MUNSTER have confirmed the signing of Mike Haley from English side Sale Sharks on a three-year-deal from next season.
Despite playing for both the England Saxons and an England XV that played the Barbarians but qualifies for Ireland through his grandmother from Tralee.
The full back made 105 appearances for the Premiership side, with his European debut coming against Munster at the AJ Bell Stadium in October 2014 where Ian Keatley kicked a last gasp winning drop goal.
Haley will bring competition to the number 15 jersey with Simon Zebo leaving for Racing 92 at the end of the current season.
Commenting on the news Head Coach Johann van Graan said: “We are delighted to recruit an exciting young playmaker such as Mike.
“At 23, he has over six years of professional rugby under his belt and will be a great addition to our squad.”
Elsewhere, it has been confirmed that Munster centre Chris Farrell is to miss the rest of the season after picking up a cruciate ligament injury training with Ireland earlier in the week. In a brief statement, Munster said that he will undergo surgery before beginning his rehab.
The injury is a bitter blow for both Munster and Ireland. Only last weekend Farrell put in a man of the match performance in Ireland’s Six Nations victory against Wales.
Farrell’s loss tops off a bad week for Johann van Graan and his coaching team after Chris Cloete was effectively ruled out until next season after undergoing surgery for a fractured arm.
The South African flanker did the damage in Munster’s 21-10 Guinness Pro14 win over Glasgow Warriors last Friday.
Due to the adverse weather conditions around Ireland and Britain, Munster’s proposed game in the Pro14 against Edinburgh at Murrayfield has been postponed.
The game in the Scottish capital had been due to take place on Friday evening but will now take place the weekend of March 16/17/18 instead.
