2013–14 Munster Rugby season

Ground(s)	Thomond Park Musgrave Park (Capacity: 26,500 8,500)
Coach(es)	Rob Penney
Captain(s)	Peter O'Mahony
League(s)	Pro12
2013–14	3rd (Semi-finals)
1st kit 2nd kit
← 2012–13 2014–15 →

The 2013–14 Munster Rugby season was Munster's thirteenth season competing in the Pro12 alongside which they also competed in the Heineken Cup for the nineteenth time. It was Rob Penney's second and final season as head coach.

Coaching & management staff 2013–14

The Munster Coaching and Management staff for the 2013–14 season. ^[1]

Position	Name	Nationality
Head coach	Rob Penney	New Zealand
Team manager	Niall O'Donovan	Ireland
Forwards Coach	Anthony Foley	Ireland
Backs Coach	Simon Mannix [2]	New Zealand
Skills Coach	Ian Costello	Ireland
Head of Fitness	Adam Trypas [3]	Australia
Strength & conditioning coach	Aidan O'Connell	Ireland
Conditioning Assistant	Will Douglas	Wales
Strength & Rehab Coach	Aled Walters	Wales
Head of physiotherapy	Anthony Coole	South Africa
Physiotherapist	Colm Fuller	Ireland
Rehab physiotherapist	Colm Oakley	Ireland
Performance analyst	George Murray	Ireland
Asst. Performance Analyst	Elliot Corcoran	Ireland
Kit Manager	Jack Kiely	Ireland
Operations manager	Bryan Murphy	Ireland

Senior playing squad 2013–14

The Munster Senior Squad for the 2013–2014 season. ^[4] Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Duncan Casey Hooker Ireland Niall Scannell Hooker Ireland Mike Sherry Hooker Ireland Damien Varley Hooker Ireland Stephen Archer Prop Ireland BJ Botha Prop South Africa Alan Cotter Prop Ireland James Cronin Prop Ireland Dave Kilcoyne Prop Ireland John Ryan Prop Ireland Dave Foley Lock Ireland Billy Holland Lock Ireland Ian Nagle Lock Ireland Donncha O'Callaghan Lock Ireland Paul O'Connell Lock Ireland Donnacha Ryan Lock Ireland Sean Dougall Flanker Ireland Dave O'Callaghan Flanker Ireland Tommy O'Donnell Flanker Ireland Barry O'Mahony Flanker Ireland Peter O'Mahony Flanker Ireland Niall Ronan Flanker Ireland CJ Stander Flanker South Africa Paddy Butler Number 8 Ireland James Coughlan Number 8 Ireland

Player Position Union Gerry Hurley Scrum-half Ireland Conor Murray Scrum-half Ireland Cathal Sheridan Scrum-half Ireland Duncan Williams Scrum-half Ireland JJ Hanrahan Fly-half Ireland Ian Keatley Fly-half Ireland Cian Bohane Centre Ireland Ivan Dineen Centre Ireland James Downey Centre Ireland Keith Earls Centre Ireland Casey Laulala Centre New Zealand Andrew Conway Wing Ireland Johne Murphy Wing Ireland Luke O'Dea Wing Ireland Ronan O'Mahony Wing Ireland Gerhard van den Heever Wing South Africa Simon Zebo Wing Ireland Denis Hurley Fullback Ireland Felix Jones Fullback Ireland

Internationally capped players in bold. Players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. *

Senior players in (season 2013/14)

• Niall Scannell promoted from Academy
• Duncan Casey promoted from Academy
• James Cronin promoted from Academy
• Gerry Hurley ^[5]
• Cian Bohane promoted from Academy ^[6]
• Andrew Conway from Leinster ^[7]
• Ronan O'Mahony promoted from Academy
• Gerhard van den Heever from Western Province/ Stormers ^[8]

Senior players out (season 2013/14)

