Munster set to sign prop Aungier from Connacht

The 27-year-old earned a Test debut for Ireland off the bench against Georgia last summer.

DUE SOUTH: Jack Aungier of Connacht is interviewed after the United Rugby Championship match against the Lions. Pic: Shaun Roy/Sportsfile

Munster look set to bolster their tighthead prop options with the signing of Ireland international Jack Aungier from Connacht for next season.

Aungier, 27, would be Clayton McMillan’s second front row signing for 2026-27 following the capture of Scarlets and South Africa hooker Marnus van der Merwe.

A Leinster academy graduate, Aungier earned a Test debut for Ireland off the bench against Georgia last summer having played for Ireland XV against their England counterparts the previous February. In five seasons since joining Connacht from his home province in 2020, the tighthead has made 100 appearances with his latest two-year contract up, Aungier has sought to bring his time in Galway to end and his name was one of 11 players on the province’s departures list announced on Friday afternoon.

Reported earlier in the season to be a target for Ulster, Aungier will instead plug a gap in the Munster tighthead stocks. First-season boss McMillan has struggled to settle on a consistent starter in the position following the retirement of Stephen Archer at the end of 2024-25. Oli Jager has experienced a run of bad luck with injuries since his move from New Zealand’s Crusaders in November 2023 and Roman Salanoa only returned to training this week after an almost three-year absence with a serious knee problem. Veteran John Ryan and academy tighthead Ronan Foxe were asked to fill the vacuum for the early part of the season before Munster signed Samoan former Leinster prop Michael Ala’alatoa from Clermont and AIL player Conor Bartley from Young Munster.

Ala’alatoa will start for Munster against Connacht at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday, backed up by Bartley, in the absence of Jager due to a concussion last time out against Ulster, but the Samoan is set to depart at the end of his short-term contract when the season concludes, and when Ryan is set to retire after 256 Munster appearances to date across three spells at his home province.

Aungier is set to be presented alongside Connacht’s other departing players on the pitch at Dexcom after the final whistle on Saturday night, with his next destination set to be announced in the near future.