MUNSTER RUGBY HAVE announced the departure of four more players this month, including Rowan Osborne who has been forced to retire due to concussion.
Academy player Jonathan Wren has also been forced to retire due to injury.
Additionally, the province says that Seán French and Alex McHenry have both completed their time at the club. French and McHenry are both leaving to take up playing opportunities in England.
This follows on from the news that Chris Cloete, Damian de Allende, Jake Flannery, Matt Gallagher, Jason Jenkins, Declan Moore, Kevin O’Byrne and John Ryan are also moving on.
Osborne is to retire on medical grounds due to a concussion sustained earlier in the season.
Munster Rugby can confirm that Seán French, Alex McHenry, Rowan Osborne & Jonathan Wren have all completed their time at the province.
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) June 10, 2022
A big thanks to Seán, Alex, Rowan & Jonathan for everything & all the best for the future!
See full details ⤵️#SUAF 🔴
A statement from Munster Rugby explains that “Rowan has received specialist medical care since the concussion, and despite his best efforts and those of the medical team, along with lengthy discussions with those close to him, the decision to retire was made in the best interests of his long-term health.”
Wren, who is an Ireland U20s Grand Slam winner, is also retiring from the game on medical grounds despite battling back from a number of setbacks.
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He’s not as disappointed as some on relation to how far off they are? They are miles off. No offence to Munster but they are an average,though very gutsy and committed side,and they have hammers Leinster twice in a row now. I do agree that they haven’t had any continuity with combinations,especially from 9-13,and hopefully when the likes of OBrien, Healy, Moore, Teo, McFadden etc come back then there will be a big improvement.
I must take the opportunity to praise Matt O’Connor for the huge improvement in Guinness Pro12 teams. Ever since he arrived at Leinster, every other team has greatly improved. Teams, that two years ago were almost brushed aside by Leinster, have now reached the heights that Leinster once inhabited alone.
Treviso have improved, Munster have improved, Edinburgh have improved, Scarlets have improved, Dragons have improved, Zebra have improved, Connacht (brilliant tonight, by the way) have improved..
In fact, they have all improved so much that Leinster has great difficulty taking on any of them.
By extension, Wasps and Harlequins have shown just how brilliant they are too due to you Matt.
I can hardly wait to see how much Castres get better when they arrive at the RDS soon. They will build statues in your image all over the town.
Matt, you have done European rugby a great service. They have all reached and surpassed Leinster this season thanks to your input at Leinster and everywhere else.
Thank you Matt and Happy New year!.
(and also to Mr Caputo, the news paper seller. Your influence on all other teams has been exceptional)