The 2023–24 Munster Rugby season is Munster's twenty-third season competing in the United Rugby Championship, alongside which they are also competing in the European Rugby Champions Cup. It is Graham Rowntree's second season as head coach. Munster went into the season as the defending league champions, having defeated the Stormers in the final of the previous season.

Events
Former Munster player Mossy Lawler returned to the province to join the coaching team as a skills coach, having spent the previous eight seasons coaching at Connacht. Academy manager Ian Costello was promoted to the newly created position of head of rugby operations, with Gearóid Prendergast, then-director of rugby at Young Munster, replacing him in the role.

In players news, two players were promoted from the academy to the senior squad: back-three Patrick Campbell and lock/back-row Cian Hurley. Prop John Ryan returned to the province, whilst Alex Nankivell, who was Ryan's teammate at the Chiefs, also joined the province. Former Connacht centre Seán O'Brien joined the province from English club Exeter Chiefs. Five players joined year one of the Munster academy ahead of the season: prop George Hadden, back-row Brian Gleeson, fly-half Dylan Hicks and back-three players Shay McCarthy and Ben O'Connor.

Fly-half Ben Healy, who won his first cap for Scotland during the 2023 Six Nations, left the province to join Edinburgh, whilst centre Malakai Fekitoa also left to join Italian club Benetton. Lock Paddy Kelly and prop Liam O'Connor were forced to retire upon the conclusion of the previous season due to respective brain and neck injuries, centre Oli Morris and academy back-three Conor Phillips were released by the province, and lock Eoin O'Connor joined English club Exeter Chiefs

Munster's pre-season will commence with a fixture against Leinster at Musgrave Park on 8 September before an away trip to play Connacht at the Sportsground on 22 September. The province will then host famous invitational touring side the Barbarians on 30 September; this match will be the first time the sides' respective men's team will face each other.

The format for the European Rugby Champions Cup changed for the 2023–24 season, with the two pool-format used during the COVID-19 pandemic dispensed with in favour of four pools of six clubs each, with each pool containing two teams from the United Rugby Championship, Top 14 and Premiership Rugby. The four highest-ranked teams in each pool progress to the knockout stage. Munster were in tier one for the pool draw by virtue of being 2022–23 URC champions, and were drawn in pool 3, where they will face English clubs Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints, and French clubs Bayonne and Toulon.

In a world first, Munster will host Super Rugby champions the Crusaders in a so-called Clash of Champions on 3 February 2024, a match that will see former Munster head coach Rob Penney return to the province after he was appointed as Crusaders new head coach ahead of 2024.

Greig Oliver, an elite player development officer with Munster's academy since 2011, died in a paragliding accident in Cape Town, South Africa, on 3 July 2023, where he and his wife were following their son Jack, who is in Munster's academy, with the Ireland under-20s team at the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship.

Player movements
Below are the players who joined and left the Munster senior and academy squads ahead of the 2023–24 season. Italics indicates players that transferred during the 2023–24 season.

Senior squad

Players in
 Patrick Campbell promoted from Academy
 John Ryan from  Chiefs
 Alex Nankivell from  Chiefs
 Cian Hurley promoted from Academy
 Seán O'Brien from  Exeter Chiefs

Players out
 Ben Healy to  Edinburgh
 Malakai Fekitoa to  Benetton
 Paddy Kelly retired
 Liam O'Connor retired
 Oli Morris released
 Eoin O'Connor to  Exeter Chiefs

Academy squad

Players in
 Brian Gleeson
 George Hadden
 Dylan Hicks
 Shay McCarthy
 Ben O'Connor

Players out
 Conor Phillips released

Coaches and staff
Senior squad

Academy squad

Players

Senior squad

Academy squad

Pre-season

Friendly

2023–24 United Rugby Championship

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup

Munster were in tier one for the pool draw of the 2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup by virtue of being 2022–23 URC champions, and were drawn in pool C, where they will face English clubs Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints, and French clubs Bayonne and Toulon.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

2023–24 Munster A/Development season

Munster A/Development fixtures during the 2023–24 season have not been confirmed yet.

Player statistics
Player statistics from the 2023–24 season. Stats from competitive fixtures only are shown. Academy players in italics.

References

Notes

External links
Official Munster website
URC Munster
EPCR Munster

2023-24
2023–24 in Irish rugby union
2023–24 United Rugby Championship by team
2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup by team