1996–97 Munster Rugby season

1996–97 Munster Rugby season
Ground(s)	Thomond Park (Capacity: 13,200); Musgrave Park (Capacity: 8,300)
Coach	Jerry Holland
Captain	Mick Galwey
← 1995–96	1997–98 →

The 1996–97 Munster Rugby season was Munster's second season as a professional team, during which they competed in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship and Heineken Cup.

Ground(s)Thomond Park (Capacity: 13,200)
Musgrave Park (Capacity: 8,300)

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Team	P	W	L	F	A	BP	Pts	Status
Munster	3	3	0	117	92	-	12	Champions; qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
Leinster	3	1	2	88	92	-	4	Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
Ulster	3	1	2	81	89	-	4	Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
Connacht	3	1	2	77	90	-	4

21 September 1996	Munster	45–28	Connacht	Temple Hill
	Try: Lacey (2) Foley McCahill Walsh Con: O'Halloran (4) Pen: O'Halloran (3) Drop: O'Halloran	Report^[1]	Try: A. Reddan Devine (2) Con: Elwood (2) Pen: Elwood (3)	Referee: A. Watson
Munster lineup: 1. Ian Murray, 2. Paul Cunningham, 3. Noel Healy, 4. Len Dineen, 5. Mick Galwey, 6. Anthony Foley, 7. Ben Cronin, 8. Eddie Halvey, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Aidan O'Halloran, 11. Andrew Thompson, 12. Michael Lynch, 13. Brian Walsh, 14. John Lacey, 15. Sean McCahill. Replacements: Pat Murray (for Lacey, for McCahill).				Referee: A. Watson

28 September 1996	Leinster	40–45	Munster	Donnybrook
	Try: Coleman Ridge McQuilkin Francis Hickie Con: Governey (3) Pen: Governey (3)	Report^[2]	Try: Galwey (2) Halvey Con: Begley Lynch (2) Pen: Begley (8) Lynch (2) Drop: Keane	Referee: Graham Hughes
Munster lineup: 1. Ian Murray, 2. Terry Kingston, 3. Noel Healy, 4. Len Dineen, 5. Mick Galwey, 6. Anthony Foley, 7. Ben Cronin, 8. Eddie Halvey, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Killian Keane, 11. Brian Begley, 12. Brian Walsh, 13. Mike Lynch, 14. Sean McCahill, 15. Dominic Crotty. Replacements: Andrew Thompson.				Referee: Graham Hughes

5 October 1996	Munster	27–24	Ulster	Thomond Park
	Try: Dineen, Galwey Con: Begley Pen: Begley (3) Drop: McIvor, Keene	Report^[3]	Try: Duncan Coulter Con: Laing Pen: Laing (4)	Referee: A. Lewis
Munster lineup: 1. Ian Murray, 2. Terry Kingston, 3. Noel Healy, 4. Len Dineen, 5. Mick Galwey, 6. Anthony Foley, 7. Ben Cronin, 8. Eddie Halvey, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Killian Keane, 11. Brian Begley, 12. Mike Lynch, 13. Brian Walsh, 14. Sean McCahill, 15. Dominic Crotty. Replacements: Paul McCarthy (for Healy 69').				Referee: A. Lewis

Team	P	W	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Toulouse	4	3	1	21	13	8	157	142	15	6
Cardiff	4	3	1	16	7	9	135	97	38	6
London Wasps	4	2	2	17	14	3	156	115	41	4
Munster	4	2	2	11	22	–11	109	135	–26	4
Milan	4	0	4	6	15	–9	73	141	–68	0

1996–97 squad

12 October 1996	Munster	23–5	Milan	Musgrave Park
15:00		Report^[4]		Attendance: 1,500 Referee: David Davies
Munster lineup: 1. John Fitzgerald, 2. Terry Kingston, 3. Paul McCarthy, 4. Gabriel Fulcher, 5. Mick Galwey, 6. Anthony Foley, 7. Ben Cronin, 8. Liam Toland, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Killian Keane, 11. Brian Begley, 12. Sean McCahill, 13. Brian Walsh, 14. Richard Wallace, 15. Dominic Crotty. Replacements: Pat Murray (for Crotty 42'), Brian O'Meara (for McIvor 70').				Attendance: 1,500 Referee: David Davies

16 October 1996	Cardiff	43–18	Munster	Cardiff Arms Park
19:15		Report^[5]		Attendance: 4,000 Referee: John Bacigalupo
Munster lineup: 1. Ian Murray, 2. Terry Kingston, 3. Paul McCarthy, 4. Mick Galwey, 5. Gabriel Fulcher, 6. Anthony Foley, 7. Ben Cronin, 8. Liam Toland, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Killian Keane, 11. Brian Begley, 12. Brian Walsh, 13. Sean McCahill, 14. Richard Wallace, 15. Dominic Crotty. Replacements: Len Dineen (for Foley 47'), Pat Murray (for Begley 70').				Attendance: 4,000 Referee: John Bacigalupo

19 October 1996	Munster	49–22	London Wasps	Thomond Park
15:00		Report^[6]		Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Didier Mene
Munster lineup: 1. John Fitzgerald, 2. Terry Kingston, 3. Noel Healy, 4. Gabriel Fulcher, 5. Mick Galwey, 6. David Corkery, 7. Anthony Foley, 8. Ben Cronin, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Killian Keane, 11. Dominic Crotty, 12. Sean McCahill, 13. Brian Walsh, 14. Richard Wallace, 15. Pat Murray.				Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Didier Mene

2 November 1996	Toulouse	60–19	Munster	Les Sept Deniers
19:00		Report^[7]		Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Tony Spreadbury
Munster lineup: 1. John Fitzgerald, 2. Terry Kingston, 3. Noel Healy, 4. Mick Galwey, 5. Gabriel Fulcher, 6. Anthony Foley, 7. David Corkery, 8. Ben Cronin, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Killian Keane, 11. Dominic Crotty, 12. Sean McCahill, 13. Brian Walsh, 14. Richard Wallace, 15. Pat Murray. Replacements: Paul McCarthy (for Healy 8'), Len Dineen (for Cronin 68'), Ian Murray (for McCarthy 68').				Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Tony Spreadbury

9 November 1996	Munster	25–35	Samoa XV	Musgrave Park
		Report^[8]		Referee: Chris White
Munster lineup: 1.Paul McCarthy, 2. Frank Sheehan, 3. Ian Murray, 4. Len Dineen, 5. Dara Kirby, 6. Alan Quinlan, 7. Ultan O'Callaghan, 8. Liam Toland, 9. David O'Mahony, 10. Aidan O'Halloran, 11. Brian Begley, 12. Sean McCahill, 13. Mike Lynch, 14. Andrew Thompson, 15. Pat Murray (c). Replacements: James Hickey (for McCarthy 50'), John Fitzgerald (for Murray 54'), Declan Edwards (for O'Callaghan).				Referee: Chris White

26 November 1996	Munster	19–55	Australia XV	Thomond Park
		Report^[9]		Referee: Robert Davies
Munster lineup: 1. John Fitzgerald, 2. Terry Kingston, 3. Noel Healy, 4. Mick Galwey, 5. Dara Kirby, 6. Anthony Foley, 7. Ben Cronin, 8. David Corkery, 9. Stephen McIvor, 10. Killian Keane, 11. Dominic Crotty, 12. Sean McCahill, 13. Brian Walsh, 14. Richard Wallace, 15. Pat Murray. Replacements: Peter Clohessy (for Healy 40'), Len Dineen (for Kirby 40'), Mike Lynch (for Walsh 65).				Referee: Robert Davies