• Seán Henry to Connacht ^[9]
• Marcus Horan Retiring ^[10]
• Wian du Preez to Free State Cheetahs ^[11]
• Christy Condon to released
• Peter Stringer to Bath ^[12]
• Scott Deasy to released
• Ronan O'Gara Retiring ^[13]
• Danny Barnes to Newcastle Falcons ^[14]
• Doug Howlett Retiring due to injury ^[15]
• Seán Scanlon to Rotherham ^[16]

2013–14 Pro12

Munster reached the semi-finals of the Pro 12 and faced the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium on 16 May. ^{[17] [18]} Glasgow won the match 16-15 to reach the final against Leinster who defeated Ulster 13-9 the day after. ^{[19] [20] [21] [22]}

7 September 2013 19:15

(1 BP) Munster	34–23	Edinburgh
Try: Hurley 13' m Coughlan 15' c Cronin 32' c Dineen 53' m Hanrahan 68' c Con: Keatley (2/4) Hanrahan (1/1) Pen: Keatley (1/2) 22'	Report	Try: De Luca 50' c Jones 70' c Con: Francis (1/1) Leonard (1/1) Pen: Francis (2/4) 11', 26' Leonard (1/1) 62'

Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,810 Referee: Marius Mitrea ( FIR)

13 September 2013 19:30

Zebre	21–43	Munster (1 BP)
Try: Orquera 22' m Manici 39' c Con: Orquera (1/2) Pen: Orquera (3/3) 19', 36', 64'	Report	Try: Butler 46' c Stander (2) 58' c, 66' c Keatley 75' c Con: Hanrahan (3/3) Keatley (1/1) Pen: Hanrahan (5/5) 5', 15', 32', 45', 51'

Stadio XXV Aprile Attendance: 2,550 Referee: Andrew McMenemy ( SRU)

20 September 2013 20:30

Benetton Treviso	29–19	Munster
Try: Nitoglia (2) 49' c, 61' c Con: Berquist (2/2) Pen: Berquist (5/5) 13', 17', 37', 59', 65'	Report	Try: Earls 7' m penalty try 28' c Archer 46' c Con: Keatley (2/3)

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 4,528 Referee: Leighton Hodges ( WRU)

28 September 2013 18:45

Munster	23–9	Newport Gwent Dragons
Try: Cronin 35' c O'Mahony 51' c Con: Hanrahan (2/2) Pen: Hanrahan (3/4) 7', 19', 62'	Report	Pen: Burton (3/3) 10', 20', 46'

Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,248 Referee: Neil Paterson ( SRU)

5 October 2013 18:45

Munster	19–15	Leinster (1 BP)
Try: Earls 33' c Con: Keatley (1/1) Pen: Keatley (4/6) 30', 43', 57', 63'	Report	Pen: Madigan (4/5) 3', 24', 53', 55' McFadden (1/1) 40'

Thomond Park Attendance: 20,646 Referee: Romain Poite ( FFR)

25 October 2013 19:35

(1 BP) Glasgow Warriors	6–13	Munster
Pen: Weir (2/3) 3', 25'	Report	Try: Hanrahan 44' c Con: Hanrahan (1/1) Pen: Hanrahan (2/2) 21', 47'

Scotstoun Stadium Attendance: 5,726 Referee: Ian Davies ( WRU)

2 November 2013 19:15

Munster	12–6	Ospreys (1 BP)
Pen: Keatley (3/5) 5', 22', 56' Hanrahan (1/1) 68'	Report	Pen: Morgan (2/3) 26', 80'

Thomond Park Attendance: 14,216 Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini ( FIR)

23 November 2013 18:30

Cardiff Blues	10–31	Munster (1 BP)
Try: Dacey 49' c Con: Humberstone (1/1) Pen: Humberstone (1/2) 13'	Report	Try: Jones 17' c Varley 27' c Cronin 31' c Conway 43' c Con: Hanrahan (4/4) Pen: Hanrahan (1/1) 38'

Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 6,122 Referee: David Wilkinson ( IRFU)

29 November 2013 19:15

(1 BP) Newport Gwent Dragons	14–18	Munster
Try: Pewtner 43' m Pen: Tovey (2/4) 11', 40' Drop: Tovey (1/1) 70'	Report	Pen: Keatley (6/7) 25', 52', 61', 67', 73', 76'

Rodney Parade Attendance: 7,118 Referee: Marius Mitrea ( FIR)

21 December 2013 19:15

Munster	16–10	Scarlets (1 BP)
Try: R. O'Mahony 80' c Con: Hanrahan (1/1) Pen: Hanrahan (3/5) 23', 47', 57'	Report	Try: Barclay 42' c Con: A. Thomas (1/1) Pen: A. Thomas (1/2) 14'

Musgrave Park Attendance: 7,867 Referee: Nigel Owens ( WRU)

27 December 2013 19:15

Munster	22–16	Connacht (1 BP)
Try: Hanrahan 20' c Con: Hanrahan (1/1) Pen: Hanrahan (5/5) 9', 29', 44', 50', 76'	Report	Try: Heffernan 80' c Con: Parks (1/1) Pen: Parks (3/3) 13', 16', 61'

Thomond Park Attendance: 18,870 Referee: Dudley Phillips ( IRFU)

3 January 2014 19:05

Ulster	29–19	Munster
Try: Payne 6' c Cave 37' c Con: Pienaar (2/2) Pen: Pienaar (5/6) 4', 18', 62', 71', 80'	Report	Try: Dineen 40' m Kilcoyne 48' c Coughlan 66' c Con: Keatley (2/3)

Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 13,945 Referee: Alain Rolland ( IRFU)

8 February 2014 19:15

(1 BP) Munster	54–13	Cardiff Blues
Try: Kilcoyne 10' c penalty try 60' c Zebo 64' c van den Heever 66' c Conway 78' c Stander 80' c Con: Hanrahan (6/6) Pen: Hanrahan (4/4) 4', 22', 27', 40'	Report	Try: O. Williams 13' c Con: G. Davies (1/1) Pen: G. Davies (2/2) 8', 31'

Thomond Park Attendance: 13,821 Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini ( FIR)

15 February 2014 18:45

(1 BP) Munster	36–8	Zebre
Try: Zebo (2) 26' c, 34' m Slattery (2) 62' c, 79' c O'Donnell 70' c Con: Hanrahan (1/2) Keatley (3/3) Pen: Hanrahan (1/1) 15'	Report	Try: D'Apice 12' m Pen: Palazzani (1/1) 44'

Musgrave Park Attendance: 7,330 Referee: Dudley Phillips ( IRFU)

23 February 2014 16:00

Ospreys	11–25	Munster
Try: Beck 39' m Pen: Davies (2/4) 18', 68'	Report	Try: Dougall 6' c Zebo 46' m Downey 71' c Con: Keatley (1/2) Hanrahan (1/1) Pen: Keatley (2/2) 16', 26'

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 5,766 Referee: David Wilkinson ( IRFU)

1 March 2014 18:30

Scarlets	18–13	Munster (1 BP)
Try: G. Davies 27' m Barclay 51' c Con: A. Thomas (1/1) Pen: Barkley (1/1) 13' A. Thomas (1/1) 50'	Report	Try: van den Heever 36' c Con: Keatley (1/1) Pen: Keatley (2/3) 15', 40'

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,487 Referee: Dudley Phillips ( IRFU)

22 March 2014 19:15

Munster	14–3	Benetton Treviso
Try: Earls 37' c Downey 55' c Con: Hanrahan (2/2)	Report	Pen: Berquist (1/3) 3'

Thomond Park Attendance: 13,946 Referee: Leighton Hodges ( WRU)

