Munster are set to re-sign their former scrumhalf Tomás O’Leary from London Irish, where he is in the last season of a three-year deal. The province are keen to add experience to this pivotal position in the anticipation of losing Conor Murray, one of their key players, for long stretches of a World Cup season.

Injuries have helped to restrict O’Leary to just eight appearances this season, and 42 games in all, with London Irish and having become married to Julie, also from Cork, during the summer, the 31-year-old is also keen on a return to his native province. O’Leary also sees this as the best, and perhaps final, opportunity to re-ignite his international career, having won the last of his 24 caps against England at Twickenham in March 2012.

O’Leary, a former Cork minor hurling All-Ireland winner, made his Munster debut against the Scarlets in September 2005, going on to win two Heineken Cup medals with them as a replacement in the 2006 final before starting in the 2008 success over Toulouse in Cardiff. He made 127 appearances in all for his native province, and now looks set to add to that total.