A run of two wins from their last eight games has increased the focus on the squad and management for all the wrong reasons.

For a coach still only weeks into his Munster tenure, Graham Rowntree’s affinity with his new surroundings is clear and obvious. Yet the forwards coach also knows that while his connection to the province and the players he works with has been immediate, the task of getting it and them to where they need to be will require patience and a lot more time.

Joey Carbery looks set to come to Munster’s rescue in Belfast on Friday night with the fit-again Ireland fly-half covering the possible absence of JJ Hanrahan with a hamstring injury.

Munster have reached one objective in this Heineken Champions Cup campaign by beating Saracens for the first time in five years last Saturday.

Ask any Munster supporter their thoughts on the Saracens personnel coming to Thomond Park this evening and they will take the matchday squad named by Mark McCall yesterday in a heartbeat. Ask the Munster coaching group the same question and they will not be taking anything for granted.

Munster have been playing with a much more varied gameplan this season, backing their skills in areas where previously more traditional, conservative traits

Graham Rowntree believes Saracens will be an even more dangerous prospect due to their off-field problems when they visit Munster tomorrow for the sold-out Heineken Champions Cup clash at Thomond Park.

Mark McCall believes the addition of Stephen Larkham and Graham Rowntree to the Munster coaching team has made them more formidable opponents

Ireland U20 out-half Ben Healy will make his Munster senior debut tomorrow night as Johann van Graan opts for wholesale changes for the PRO14 visit of Edinburgh to Cork.

Friday night in Cork is set to be a major landmark for Stephen Archer, but he won’t be thinking about it too much.

It's not like Graham Rowntree to need a bedding-in period and he was characteristically relaxed on his first outing in front of the Munster media.

Ireland’s so-called ‘green sweep’ on the opening weekend of the Heineken Champions Cup was always unlikely to be replicated in Round 2 given the quality of the French opposition for the Irish quartet.

In the throes of the action, I’ll be like every other fan, intrigued by Racing 92’s Heineken Cup visit to Thomond Park tomorrow.

The clock ticked past 83 minutes, Munster kicked for the corner on the last play of the game, with the backs and forwards uniting to drive the ball over the line for the bonus-point win. I had to double-check the TV replay to make sure it wasn’t O’Gara kicking to the five-metre line, Sheahan throwing to O’Connell in the lineout, or Jason Holland joining the maul to drive it over the line.

This may be a pool of death Munster are facing into as the 25th Heineken Champions Cup campaign gets underway this weekend but the fixture schedule has at least handed Johann van Graan’s side the most palatable of introductions, albeit away, with a trip to off-form Ospreys.

Much like Munster’s frustrations in Europe these past three seasons, Mike Haley is hoping his best is yet to come.

Anyone who has ever over-indulged on a night out knows that the extent of the hangover isn’t always directly related to the number of drinks downed before the head hits the pillow.

Peter O’Mahony is happy to be home and eager to embrace a much-changed Munster set-up than the one he left behind to go to the World Cup.

Simon Lewis Rory Scannell embarks on his fifth European campaign this weekend confident that the value new attack guru Stephen Larkham can add to Munster’s arsenal could be the missing ingredient to

Munster’s South African influence looks like deepening still further with reports that World Cup winners — centre Damian de Allende and lock RG Snyman — are to join the province

Munster may be without out-half Joey Carbery for the opening two rounds of the Champions Cup against Ospreys and Racing 92. Defence coach JP Ferreira said the priority was to get him and all the Irish internationals right for the season on their return from the World Cup.

JP Ferreira, the Munster defence coach, has renewed his contract by another two years, while further positive news for the province is that Graham Rowntree, the former England prop, has arrived to take over from Jerry Flannery as forwards coach.

Munster coach Johann van Graan vows the province will ‘look after’ their shattered Irish players when they return from their World Cup heartbreak.

Munster coach Johann van Graan fears that the twelve players returning from the bitter disappointment of the squad’s World Cup flop may well suffer from “mental block” that will not be easily overcome.

That breathless Wales-Australia World Cup classic this morning had enough about it to turn Saturday’s Shizuoka shocker into the realm of a bad dream.

Stephen Larkham has come to Munster with a mission to make a difference as the province looks to make the leap from being merely good to becoming a championship side.

Wallabies legend Stephen Larkham wants to bring a more cutting edge to the Munster attack as he embarks on his new role as the province’s Senior Coach.

Jerry Flannery has spoken about his decision to leave his role as forwards coach with Munster.

Paul O’Connell feels Munster need to be mindful about the absence of any ‘locals’ on their backroom staff as they look to a new campaign with a new-look brains trust under Johann van Graan.

News of the Munster legend's Paris departure was announced at the end of March

Joey Carbery was only turning 12 when Stephen Larkham brought one of the great Australian careers to an end in 2007.

Munster’s new-look brains trust will have little time to brace for their first intensive exam on the back of a Heineken Champions Cup draw in Lausanne yesterday which did the province few favours.

Munster Rugby has made an “inspired appointment” in securing the services of Wallaby legend Stephen Larkham

Munster Rugby’s search for a “next-level” experienced senior coach is close to a conclusion and will not be limited by financial considerations, acting CEO Philip Quinn has assured supporters.

Munster are set to complete their coaching set up by appointing Australian Stephen Larkham as their backs coach.

Graham Rowntree has been named as Munster's new forwards coach.

IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora backed Johann van Graan as the right man to take Munster forward and pledged to surround the head coach with experience and support in the province’s new-look backroom staff.

Joe Schmidt deservedly received the plaudits for guiding Ireland to a Grand Slam on Saturday. But the New Zealander was quick to credit the efforts of his backroom team in the unforgettable spring campaign. Rory Keane reports.

The party line from Leinster is that any and all compliments being delivered their way lately are being blocked abruptly at the door and Tadhg Furlong is adopting the same approach when it comes to garlands foisted upon him.

For years the All Blacks have reigned supreme thanks to their never say die mental strength and the supreme stamina to back it past the 80th minute. Yet the man who keeps the Lions in the peak of physical fitness believes the tourists can match those attributes as their series goes down to the wire at Eden Park on Saturday.

The British & Irish Lions returned to the training field relaxed, rested and ready to take themselves to the higher level they believe will be necessary to beat the All Blacks in Saturday’s series-deciding final Test at Eden Park.