Graham Rowntree hopeful returning stars will boost Munster for Exeter trip

The Reds started their campaign with a disappointing draw on Saturday.

REFOCUS: Munster’s head coach Graham Rowntree. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

Graham Rowntree is hoping to have a quartet of senior players back from injury for this Sunday’s Champions Cup pool visit to Exeter Chiefs.

Munster were without more than a dozen frontline players for Saturday night’s Pool 3 opener at home to Bayonne as the competition newcomers claimed a 17-17 draw on their historic introduction to Europe’s premier club competition.

Yet while more than a handful, including World Cup-winning locks Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman, remain unavailable for the weekend’s trip to the 2020 champions having missed Saturday’s game, the Munster boss believes he “potentially” will have Diarmuid Barron, Shane Daly, Oli Jager and Peter O’Mahony back in the selection mix for the excursion to Devon.

Speaking post-match on Saturday night, Rowntree said of former captain and Ireland Test centurion O’Mahony: “Certainly last week’s news was he wasn’t as bad as we thought he was initially, so potentially, yeah.” As for anyone else, he added: “No… Oli Jager potentially, Shane Daly potentially… I say no, apart from the following… Diarmuid Barron potentially. There’s a good handful there.

“I was thinking of the likes our big South African second rows. We won’t see them anytime soon but potentially Diarmuid Barron, Oli Jager, Shane Daly, Peter O’Mahony. There we go.” 

Rowntree will wait for the outcome of Sean O’Brien’s ongoing return to play protocols following the wing/centre’s failure to return from a first-half Head Injury Assessment, while back-three players Simon Zebo and Pat Campbell will continue to be monitored following their returns to training from injury last week.

The head coach believes Munster will need to be back to their best against a team that opened its Pool 3 campaign with a valuable away win at Toulon on Saturday afternoon.

“They’re a good team, aren’t they? A historic team, they’ve got a rich pedigree, previous Champions Cup winners. I’ve got a lot of respect for them, had a lot to do with them over the past 15 years.

“It’s a big challenge. We’ve been away from home and in big challenges before, recently and we’ll look forward to that at the start of the week. We’ll see what bodies we can pick, review the game, get better, look forward.”