HOUSE OF RUGBY: All hail Munster, classy Jack Crowley and Ireland’s training squad

Patrick McCarry

“It’s a great day, and I think we should start off with a sing-song!”

Munster are the 2022/23 United Rugby Championship top dogs and both Greg O’Shea and Jason Hennessy were howling about it from the rooftops.

Graham Rowntree’s champions arrived back in Limerick this morning and had a rousing reception from the Munster supporters at a wedged Thomond Park. Not many would have predicted such scenes back in early April but Munster became ‘the home-wreckers’ and are back in the winners’ enclosure, sipping on victory juice.

The lads were on a roll after Cape Town and made strong cases for Mike Haley and John Hodnett to make Ireland’s World Cup training squad, while Lindsay Peat blew everyone away with a great Antoine Frisch prediction.

The full Munster chat kicks off from the second minute in [LISTEN below], after a chorus of Stand Up And Fight, while the House of Rugby panel also hand out some end-of-season awards.

House of Rugby URC · Munster are URC champions, Crowley & Hodnett heroics and Ireland’s RWC training squad

Josh Wycherley, Mike Haley, Shane Daly and Antoine Frisch celebrate at the final whistle of the United Rugby Championship Final match between DHL Stormers and Munster at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Sportsfile)

Munster stars back for World Cup involvement

Andy Farrell will certainly name a healthy amount of Munster players in his 45-man World Cup training squad, announced Tuesday, but the final win over Stormers may have swayed him on some 50/50 calls.

While Jason Hennessy, Greg O’Shea and myself stated respective cases for Mike Haley, John Hodnett and Jean Kleyn, former Leinster and Ireland star Lindsay Peat had a great shout:

“Antoine Frisch is Irish qualified and I’m going to throw him in to that 45-man squad. We have two centres, in Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose, that are world-class but injury prone. Frisch has been so consistent throughout the year and he’s struck up a great partnership with Malakai Fekitoa, who I’m said to see going. They’ve been class together. He came over as an Irish-qualified player and I imagine the goal was to see him in a green jersey.”

On the full show, it was 82% Munster, with some Leinster and Ireland chat sprinkled in, and some awards doled out. With Munster the URC champs, Jason brought in jerseys and trackies for Greg, Lindsay and myself to wear.

After the Limerick lads got us started with ‘Stand Up And Fight’, we discussed:

(1:30) – Munster ending title wait in Cape Town
(8:45) – Nerveless Jack Crowley and ‘F-bomb’ Hodnett
(31:10) – Munster’s players of the season
(34:50) – South African journalist Grand Shub
(41:05) – Ireland’s World Cup training squad
(51:20) – Our end of season awards

We hope you enjoy the show, and thanks for all the support, engagement and feedback this season.