Gavin Coombes Commits To Munster With New Two-Year Deal
Munster's Gavin Coombes is pictured in action against Leinster during October's BKT United Rugby Championship clash at Croke Park ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Munster Rugby and the IRFU have announced a two-year contract extension for Gavin Coombes. The Skibbereen man has scored an impressive 47 tries in 106 Munster appearances.
Coombes, who turns 27 this week, earned two Ireland caps in the summer of 2021 after becoming the province’s youngest ever Player of the Year award winner at the age of 24.
That 2020/21 season saw him set a new record for the most tries in one season for Munster, scoring 15 times in 22 appearances.
A debutant against the Toyota Cheetahs back in 2018, he is fourth on Munster’s list of all-time top try scorers behind Simon Zebo (73), Keith Earls (64), and Andrew Conway (50).
He came up through the ranks at Skibbereen RFC and Bandon Grammar School in his native west Cork, before progressing to the Munster senior squad in 2019.
Coombes spent three years in the province’s Academy, lining out for Young Munster in the Energia All-Ireland League, and helping Munster ‘A’ to win the British & Irish Cup in 2017.
The 2022/23 BKT United Rugby Championship title-winning campaign saw him make a huge contribution with 14 tries in 22 appearances.
He featured in all 25 games last season, including 20 starts, and played both at number 8 and in the second row while chipping in with seven tries.
The strong-carrying forward was a try scorer during Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup opener against Stade Francais, and has touched down five times in seven matches so far this season.
Meanwhile, in the past week, Munster have also confirmed two-year contract extensions for backs Alex Nankivell and Shane Daly, with veteran prop Stephen Archer signing an extension until the end of the season.