Thursday Round-Up

Quins sign up Horwill: Harlequins fans are waking up to good news this morning, as it emerges that their club have acquired the services of former Wallaby skipper James Horwill on a three-year contract. Horwill, who currently plays his club rugby with the Queensland Reds, will link up with his new teammates at the Twickenham Stoop following the close of next year’s Rugby World Cup in England. Having appeared in the Red jersey of the Ballymore based outfit on over 100 occasions, Horwill feels the time is right to take up the next challenge in his rugby career and experience the game in another country. The man who captained the Reds to their first Super Rugby title back in 2011 was also the subject of interest from various of French clubs, before eventually opting for the English capital and Conor O’Shea’s side. After 58 caps for Australia, Horwill’s move to English shores will effectively end his international career beyond the World Cup due to the Wallaby’s selection policy.

Injuries mount for Munster: Irish province Munster have been hit with a multitude of injuries this week, a snows filters through of lengthy spells away from the game for the likes of Gerhard van den Heever and Dave Kilcoyne. Van den Heever has undergone several scans and according to specialists, has sustained damage to his cruciate ligament in his right knee. An injury which could keep him sidelined for a lengthy spell of a couple of months., van den Heever is due to undergo survey to repair the damage at the end of December. Elsewhere, Irish international prop forward Dave Kilcoyne is also expected to be out for a sustained period, after picking up a knee injury during Munster’s Round 3 defeat at home to Clermont. Kilcoyne’s front row partner, hooker Mike Sherry, has received yet another setback in his prolonged absence, having been forced to undergo yet another round of shoulder rehabilitation operations last Monday in London.

Ryan Sheady