Denis Hurley and BJ Botha exit as Munster trim squad

BJ Botha and Denis Hurley headlined a list of departing players from Munster as plans for life under incoming director of rugby Rassie Erasmus continue to take shape.

The two veterans, along with wing Gerhard van der Heever, scrum-half Cathal Sheridan, back rowers Shane Buckley, and the previously announced Jordan Coghlan have all played their last games for the province.

Both utility back Hurley, a Heineken Cup winner in 2008, and former Springbok tighthead prop Botha have been struggling with injuries suffered in the January 9 defeat at Stade Francais, and Hurley used social media on Monday night to declare his Munster career was at an end, a decade after his senior debut against Llanelli in Stradey Park.