Munster sign JJ Hanrahan, Chris Farrell and James Hart
JJ Hanrahan will return to home province Munster after two years with Northampton Saints
©PA
Irish trio JJ Hanrahan, Chris Farrell and James Hart have all agreed for a deal with Munster and will be joining the Pro 12 club at the start of the next season.
This will be Hanrahan's second stint with the Thomond Park outfit after he left them to join Northampton Saints in 2015 but the fly-half has now returned back to his home province. Centre Farrell has the experience of playing for Ulster between 2011 and 2014 after which he moved to French club Grenoble.
Hart, who plays at scrum-half has been on the road for six years during which he played for Grenoble and Racing 92.
Munster rugby director Rassie Erasmus said the trio's signing will not just benefit Munster but also Irish Rugby.
"I've always indicated our intention to recruit Irish qualified players where and when possible so to secure the young trio of Farrell, Hanrahan and Hart is great for the province and Irish rugby in general," said Erasmus.
"In addition to being hugely talented they bring a wealth of knowledge with their combined experiences from playing abroad and this will help with our overall squad development."
Earlier, the club announced Dave Kilcoyne has penned a three-year contract extension, while brothers Niall and Rory Scannell, Tyler Bleyendaal, Duncan Williams and Darren Sweetnam have all agreed new terms until 2019.
Bleyendaal will be competing with Hanrahan at number 10 and the former New Zealand Under-20 joined Thomond Park in 2015 and will qualify to play for Ireland in early next year based on residency.
"Retaining players such as Killer (Dave Kilcoyne), Niall, Rory, Tyler, Duncan and Sweets (Darren Sweetnam) is key to our long-term plans and they have all played an integral role in our success so far this season," said Erasmus.
"Developing home-grown players is at the core of everything we do and it's rewarding to see five players who have advanced from the Munster pathway commit their future to the club, while also recognising the efforts of Tyler who has overcome long-term injury to make his mark in the squad this season."
Meanwhile, the club also confirmed that scrum-half Tomas O'Leary, who went to play for french club Montpellier on a short-term loan in October will not return to Munster.
