Connacht’s Tom Farrell to join Munster on two-year deal at end of season

The experienced centre (30) will replace Antoine Frisch who will move to Toulon to pursue his ambitions to play for France, with Munster in line for a hefty transfer fee for their in-contract star.

Frisch will be a loss, but Farrell represents a smart piece of recruitment from Ian Costello and Graham Rowntree.

He left the Leinster academy to get game-time in Bedford, before returning to Connacht where he impressed to the extent that he trained with Joe Schmidt's Ireland squad.

He hasn't been capped, but he has amassed 112 appearances for the western province where he was a popular figure.

Munster’s hopes of retaining their URC title have been dealt a blow after the province confirmed that star centre Alex Nankivell is to be sidelined with an ankle injury.

The province say the New Zealander will be out for “the next few weeks” with the injury he picked up in the win over Edinburgh, which suggests he’ll miss the final regular season game against Ulster on Saturday week and the quarter-final play-off game a week later.

Since joining from the Chiefs last summer, Nankivell has been a key player for Munster this season playing 18 times.

They do have options in that department with Sean O’Brien and Rory Scannell both available to partner Antoine Frisch and Jack Crowley capable of moving into midfield if needed.

Joey Carbery, John Hodnett and Peter O’Mahony could all be available for the Ulster game as they near a return from their injuries, while Mike Haley is undergoing the return to play protocols after suffering a head injury against Edinburgh.

Dave Kilcoyne (shoulder), Diarmuid Barron (foot), Roman Salanoa (knee), Jean Kleyn (knee/eye), Paddy Patterson (knee), Patrick Campbell (shoulder) and Josh Wycherley (face) are all on the long-term injury list.

A win for Munster over Ulster would guarantee them top spot in the URC and a home run through the play-offs.