Munster’s new signing trolls Ronan O’Gara after their kicking competition

There is no shortage of topics when it comes to discussing Munster at the moment.

Donnacha Ryan's almost certain departure to Racing 92, the rumours surrounding Rassie Erasmus' coaching future, the potential name-change to Thomond Park and of course, and perhaps more importantly, Munster looking set to launch an attack on Champions Cup and PRO 12 honours. As a result of this, it is almost easy to forget the raft of new signings which the province announced at the beginning of the year. In January, Munster announced the capture of Irish trio, JJ Hanrahan, Chris Farrell and James Hart from Northampton Saints, Grenoble and Racing 92, respectively. These signings have undoubtedly excited Munster fans. Not only are they all talented players with plenty of potential but they will also provide an extra layer of depth to the Munster squad. This, of course, is pivotal when a side wants to be at the business end of both domestic and European competition. Hart can play in both the scrum-half and out-half positions. Ronan O'Gara was speaking on the latest episode of The Hard Yards where he recalled how he and the Belvedere College alumnus took part in a kicking competition a few weeks ago (05:00 in the podcast below). The result of the competition will certainly excite the Red Army.

"I think James Hart posted a video from Lille last weekend. I took him on in a kicking competition," O'Gara said.  "He kicked nine out of nine and I kicked eight out of nine. The one kicked I missed he put up on Instagram I believe...a video in slow motion! "Noone has a clue, everyone just presumes I took one and missed one!"

Having a player who can be that accurate off the tee is pivotal throughout a season, especially in tight games in poor conditions. With Tyler Bleyendaal qualifying for Ireland next season and Ian Keatley's future still in doubt, Munster need another goal-kicking option and they look to have certainly found that in Hart. You can see Hart triumph against the Munster legend in the Instagram video which he posted below.

Kicking comp against the king O'Gara in Lille @stade_pm. Il let you guess the winner. #racing92#munstersgreatest

A post shared by James Hart (@james.hart91) on Mar 24, 2017 at 8:33am PDT