Donnacha Ryan prepares for an emotional Thomond farewell

There will be differing emotions at Thomond Park this evening as Francis Saili and Donnacha Ryan make their final entrances there in the red of Munster.

Both players’ exits from the province were confirmed yesterday with Ireland lock Ryan reportedly a reluctant departee after his central contract with the IRFU was not renewed and Munster were unable to pick up the slack. Their loss is Racing 92’s gain and their coach Ronan O’Gara has made no secret on the Irish Examiner’s pages of the Parisian club’s delight at securing the services of an experienced Test forward whose career is enjoying a resurgence at the age of 33 following a serious foot injury that sidelined him for more than a year.

“It has been a massive part of my life…an emotional rollercoaster but the best experience I’ll ever have,” Ryan said of his 13 years as a Munster player, which also led to winning 47 Ireland caps and playing in the 2011 and 2015 World Cups.