Munster looking to youth again as doubts persist over O'Mahony and O'Donoghue

Rowntree has been happy to give younger players their go since taking over. The elevation of Jack Crowley last season was the perfect example of that but the likes of Edogbo, Brian Gleeson and Ruadhán Quinn have had their opportunities too.

PRODUCTION LINE: Jack Crowley, left, during a Munster rugby squad training session at University of Limerick in Limerick. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Andrew Conway forced into retirement, Joey Carbery and RG Snyman among eight others out for the foreseeable, and now Peter O’Mahony and Jack O’Donoghue’s chances of featuring against Leinster in Saturday’s URC derby look to be somewhere closer to none than slim.

The faces and the nature of the injuries change but none of this is new to Munster, or to any other club operating in rugby’s professional ranks. Attrition is built into the deal at this level. The onus on those in charge is to future-proof themselves from the worst of it.