| Teamname: | 1996–97 Munster Rugby season |
| Ground: | Thomond Park (Capacity: 13,200) Musgrave Park (Capacity: 8,300) |
| Nextseason: | 1997–98 |
The 1996–97 Munster Rugby season was Munster's second season as a professional team, during which they competed in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship and Heineken Cup.
See main article: IRFU Interprovincial Championship.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | BP | Pts | Status | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 92 | - | 12 | Champions; qualified for next season's Heineken Cup | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 88 | 92 | - | 4 | Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 81 | 89 | - | 4 | Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 90 | - | 4 |
See main article: 1996–97 Heineken Cup.
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Toulouse | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 157 | 142 | 15 | 6 | |
| Cardiff | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 135 | 97 | 38 | 6 | |
| London Wasps | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 156 | 115 | 41 | 4 | |
 Munster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 22 | - 11 | 109 | 135 | - 26 | 4 | |
 Milan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 15 | - 9 | 73 | 141 | - 68 | 0 |