Munster captain Tadhg Beirne: I’d say Connacht are scratching their heads how they let Tom Farrell go

On Wednesday Munster announced Farrell had signed a new deal keeping him in Limerick until at least 2028.

KING TOM: Munster captain Tadhg Beirne believes Connacht must be ruing their decision to release Tom Farrell. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile.

Munster captain Tadhg Beirne believes Connacht must be ruing their decision to release Tom Farrell two summers ago as the centre put pen to paper on a new two-year contract with the southern province.

Uncapped Farrell, 32, was called into the Ireland squad as injury cover for the November international window and flew with Beirne and co. to Chicago on Tuesday to prepare for the Gallagher Cup clash against New Zealand a week on Saturday.

The call-up came after a strong start to the new campaign with Munster in which he won player of the match honours in the URC win over Edinburgh on his seasonal debut and then scored a try in last weekend’s derby victory over Leinster.

On Wednesday the province announced Farrell had signed a new deal keeping him in Limerick until at least 2028, having becoming a midfield mainstay since joining Munster after a seven-season stint with Connacht was brought to an end by the westerners in 2024.

He played in every competitive fixture for Munster during his first season, scoring 11 tries and winning the province's Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Year awards, and the URC Playmaker of the Year award.

“I’d say Connacht are scratching their heads how they let him go,” Beirne said. “You’d seen glimpses of how good he was with Connacht and then he just hit the ground running with us.

“He’s been, touch wood, lucky in terms of staying injury free which I know, in Connacht, he struggled with a bit. But the quality was always there.

"I’ve been playing with Tom for as long as I can remember between Lansdowne and Leinster, we both went our separate directions and I’ve seen the quality he’s had for a very long time and it’s no surprise that he brought that to Munster.

“Player of the season for us last year, fans’ player of the season, Playmaker, I think, he won for the URC, speaks volumes of the player he’s been over the last 12 months.

"He did it again on Saturday. 100 per cent deserving of him being in here (with Ireland) and excited to see how he goes.”