Munster prop to join former coach in English Championship

23-year-old Munster prop Rory Burke has signed a one year contract with Championship club Nottingham it has been confirmed.

He will join up with Munster’s former assistant coach Ian Costelloe at the English Club next season.

Burke made his Munster debut against Treviso last month after coming up through the academy.

However, two ankle operations during the 2014/15 season stalled Burke’s promising career after he lined out for the Ireland U20s.

Burke made an impact for the Munster A side that won the British and Irish Cup this season, defeating Jersey whom Nottingham will face in the Championship.

His future coach in England, Costelloe said,

“One of the key targets for us in the off-season was to strengthen our front five, we’ve managed to do that but we felt that we needed a third quality tighthead there to give us the depth to be competitive throughout the season and Rory very much does that.”

“I know him well, he’s a young player with a lot of potential, he’s a good size, a very strong technical scrummager. He’s played against Jersey, Ealing, twice against Doncaster, twice against Rotherham and it was very easy for us to gauge how competitive he was against some of the stronger teams in our division.

“I think he’ll benefit hugely from playing 15 to 20 games at this level next season and contribute a huge amount to the squad and the club’s ambitions moving forward.”

As always, game time is hugely important to any player especially one embarking on a professional career and that is something he will hopefully get plenty of as he makes the switch to the UK.