In the provinces only pre-season fixture, Munster beat English side Worcester Warriors 35–26 in Sixways Stadium on 24 August. The match saw former Munster stalwarts Peter Stringer and Donncha O'Callaghan play against their old club, while new signings Chris Farrell, Gerbrandt Grobler and James Hart made their non-competitive debuts for Munster. Munster began their 2017–18 Pro14 campaign on 1 September 2017, scoring six tries on their way to a comfortable 34–3 win against Benetton. In October 2017, Munster confirmed that then-South Africa Forwards Coach Johann van Graan would join the province in November as their new head coach. In the same month, it was announced that Munster's all-time leading try scorer, Simon Zebo, would leave the province at the end of the season.