No reason why we can’t win Friday night: Graham Rowntree

Graham Rowntree. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Battle-hardened. Graham Rowntree applied the term to the Munster squad at least half a dozen times as he looked forward to Friday’s reunion with Leinster and the messaging was all too clear.

As Leo Cullen swapped out the first XV which had squeaked past Munster in the Guinness PRO14 restart the previous weekend, the southern province were regrouping for their game against Connacht by making just five changes to their pack, three of which were injury-enforced.

Leinster’s enviable strength in depth is much admired, unparalleled at any club in Europe according to their senior coach Stuart Lancaster on Monday afternoon, and a completely different starting team barely disrupted their march to a 23rd consecutive victory since May 2019 last Saturday as they put Ulster to the sword.

Yet you did not need to peer too deep between the lines yesterday to detect Lancaster’s former England assistant may have different ideas about the merits of chop and change versus consistency of selection after such a long break without rugby and leading up to a PRO14 semi-final just three games into the 2019-20 restart.

“They had the luxury of resting guys at the weekend and they will have had a good hit-out yesterday which we weren’t able to do but we crack on with it,” Rowntree said. “I’m happy with where we are mentally and physically at the moment going into this game.

“We’ve played against them enough and previous form means nothing to me for this team. It means nothing. 

All I’m really stressing to the guys is how hardened we are going into this game given we’ve not played rugby for a long time. Very quickly we’re battle- and match-ready going into a huge game.

The forwards coach was bullish as he looked forward to a second game in three weeks against the defending champions. Leinster will be favourites on home soil at the Aviva Stadium, while Munster have just five days' turnaround from their seven-try rout of 13-man Connacht to a semi-final challenge like no other, their entire season on the line in a first knockout game since their 24-9 semi-final defeat to the same opposition 15 months ago.

And yet the former Leicester Tiger does not see why any of that should change the Munster mindset going into Friday’s game.

“No, we are playing against our old foes. Why not us? Why shouldn’t it be us? We have got so much to go for. That’s our energy and belief going into this game. Why not us? There is no reason why we can’t win Friday night.

“We’ve got to be better across the board against the current champions. We’ve had two games now to get used to what’s going on in the breakdown, so I expect us to be better there, more clinical there, and not shell as many penalties as we did on Sunday at the breakdown. So there’s a whole set of areas for us to be better at but I’m confident that we’re going in the right way.”

Perhaps one significant reason for Rowntree’s confidence is the favour that the Covid-19 break has given the new coaching ticket time to bed-in and work with all of Munster’s players for an extended period. Stephen Larkham joined as senior coach in August 2019 when the province’s sizeable Ireland contingent was in pre-World Cup training camp and Rowntree’s arrival at the start of November following a stint with Georgia in Japan has also restricted time with the Test players, their only interactions coming in the six European pool weeks owing to player welfare and the 2020 Six Nations.

The bonus time, he said, had been, “very beneficial”.

We’ve had a good few weeks. I think they were delighted to see me come back because I like to do contact most days. There were a few bleeding ears thanks to me.

“But no, we have had a good amount of time alright. And I think you are seeing that, particularly with Steve’s involvement with the group, how we are trying to challenge teams with our attack. You are certainly seeing things he’s working on with the group. It’s been good but we’ll see Friday night how good we are.”

Referees appointed for crunch games

Andrew Brace has been appointed to take charge of Friday’s Leinster versus Munster Guinness PRO14 semi-final with fellow Irish referee Frank Murphy handed the following day’s Murrayfield clash between Edinburgh and Ulster.

Both referees will be supported by assistant referee teams from the host union, the PRO14 said while emphasising their appointments were “based on merit and performance across the entire Guinness PRO14 season”.