Munster head coach Graham Rowntree says the province are looking into the possibility of an emergency signing at loosehead prop, as they deal with a number of injuries in that position.
Jeremy Loughman is the latest loosehead to join the Munster injury list, with the Ireland international suffering a knee injury in last Saturday's defeat to the Stormers.
The province’s stocks were already running low when it came to filling the number one shirt. Josh Wycherley and Mark Donnelly are both long-term absentees due to neck and ankle injuries respectively, while veteran Dave Kilcoyne is yet to feature this season after picking up an ankle issue while he was on the comeback from shoulder surgery.
It leaves academy pair Kieran Ryan and George Hadden as the only two fit looseheads for Rowntree to pick from, with Hadden joining the squad in Cape Town ahead of this Saturday’s meeting with the Sharks in Durban.
John Ryan (below) will likely switch across from tighthead to loosehead if needed this weekend, but it still leaves the province with a thin set of options at prop.
"Of course, I have," the Munster coach said when asked if he was looking into a short-term signing.
"That's an urgent, an urgent thing to be getting on with. We'll see how that unfolds."
It’s unclear whether or not the province will be restricted to Irish-qualified options for a medical joker. Last summer Irish Rugby performance chief David Humphreys announced that the provinces would not be allowed sign any more foreign props, with the position being prioritised by the IRFU for developing young telent.
However, that policy may need to be relaxed for a short-term period if there are no options available from within the Irish system.
While Munster do still have a huge meeting with an All Blacks XV at Thomond Park next week, this Saturday’s game away to the Sharks will be their final URC outing until the end of November due to the Autumn Nations Series.
Last Saturday’s 34-19 defeat to the Stormers leave the province 11th in the table, and they face a daunting task in Durban this weekend against a Sharks side who were able to call upon World Cup winners Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche and Bongi Mbonambi in their most recent outing, a 28-24 win against defending champions Glasgow Warriors.
"Knowing what they're bringing is one thing, dealing with it is another"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 22, 2024
Munster head coach Graham Rowntree looks ahead to the challenge of facing the Sharks #URC pic.twitter.com/yRe5yFn9Hq
"It's a huge game for us now considering what's happened in the last couple of weeks in particular. But what we can do, get our game on the park as I keep saying, so prepare for it.
"We've analysed them. We've got some things to fix from Saturday, the Stormers game, which we've owned and we've prepared certainly very well today.
"You know, there's always a big game near enough, isn’t there? It's a big game. It's pretty much a Springbok pack waiting for us Saturday in the heat in Durban."
Last Saturday’s loss in Cape Town was Munster’s first in their last five games in South Africa, which included a crucial draw against this weekend’s opposition in April 2023.
"What gives me comfort is we've done it before.
"We have to be calm as much as we can. But physically, it takes a lot of emotion. It's being in the moment, it's being clinical in the last inch of a lineout throw, the last inch of a lineout jump.
"As I said to you, when a couple of them have gone against you, you can start doubting yourself as a lineout thrower and a lineout caller.
"We've got to be better. We're down here in South Africa and there's power everywhere around the field around scrum, maul, carry game. Lots for us to work on, but we've been here before," he added.
Meanwhile, centre Bryan Fitzgerald (above) has extended his contract at the province by a further three months.
The 25-year-old joined on a short-term deal during the summer, after starring for Garryowen in last season’s All-Ireland League.
Fitzgerald played twice in pre-season and has gone on to feature in two BKT United rugby Championship games scoring a try on his debut in the 42-33 defeat to Zebre last month.
Watch Leinster v Lions in the URC on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
