Munster to host Leinster in Thomond on St Stephen’s Day

Munster rugby fans will hardly have had time to digest their Christmas dinner when they will be heading to Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day for the Guinness Pro 12 fixture that captures their attention more than any other – the visit of arch rivals Leinster to their famous Limerick headquarters.

The teams will already have met at the Aviva Stadium at the beginning of October in what has now become a traditional date on the fixture list. However, pitting the two provinces against each other over the Christmas festival guarantees Munster CEO Garrett Fitzgerald something he has always coveted – a full house at Thomond Park and a monetary injection so essential to cope with the province’s parlous financial situation.

And this is by no means the only fixture before the New Year that will appeal to members of the Red Army with Ulster due at Thomond Park on Friday, November 18, while they will usher in the new year with the inevitably difficult journey to the Galway Sportsground and a clash with Connacht on January 1.