2008 Heineken Cup Champions, Munster to play USA Eagles at Annual Setanta Challenge Cup

2008 Heineken Cup Champions, Munster to play USA Eagles at Annual Setanta Challenge Cup

USA Rugby to host Setanta Challenge Cup in Hartford, CT

HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Rugby will host its second annual Setanta Challenge Cup, featuring the USA Eagles versus the 2008 Heineken Cup champions, Munster, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. on Saturday, August 23 at 3 p.m. (EDT).

This will be Munster's first match since they won the Heineken Cup against Toulouse in Cardiff in May and with the new rugby season just a couple of weeks away, they will be bringing all available members of the winning Cup team along with the trophy which will be on display at the ground.

"We are extremely excited to be playing Munster in Hartford," U.S. Men's National Team Coach Scott Johnson said. "There's no doubt that this will be an extremely physical match and I encourage all rugby fans to come watch what promises to be some very good rugby. Not only does this match allow us essential competition against Europe's top professional team, but we get to play in a great city where I have no doubt the community will come out and support both teams."

These two squads faced each other last year in Chicago with Munster winning a hard fought match 10-6. This year's match will again prove to be a tough test for the U.S. team as they face an experienced Munster side that features a number of the 2007 World Cup players. This year's cup will also showcase the improvements being made to a young U.S. National Team following the Barclays Churchill Cup and ASM Clermont matches under the tutelage of new Head Coach Johnson.

"Munster is looking forward to this match as it represents the ideal type of preparation ahead of the new season and gives us the opportunity to expose our squad to quality opposition. It is always an honor to play against international competition and we are delighted to be traveling to New England for this game," said Munster Head Coach Tony McGahan.

Munster will spend the week prior to the match in Boston, training at the Irish Cultural Center, while the Eagles will spend the week in New York, training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Along with several additional activities surrounding this event on Thursday, August 21, both team's coach and captains will meet at Rentschler Field for the Setanta Challenge Cup press conference at 3 p.m.

Rentschler Field is Connecticut's sports & entertainment stadium. In addition to being the new home of the University of Connecticut Huskies football team, Rentschler Field's 40,000-seat stadium is the perfect setting for college football, concerts, conferences, banquets and special events. This is the third time that USA Rugby has hosted a major international rugby match at Rentshler Field, hosting France in 2004 and Wales in 2005.

The Setanta Challenge Cup match will be broadcast live in the USA on Setanta Sports. Setanta will also broadcast the match in Ireland and UK. Tickets for this event are priced from $20 to $60 and will be available through http://www.ticketmaster.com/munster or by calling (860) 525-4500.

For more information on USA Rugby's upcoming events and/or the Men's National Team, please visit http://www.usarugby.org/. For media interested in attending the event, please contact sjohn@usarugby.org. For more information on USA Rugby, please visit http://www.usarugby.org/. For more information on the Munster Team, please visit http://www.munsterrugby.ie/. For more information on Setanta Sports, please visit http://www.setanta.com/

About Setanta Sports (http://www.setanta.com/)

Setanta Sports operates the only dedicated International sports and rugby channel in the US. The 24-hour, digital pay TV network airs more than 1,000 live events, including European and International soccer, world-class rugby and other sports programming designed to meet the growing demands of international sports fans living in North America. Setanta Sports is owned by Dublin-based Setanta Sports worldwide, a leading, international pay television broadcaster and the number two sports broadcaster in the United Kingdom, providing top sports leagues and events to more than 100 million digital television homes globally and to commercial venues in six countries. In North America, Setanta Sports is currently available to subscribers via DIRECTV, Dish Network, in select locations for Verizon FiOs subscribers, as well as in commercial settings such as sports bars and pubs nationwide.

Source: Setanta Sports

CONTACT: Jessy Adams, +1-917-689-9295, jessy.adams@fd.com, for Setanta
Sports

Web site: http://www.setanta.com/
http://www.usarugby.org/
http://www.munsterrugby.ie/
http://www.ticketmaster.com/munster

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