City and Country: Limerick and Cork, Ireland

PRO Rugby Titles: 3.

Coach: Johann van Graan.

Captain: Peter O’Mahony.

Stadium: Musgrave Park and Thomond Park.

 

The ‘Red Army’ are another of the historically strong Irish club teams who once held a touring Australia 3-3 and were the first Irish team to beat the All Blacks. The great Irish flyhalf Ronan O’Gara played for Munster. The club has a very strong South African connection. Former Springbok coach and current Director of SA Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, was head coach of Munster, along with current Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber who was his assistant at Munster. Currently they are coached by South Africa’s Johann van Graan, and with another South African in JP Ferreira as their defence coach. CJ Stander, Jean de Villiers and Jaco Taute are just some of a long list of South Africans who’ve played for Munster. Their squad currently includes Springboks Damian de Allende, RG Snyman and Jason Jenkins, as well as fellow South Africans Chris Cloete, Keynan Knox, and Jean Kleyn.

 

If you want to sound like a local: Get a faraway look in your eye and mention the play Alone it Stands. The play celebrates the 1978 match between Munster and the All Blacks which the Irish team won 12-0. Until 2016 they were the only Irish side – club or Test team – to defeat the New Zealanders.

 

What you didn’t know: Limerick not only gave the world Munster rugby, but also the most popular form of poetry. The limerick is a short verse of five lines which are often humorous. The origin has been ascribed to the early poets of the city. Here, we’ll give you something to impress the Irish poets with:

 

The Vodacom URC

Is headed to Limerick City

The ‘Red Army’ there waits

For the Vodacom Bulls and their mates

And an exciting new era for rugby