Rob Horne Munster Link
It hasn't taken long for Munster to line up a replacement for JJ Hanrahan. According to the Irish Independent, 25 time capped Wallaby Rob Horne is being lined up to bolster the Munster ranks. Horne had his best season in professional rugby in 2014, winning the Super Rugby title with Michael Chieka's Waratahs before becoming a vital part of the Australian squad.
Although an inside centre in his earlier career, Horne's breakthrough has coincided with a move to the wing, where he had his most productive season for the Waratahs scoring 5 tries in 15 games, while he also finally cemented his place for Australia.
Horne's Australian caps in the centre are bolstered by ex Wallaby coach Robbie Dean's preference for a hard running 12 and Pat McCabe's unfortunate tendency to get injured. Since Ewen McKenzie and Michael Cheika took over, the tendency for Australia is to use ball playing inside centres, or second five eighths like Kurtley Beale, Matt Toomua or Christian Leali'ifano.
It seems strange for Munster to add yet another winger to their squad, especially with the talents of Andrew Conway, Simon Zebo, Gerhard van den Heever, while Keith Earls, Luke O'Dea and Ronan O'Mahony are also pushing for a spot in the Munster 23. It's likely that Munster will move Horne back into the inside centre position, with incoming Kiwi Tyler Bleyendaal moving to his more natural outhalf position.
It's likely that Munster will likely face stiff competition from England and France for Horne's signature, while their approach for Ben Smith looks to have failed, with Horne the more likely option.