29 March 2014 19:00

Leinster	22–18	Munster (1 BP)
Try: O'Driscoll 57' c Con: Madigan (1/1) Pen: Madigan (5/6) 25', 38', 46', 51', 79'	Report	Pen: Keatley (6/6) 4', 9', 22', 30', 64', 77'

Aviva Stadium Attendance: 51,700 Referee: Alain Rolland ( IRFU)

12 April 2014 18:30

Munster	5–22	Glasgow Warriors
Try: Stander 18' m	Report	Try: Gray 4' c Maitland 25' m Strauss 36' c Con: Weir (2/3) Pen: Weir (1/1) 9'

Thomond Park Attendance: 13,946 Referee: Nigel Owens ( WRU)

19 April 2014 18:15

Connacht	23–32	Munster (1 BP)
Try: Healy 20' m McKeon 53' m Poolman 78' c Con: Parks (1/1) Pen: Nikora (2/2) 15', 63'	Report	Try: Conway 17' c van den Heever 34' c D. Hurley 38' c Butler 72' m Con: Keatley (3/4) Pen: Keatley (2/2) 26', 30'

Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 6,227 Referee: Marius Mitrea ( FIR)

3 May 2014 17:00

Edinburgh	12–55	Munster (1 BP)
Try: Bezuidenhout 9' m Nel 22' c Con: Laidlaw (1/2)	Report	Try: Conway 16' c D. Hurley 40' c Varley 49' c penalty try (2) 55' c, 73' c Williams 66' c O'Donnell 80' c Con: Hanrahan (5/5) Murray (2/2) Pen: Hanrahan (2/2) 15', 27'

Meggetland Attendance: 3,782 Referee: Marius Mitrea ( FIR)

10 May 2014 18:30

(1 BP) Munster	17–19	Ulster
Try: Williams 14' c Dougall 49' c Con: Keatley (2/2) Pen: Keatley (1/1) 11'	Report	Try: Heaney 17' c Con: McKinney (1/1) Pen: McKinney (4/4) 36', 47', 53', 65'

Thomond Park Attendance: 16,436 Referee: Nigel Owens ( WRU)

16 May 2014 (Semi-Final) 19:35

Glasgow Warriors	16–15	Munster
Try: Reid 46' c Con: Russell (1/1) Pen: Russell (3/4) 17', 36', 39'	Report	Try: Varley 9' c Dougall 51' m Con: Keatley (1/2) Pen: Keatley (1/1) 66'

Scotstoun Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Marius Mitrea ( FIR)

2013–14 Heineken Cup

On 19 January, Munster secured a home quarter-final in the knock-out stages of the 2013–14 Heineken Cup after a 38–6 win against Edinburgh at Thomond Park. ^{[23] [24]} They faced Toulouse in the quarter-finals on 5 April. ^{[25] [26]} Munster scored six tries to beat Toulouse 43-23 and reach the semi-finals. ^[27] A Keith Earls's try put Munster into a 10-point lead before two Luke McAlister penalties made it 13–9 at half time. Tries from Dave Kilcoyne and CJ Stander looked to have sealed the victory before Toulouse relied with a try from Hosea Gear. Further tries from Casey Laulala, Simon Zebo and Paul O'Connell made it a comfortable win in the end for Munster. CJ Stander, who replaced the injured Peter O'Mahony in the first half was named Man of the Match. ^{[28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34]}

On 27 April in the semi-final against Toulon at the Stade Vélodrome, Munster lost 24–16. ^{[35] [36] [37]} Munster came from 18-9 down at half-time to score the game's only try through Simon Zebo who went over in the corner. ^{[38] [39]} Jonny Wilkinson scored 21 points for Toulon. ^{[40] [41] [42] [43]}

