JJ Hanrahan is set to agree a two-year contract with Clermont Auvergne according to reports in the French media. The 28-year-old Munster outhalf is set to join the French club in the summer.
Joey Carbery’s return to fitness after a year on the sidelines, the emergence of Ben Healy and the presence of two excellent young prospects in Jack Crowley and Jake Flannery mean that Munster are well stocked with outhalf talent and it would have been a very competitive area to try and eke out game time next season if everyone was fit and available.
It nevertheless comes as a bit of a surprise as Munster head coach Johann van Graan had previously stated this season that Hanrahan was the first choice outhalf in the absence of Carbery. The Currow native played for Munster from 2012-2015 before signing for the Northampton Saints in 2015 but his stay at the English club was greatly hampered by injury, and he ended up moving between outhalf and inside centre.
He returned to Munster in 2017 and during his two spells had made 150 appearances for the province, scoring 803 points to date. He played 16 times for the Ireland Under-20 team and was shortlisted for World Junior Player of the Year in 2012.
The RMC Sport radio website reported that Clermont looked at a number of options in France including New Zealander Ihaia West but decided on Hanrahan; the Irishman’s CV had been circulated to a number of a clubs in the French Top 14 suggesting that Munster may not have offered him a contract or one he was prepared to sign.
Hanrahan will compete for the number 10 jersey at Clermont along with the 31-year-old Camille Lopez who between 2013 and 2019 won 28 caps for France. Theo Giral, Rory Jennings and Gabin Michet are the other outhalves listed on the club’s playing roster this season. Clermont’s director of rugby/head coach Franck Azema is leaving at the end of the season.
Hanrahan is expected to be on the Munster bench for Saturdays’s Guinness Pro14 final against Leinster at the RDS (5.0).
