Tuesday 24 January 2017 17:26, UK
Munster have announced three new signings for next season in addition to contract extensions for six players.
Chris Farrell and James Harte will make the move from their respective Top 14 sides, Grenoble and Racing 92, while JJ Hanrahan will return after two seasons with Premiership outfit Northampton Saints, with all three signing two-year deals.
The return of versatile Kerry native Hanrahan - who came through Munster's academy - is the headline signing for the province and he will be expected to compete for playing time at both fly-half and inside centre.
Commenting on the new signings, director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said: "I've always indicated our intention to recruit Irish qualified players where and when possible so to secure the young trio of Farrell, Hanrahan and Hart is great for the province and Irish rugby in general. In addition to being hugely talented they bring a wealth of knowledge with their combined experiences from playing abroad and this will help with our overall squad development."
Meanwhile, Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Rory Scannell, Tyler Bleyendaal, Duncan Williams and Darren Sweetnam have all signed contract extensions with the Irish province.
Kilcoyne will remain with Munster until June 2020, while the other five players have signed extensions that will see them remain with the province until at least June 2019.
Speaking about the contract extensions, Erasmus said: "I've talked about maximising our potential time and time again. Retaining players such as Killer [Dave Kilcoyne], Niall, Rory, Tyler, Duncan and Sweets [Darren Sweetnam] is key to our long-term plans and they have all played an integral role in our success so far this season.
"Developing home-grown players is at the core of everything we do and it's rewarding to see five players who have advanced from the Munster pathway commit their future to the club, while also recognising the efforts of Tyler who has overcome long-term injury to make his mark in the squad this season."
Meanwhile, the club have also confirmed that scrum-half Tomas O'Leary, who joined Top 14 side Montpellier on a short-term loan in October, will not be returning to the province. The 33-year-old scrum-half made 145 appearances for Munster, scoring 10 tries.