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
Munster (4)	6	5	0	1	161	77	+84	19	6	2	1	23
Gloucester (7C)	6	3	0	3	113	114	−1	13	10	1	1	14
Edinburgh	6	3	0	3	104	141	−37	10	17	0	0	12
Perpignan	6	1	0	5	112	158	−46	10	19	1	2	7
Source : www.ercrugby.com Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match

12 October 2013 13:35

Edinburgh	29–23	Munster (1 BP)
Try: Scott 5' c T. Visser 68' c Con: Laidlaw (2/2) Pen: Laidlaw (5/6) 11', 21', 28', 33', 75'	Report	Try: Laulala 19' c Sherry 25' c Con: Keatley (2/2) Pen: Keatley (3/3) 15', 52', 64'

Murrayfield Attendance: 7,024 Referee: JP Doyle ( RFU)

19 October 2013 18:00

Munster	26–10	Gloucester
Try: Varley 33' c Murphy 66' c Con: Keatley (2/2) Pen: Keatley (4/5) 3', 9', 12', 65'	Report	Try: Sharples 15' c Con: Bentley (1/1) Pen: Bentley (1/2) 38'

Thomond Park Attendance: 23,510 Referee: Jérôme Garcès ( FFR)

8 December 2013 12:45

(1 BP) Munster	36–8	Perpignan
Try: Dougall 2' c Kilcoyne 25' m Earls 34' c penalty try 65' c Coughlan 77' c Con: Keatley (2/3) Hanrahan (2/2) Pen: Keatley (1/1) 10'	Report	Try: Michel 80' m Pen: Hook (1/2) 44'

Thomond Park Attendance: 23,615 Referee: Greg Garner ( RFU)

14 December 2013 16:40

(1 BP) Perpignan	17–18	Munster
Try: Benvenuti 77' m Pen: Allan (4/7) 6', 18', 24', 63'	Report	Try: penalty try 48' c Hanrahan 80' m Con: Keatley (1/2) Pen: Keatley (2/4) 15', 67'

Stade Aimé Giral Attendance: 11,824 Referee: JP Doyle ( RFU)

11 January 2014 18:00

Gloucester	7–20	Munster
Try: Sharples 39' c Con: F. Burns (1/1)	Report	Try: Earls 32' c P. O'Mahony 60' c Con: Keatley (2/2) Pen: Keatley (2/3) 21', 69'

Kingsholm Attendance: 16,121 Referee: Leighton Hodges ( WRU)

19 January 2014 12:45

(1 BP) Munster	38–6	Edinburgh
Try: Coughlan 7' m Murphy 21' c Murray 43' c P. O'Mahony 56' c Zebo 65' m Jones 75' c Con: Keatley (4/6)	Report	Pen: Laidlaw (2/3) 6', 27'

Thomond Park Attendance: 25,600 Referee: Wayne Barnes ( RFU)

Quarter-final

5 April 2014 13:30

Munster	47–23	Toulouse
Try: Earls 4' c Kilcoyne 41' c Stander 45' c Laulala 63' m Zebo 73' m O'Connell 79' c Con: Keatley (4/6) Pen: Keatley (3/4) 15', 22', 61'	Report	Try: Gear 53' c Tekori 71' c Con: Beauxis (2/2) Pen: McAlister (3/3) 7', 29', 33'

Thomond Park Attendance: 26,200 Referee: Nigel Owens ( WRU)

Semi-final

27 April 2014 16:30

Toulon	24–16	Munster
Pen: Wilkinson (7/8) 5', 18', 26', 35', 39', 64', 79' Drop: Wilkinson (1/2) 30'	Report	Try: Zebo 52' c Con: Keatley (1/1) Pen: Keatley (3/4) 7', 29', 33'

Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 37,043 Referee: Wayne Barnes ( RFU)

Related

2013–14 Connacht Rugby season

References

External links

• 2013–14 Munster Rugby season at official site
• 2013-14 Pro 12 Fixtures and Results at rabodirectpro12
• 2013-14 Heineken Cup Fixtures and Results at ercrugby