Finn and Carney join Munster Rugby Academy

In a week in which eight players were confirmed as moving on from Munster at the end of the season, the focus on youth sees two Tipperary youngsters joining the academy for the 2026/27 season.

The new recruits are Christopher Barrett, Rob Carney, Jamie Conway, Joe Finn, Christian Foley, Alex Lautsou, James O’Leary and Charlie O’Shea.

Lock/flanker Joe Finn is a former Cistercian College Roscrea student who started out at Ballina-Killaloe RFC.

Remarkably, he becomes the fifth player from Ballina-Killaloe to earn an Academy contract in the past four years, following in the footsteps of Ruadhán Quinn, Oisín Minogue, Gordon Wood and Tom Wood.

Finn was another prominent performer for the Ireland U20s this year and started on his debut against South Africa in November before playing all five games of the Six Nations. Along with his international exploits, he also made 11 appearances for Garryowen.

Cashel RFC outside centre Rob Carney has made 11 appearances for his club at senior level this season and played a key role for the Ireland U20s as they clinched the Triple Crown.

Carney started out at Roscrea RFC and played his schools rugby with Cistercian College Roscrea, lining out for the Munster U19s in 2024. He made his Ireland U20s debut against South Africa last November and made four starts in the 6 Nations, scoring a try in the win over Scotland.

Munster also confirmed that senior players Tony Butler, Fionn Gibbons, Paddy Patterson and Andrew Smith will depart the province while prop Oli Jager has been forced to retire due to long standing head injuries. They have also confirmed that Academy props George Hadden and Darragh McSweeney of Nenagh Ormond, and out-half Dylan Hicks have completed their time at the province.