Munster Rugby announce contract extensions for two players

MUNSTER Rugby and the IRFU confirmed this Tuesday that Alex Kendellen has signed a two-year contract extension, while Ruadhán Quinn has moved up from the Academy to the senior squad also on a two-year deal.

Along with Kendellen, Tom Ahern, Gavin Coombes, Shane Daly and Alex Nankivell have also signed two-year contract extensions ahead of next season with Quinn joining the Limerick duo of Shay McCarthy and Evan O'Connell in moving up from the Academy to the senior squad.

Quinn has moved up to a development contract next year and he will progress onto a senior contract for 2026/27.

The talented 21-year-old came up through the ranks at Ballina-Killaloe RFC and Crescent College Comprehensive. He plays his club rugby with Young Munster RFC and has also lined out for Old Crescent in the AIL.

He was a Pinergy Munster Schools Senior Cup winner with Crescent in March 2022 and joined the Academy that summer.

At the age of just 18, Quinn became Munster’s youngest player of the professional era when he came off the bench against Zebre at Virgin Media Park in October 2022.

He starred for the Ireland U20s in their 2023 Grand Slam-winning 6 Nations campaign and helped the team to the World Rugby U20 Championship final that summer.

To date, he has scored two tries in 14 senior appearances.

Prior to joining the Munster Academy in 2020, Kendellen had already earned a number of representative honours at provincial and international level.

He lined out lined out for the Munster U18s and U19s and captained the Ireland U18 Schools side in 2019 and played for the Ireland U18 7s team.

He joined the Academy straight out of school having led PBC to the Pinergy Munster Schools Senior Cup final that year.

In early 2021 he made his Munster debut as a first year Academy player against the Scarlets.

The same year he captained the Ireland U20s for the Six Nations, where he was a standout performer, scoring six tries in five appearances.

Kendellen made his Champions Cup debut against Castres at the age of 20 in December 2021 and scored his first try against Ulster in January 2022. He ended that season with 20 appearances, including starts in the Champions Cup knock-out games against Exeter Chiefs and Toulouse.

He enjoyed another excellent campaign in 2022/23 and made 22 appearances as Munster won the URC title in his first year as a member of the senior squad.

Kendellen played all 25 games of the 2023/24 season, including receiving his 50th Munster cap against Glasgow Warriors in December 2023. He captained Munster to the win over Crusaders at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in February 2024.

October 2024 saw him captain Emerging Ireland on their three-match tour to South Africa. He was also named as a training panellist during the Autumn Nations Series in Andy Farrell’s 35-man squad.

To date, the 23-year-old has scored 5 tries in 79 Munster appearances. The new contract will keep him at Munster until at least 2027.