Marcus Horan | Prop | Ireland |
| Darragh Hurley | Prop | Ireland |
| Wian du Preez | Prop | South Africa |
| Dave Ryan | Prop | Ireland |
| Billy Holland | Lock | Ireland |
| Donncha O'Callaghan | Lock | Ireland |
| Paul O'Connell (c) | Lock | Ireland |
| Mick O'Driscoll | Lock | Ireland |
| Donnacha Ryan | Lock | Ireland |
| Tommy O'Donnell | Back row | Ireland |
| Alan Quinlan | Back row | Ireland |
| Niall Ronan | Back row | Ireland |
| David Wallace | Back row | Ireland |
| James Coughlan | Back row | Ireland |
| Denis Leamy | Back row | Ireland |
| Nick Williams | Back row | New Zealand |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Toby Morland | Scrum-half | New Zealand |
| Tomás O'Leary | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Peter Stringer | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Duncan Williams | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Declan Cusack | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Jeremy Manning | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Jean de Villiers | Centre | South Africa |
| Tom Gleeson | Centre | Ireland |
| Lifeimi Mafi | Centre | New Zealand |
| Barry Murphy | Centre | Ireland |
| Ian Dowling | Wing | Ireland |
| Keith Earls | Wing | Ireland |
| Doug Howlett | Wing | New Zealand |
| Ciarán O'Boyle | Wing | Ireland |
| Denis Hurley | Fullback | Ireland |
| Felix Jones | Fullback | Ireland |
| Danny Riordan | Fullback | Ireland |

## Pre-season

* 14 August 2009
| Munster | 19–17 | Sale Sharks |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,100
* 21 August 2009
| Munster | 31–23 | London Irish |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,000
* 28 August 2009
| Leicester Tigers | 34–28 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Welford Road

## 2009–10 Celtic League

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Leinster | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 359 | 295 | +64 | 27 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 55 |
| 2 | Ospreys | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 384 | 298 | +86 | 37 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 52 |
| 3 | Glasgow Warriors | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 390 | 321 | +69 | 31 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 51 |
| 4 | Munster | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 319 | 282 | +37 | 33 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 45 |
| 5 | Cardiff Blues | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 349 | 315 | +34 | 33 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| 6 | Edinburgh | 18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 385 | 391 | −6 | 40 | 40 | 4 | 5 | 41 |
| 7 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 333 | 378 | −45 | 32 | 37 | 3 | 2 | 39 |
| 8 | Ulster | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 357 | 370 | −13 | 39 | 35 | 4 | 2 | 36 |
| 9 | Scarlets | 18 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 361 | 382 | −21 | 35 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 29 |
| 10 | Connacht | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 254 | 459 | −205 | 20 | 53 | 0 | 4 | 26 |
| 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) ||||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 ||||||||||||||
* 4 September 2009 20:00
| Glasgow Warriors | 22–9 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Firhill Stadium Attendance: 3,694 Referee: James Jones
* 11 September 2009 19:05
| Munster | 24–13 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 19,747 Referee: Peter Allan
* 19 September 2009 18:30
| Scarlets | 20–22 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,313 Referee: Alain Rolland
* 27 September 2009 17:05
| Munsters | 27–3 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,685
* 3 October 2009 18:30
| Leinster | 30–0 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 18,500 Referee: Simon McDowell
* 23 October 2009 20:00
| Edinburgh | 12–7 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Murrayfield Attendance: 5,426
* 31 October 2009 17:00
| Munster | 24–10 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 23,298 Referee: Alain Rolland
* 5 December 2009 18:30
| Ospreys | 19–14 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 8,077
* 26 December 2009 19:30
| Munster | 35–3 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 25,291 Referee: Alain Rolland
* 2 January 2010 18:00
| Ulster | 15–10 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Attendance: 11,800
* 19 February 2010 20:00
| Munster | 19–12 | Edinburgh |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,685 Referee: Tim Hayes
* 6 March 2010 18:30
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 31–22 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,137
* 18 March 2010 19:35
| Munster | 23–17 | Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,685
* 26 March 2010 20:00
| Munster | 27–19 | Glasgow Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 23,814 Referee: James Jones
* 2 April 2010 20:05
| Munster | 15–16 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 26,263 Referee: Romain Poite
* 18 April 2010 19:05
| Connacht | 12–18 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 4,125 Referee: Alain Rolland
* 24 April 2010 18:30
| Munster | 11–15 | Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 23,754
* 9 May 2010 18:15
| Cardiff Blues | 13–12 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 12,602 Referee: Peter Allan

## Play-offs
### Semi-final

* 15 May 2010 19:35
| Leinster | 16–6 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 19,750 Referee: Nigel Owens

## 2009–10 Heineken Cup
### Pool 1

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Munster (1) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 185 | 94 | 91 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| Northampton Saints (8) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 138 | 104 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Perpignan | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 108 | 123 | −15 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Benetton Treviso | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 26 | −19 | 68 | 178 | −110 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
* 10 October 2009 18:00
| Northampton Saints | 31–27 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 13,550 Referee: Christophe Berdos
* 17 October 2009 13:35
| Munster | 41–10 | Benetton Treviso |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 26,043
* 11 December 2009 20:00
| Munster | 24–23 | Perpignan |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 26,043 Referee: Wayne Barnes
* 20 December 2009 16:00
| Perpignan | 14–37 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stade Aimé Giral Attendance: 14,282 Referee: Dave Pearson
* 16 January 2010 14:35
| Benetton Treviso | 7–44 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Chris White
* 22 January 2010 20:00
| Munster | 12–9 | Northampton Saints |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 26,043 Referee: Romain Poite

### Quarter-final

* 10 April 2010 17:30
| Munster | 33–19 | Northampton Saints |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 26,043 Referee: Nigel Owens

### Semi-final

* 2 May 2010 16:15
| Biarritz | 18–7 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Anoeta Stadium Attendance: 30,900 Referee: Dave Pearson