it was announced that Munster's all-time leading try scorer, Simon Zebo, would leave the province at the end of the season. In rounds 1 and 2 of the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup in October 2017, Munster drew 17–17 away to Castres before earning a 14–7 win at home to Racing 92. Erasmus and Nienaber left Munster in early November 2017, with the province confirming their departure on 13 November 2017. Johann van Graan's first official game as Munster's new head coach was a 36–19 win away against Zebre Parma in the Pro14 on 26 November 2017. defence coach JP Ferreira joined Munster in December 2017. In the December Champions Cup double-header against Leicester Tigers, Munster won 33–10 at home before winning 25–16 away, their first win at Welford Road for 11 years. In doing so, Munster became the first team to defeat Leicester in both games of the double-header since they were introduced in 1999, while the home victory also saw Munster surpass 4,000 points in the competition. In rounds 5 and 6 of the Champions Cup, Munster lost 34–30 away to Racing 92 before beating Castres 48–3 at home, securing a record 17th quarter-final. Munster beat 3-time tournament champions Toulon 20–19 in the quarter-final after a late Andrew Conway try and conversion from Ian Keatley. In the semi-final, Munster were beaten 27–22 by their French pool 4 opponents Racing 92. Munster finished 2nd in conference A of the 2017–18 Pro14 season on 69 points. In their semi-final qualifier against Edinburgh on 5 May 2018, Munster won 20–16 to progress to a semi-final away from home. In the semi-final against recently crowned Champions Cup winners and arch-rivals Leinster on 19 May 2018, Munster lost 16–15, bringing to an end their 2017–18 season. Munster played two pre-season fixtures ahead of the 2018–19 campaign, the first against London Irish, whose directory of rugby was former Munster and Ireland head coach Declan Kidney, and the second against Exeter Chiefs, which was the first meeting between the two clubs. Munster beat London Irish 32–28, but lost 12–0 against Exeter Chiefs. Drawn alongside French Top 14 champions Castres and English sides Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester, Munster competed in pool 2 of the 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup. Munster opened their 2018–19 Pro14 season with a six-try 38–0 victory against South African side Cheetahs in Thomond Park on 1 September 2018. Rory Scannell, Dave Kilcoyne,