News

Munster without stars for All Blacks

September 29 2008

The Irish Rugby Football Union has confirmed that Munster will be without their international stars for their game against New Zealand at Thomond Park.

In a statement released on Monday, the Union revealed the news which has taken away some of the gloss of the fixture.

"Any Munster players who are involved in the Ireland match squads for the Ireland v New Zealand game and the Ireland v Argentina game will not be made available for selection for the Munster game," the release said.

"This has been the position since the game was originally agreed with the IRFU and that decision was made bearing in mind both the importance of IRB World Ranking points available for the Ireland team this November and the physical impact on players participating in high level games in such a short space of time."

Ireland are due to play New Zealand on November 15 and the Pumas on November 22 with the All Blacks fixture against the European champions scheduled in-between those games.