Anthony Foley close to earning contract extension

The only major coaching contract in Irish rugby not yet nailed down for next season is expected to be resolved in the next week or so when Anthony Foley's future with Munster is sorted out.

A one-year extension to his contract has been on the table for some time but Foley said yesterday at Munster’s training base in Limerick that nothing had been finalised.

He said that he may have discussions with Garrett Fitzgerald, who was also in Limerick yesterday, but suggested that there was no urgency.

“I saw Garrett around there so I’d say a week or two, I’m not sure. That’s in the hands of others,” said Foley, whose two-year deal ends in June.

Of more concern to Foley is picking up the points from their game in hand when they travel to take on Cardiff Blues on Friday evening, with Munster facing a battle to nail down one of the Champions Cup spots for next season.

Ireland call-ups for Dave Kilcoyne and Andrew Conway brought Munster's contingent in the national squad to 10, a good boost for the province in terms of international recognition but hardly ideal for Pro12 preparation.

Foley expects some of them to be released to play for Munster but is taking nothing for granted and is also planning to for the game without any of the internationals.

“Hopefully, from my point of view, we’d get a few back, although from their point of view they’d like to be staying up there.

“We had a good session with the vast majority of them on Friday and now it’s about making sure in training that the guys on the fringes get a good run-out in the positions in which they could be playing on Friday. We trained with what, if nobody comes back, will be our team, so if people come back, that adds strength to us.”