Ireland duo extends Munster stay
CONTRACT EXTENSION: Munster duo Gavin Coombes and Shane Daly has commited to the Irish province by signing two-year contract extensions.
Loose forward Coombes has scored an impressive 47 tries in 106 Munster appearances since making his debut against Cheetahs in 2018.
Coombes, who turns 27 this week, earned two Ireland caps in 2021 after becoming the province’s youngest ever Player of the Year at the age of 24.
That campaign saw Coombes set a new record for the most tries in one season for the province, notching 15 in 22 appearances.
He is fourth on the list of all-time try-scorers for Munster behind Simon Zebo (73), Keith Earls (64) and Andrew Conway (50).
Coombes came up through the ranks at Skibbereen RFC and Bandon Grammar before moving up to the Munster senior squad in 2019.
He spent three years in the Academy, lining out for Young Munster in the AIL and helping Munster A win the British & Irish Cup in 2017.
The 2022/23 URC title-winning campaign saw Coombes make a huge contribution with 14 tries in 22 appearances.
He featured in all 25 games last season (20 starts), playing at No.8 and at lock, scoring seven tries.
Coombes was a try-scorer against Stade Francais on Saturday and has scored five tries in seven appearances so far this season.
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Shane Daly scored a wonder try from 60 metres against Stade Francais on Saturday to mark his 100th Munster appearance with his 25th try for the province.
The 27-year-old came up through the ranks at Highfield and PBC before joining the Munster Rugby Academy in 2016.
He won a number of honours with Cork Constitution and lined out for the Ireland U20s and the Ireland Sevens team before making his Munster debut against Cheetahs in September 2018.
The versatile back, who can play on the wing, at fullback and in the midfield, earned two Ireland caps in 2020 and 2021.
Daly played the most minutes for Munster in 2022/23, also lining out for Emerging Ireland and Ireland A in 2022.
He racked up an impressive 1,800 minutes on the field in 24 appearances (23 starts) as Munster won the URC title along with his three appearances for Emerging Ireland and one for Ireland A.
Daly carried his brilliant form into the 2023/24 season and won the URC Ironman for the most minutes played in the 2023/24 season.
He missed just 10 minutes of Munster’s 20 URC games. The only two games he missed during the campaign were in the Champions Cup due to knocks.
So far this season, Daly has scored three tries in five appearances despite missing a number of games due to injury.
Alex Nankivell has also recently signed a new two-year contract with Stephen Archer signing an extension until the end of the season.
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