The 2010–11 Munster Rugby season was Munster's tenth season competing in the Celtic League alongside which they also competed in the Heineken Cup for the sixteenth time. They also competed in the European Challenge Cup for the first time after elimination from the Heineken Cup. It was Tony McGahans third season as director of rugby.
Summary Munster were drawn in Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup alongside the Ospreys, London Irish and RC Toulon. Munster lost 23–17 away to London Irish, before defeating RC Toulon 45–18 at Thomond Park on 16 October 2010. Munster defeated Ospreys 22–16, but lost the reverse fixture at Liberty Stadium 19–15. In round 5 Munster went to RC Toulon, losing 32–16. As a result of this defeat, Munster failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time in 13 years. As one of the top three runners up in the Heineken cup pool stage, Munster entered the quarter-final stage of the Challenge Cup where they defeated Brive 42–37 in France before losing at home 12–20 to Harlequins.
In the Magners league Munster finished top of the table with nineteen wins and three defeats after twenty two matches to qualify for the semi-final playoffs where they defeated Ospreys 18–11. They then played in the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final where they defeated Leinster by 19 points to 9 to claim their third league title.
2010-11 Playing Squad
Coaching and Management team Position Name Nationality Director of Rugby Tony McGahan Team Manager Shaun Payne Forwards Coach Laurie Fisher Backs Coach Jason Holland Technical Advisor Anthony Foley Head of Strength & Conditioning Paul Darbyshire Strength and Conditioning Coach Tom Comyns Strength and Conditioning Coach Aidan O'Connell Strength & Conditioning Coach Joe Gallanagh Medical Co-ordinator & Head of Physiotherapy Anthony Coole Physiotherapist Neil Tucker
Players in Johne Murphy: from LeicesterMurphy for Munster Munster Rugby, 1 February 2010 Corey Hircock: from BedfordEight Bedford Blues players sign on for second Championship campaign Heaven's Game, 5 May 2010 Sam Tuitupou from Worcester Warriors Wian du Preez from Free State CheetahsDu Preez Returning to Munster Munster Rugby, 25 May 2010 Peter Borlase from CrusadersMunster agrees on Borlase deal SkySports, 10 June 2010
Players out Jean de Villiers to Western Province and Stormers Jeremy Manning to Newcastle Falcons Julien Brugnaut to Racing 92 Ciarán O'Boyle returned to club Nick Williams to Aironi Eoghan Grace to Exeter Chiefs
2010–11 Celtic League
TeamPldWDLPFPAPDTFTATry bonusLosing bonusPts 1 Munster 22 19 0 3 496 327 +169 44 22 5 2 83 2 Leinster 22 15 1 6 495 336 +159 50 25 5 3 70 3 Ulster 22 15 1 6 480 418 +62 44 35 3 2 67 4 Ospreys 22 12 1 9 553 418 +135 56 29 6 7 63 5 Scarlets 22 12 1 9 503 453 +50 49 43 5 7 62 6 Cardiff Blues 22 13 1 8 479 392 +87 37 33 3 3 60 7 Newport Gwent Dragons 22 10 1 11 444 462 −18 47 49 3 4 49 8 Edinburgh 22 9 0 13 421 460 −39 39 44 2 5 43 9 Connacht 22 7 1 14 394 459 −65 32 44 3 6 39 10 Benetton Treviso 22 9 0 13 374 502 −128 29 58 0 2 38 11 Glasgow Warriors 22 6 1 15 401 543 −142 33 48 1 6 33 12 Aironi 22 1 0 21 247 517 −270 21 52 0 8 12Correct as of 7 May 2011
Playoffs
Semi-final
Grand Final
2010-11 Heineken Cup
Pool 3 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPts Toulon (6) 6 4 0 2 13 13 0 143 134 +9 1 0 17 Munster 6 3 0 3 17 9 +8 143 122 +21 2 2 16 Ospreys 6 3 0 3 7 11 −4 117 113 +4 0 2 14 London Irish 6 2 0 4 9 13 −4 107 141 −34 0 1 9
2010-11 Amlin Challenge Cup
Quarter-final
Semi-final
References
External links 2010–11 Munster Rugby season official site