Munster fans will today digest some mixed news in the field of Human Resources. The club have confirmed the capture of Irish-born tighthead prop John Andress from Edinburgh, but look set to miss out on out-half Johan Goosen, long thought to be a solution to the province's out-half woes.
Andress was born in Belfast, and at the age of 32, has yet to be capped by Ireland, although he has made appearances at both Ireland 'A' and Under-21 level. As a youth he had a series of disciplinary problems: he was twice expelled from school and worked on building sites while taking his A Levels. He has played in the Premiership with Harlequins, Exeter, and Worcester, before making the move to Edinburgh in 2014.
He will join Munster this summer, along will second-row Darren O'Shea. O'Shea left Munster for Worcester in 2014, where he was instrumental in winning a league and cup double in his debut season. It has been confirmed that the 6ft 9 lock will return to his former side, where he will attempt the unenviable and try to fill Paul O'Connell's capacious shoes. One man who has failed to do that is Mark Chisholm, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury:
Mark Chisholm ruled out for the rest of the season as he “requires an extended break from the game following a concussion."
— Cian Tracey (@CianTracey1) March 29, 2016
The optimism at these new arrivals will be offset against the disappointment at missing out on one of the club's top targets. It was reported a number of months ago that Munster were targeting the signature of South African out-half Johan Goosen of Racing 92. Following Dan Carter's arrival, Goosen has found himself pushed well down the pecking order in Paris, with Remi Tales considered second choice ahead of him. Goosen is just 23, and would be an exciting alternative for Munster at fly-half, where they have been hampered by the endless injuries and travails suffered by Tyler Bleyendaal and Ian Keatley respectively.
It now looks like that move will not happen, with L'Equipe reporting that Goosen has signed a new contract with Racing:
