Rowntree happy to be filling big boots left at Munster by Flannery

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.

Two weeks out from a European red-letter day in Paris, when Munster’s season will live or die on their ability to survive a Heineken Champions Cup pool game at Racing 92, Rowntree cautioned that for all the excitement promised by the arrival of himself and Stephen Larkham as senior coaches to work under Johann van Graan, there is still a long way to travel for this group.