Rowntree coy on ambitions ahead of URC opener
Munster's head coach Graham Rowntree. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho
Munster get the new season underway at Thomond Park on Saturday evening with a challenging URC derby clash against Connacht and with two pre-season defeats to English opposition still fresh in the mind.
A 24-21 defeat at Premiership finalists Bath on August 31 was one thing but the 33-19 home loss in Cork to Gloucester Rugby a week later had head coach Graham Rowntree conducting a “very strong review” the following Monday.
"We were rubbish in the early parts of that game. We were rubbish in some of the stuff we were doing around the contact work. We'll only be better for it,” Rowntree said this week.
“The work we did beforehand gives me confidence, that's a blip, a blip. I'll never get to the bottom of it, all I can do is react to it and make sure it doesn't happen again.”
The Munster boss has handed debuts to new signings Thaakir Abrahams on the right wing, outside centre Tom Farrell and fly-half Billy Burns as life begins without the retired Simon Zebo, and summer departures Antoine Frisch and Joey Carbery, while the inclusion at second row of a fit-again Jean Kleyn following 10 months on the sidelines is akin to a new signing in Rowntree’s opinion.
It does not compensate for the loss to Leinster of Kleyn’s World Cup-winning South African team-mate RG Snyman but the Munster stalwart’s return will be key for the province up front in these opening weeks before Ireland’s frontline internationals, including newly-appointed club captain Tadhg Beirne, are permitted to start their seasons.
Hooker Diarmuid Barron leads the team against Connacht and some of Ireland’s summer tourists will be involved in Limerick with scrum-half Craig Casey partnering Burns in the half-backs and tighthead prop Oli Jager on the bench.
Connacht will be led by new skipper Cian Prendergast at No.8 and with Caolin Blade the back-up number nine, while wing Mack Hansen is set for his first game since a shoulder injury against Munster on January 1 in a back three featuring Argentina’s Santiago Cordero at full-back.
There are also Connacht debuts for scrum-half Ben Murphy, fly-half Josh Ioane and centre Piers O’Conor.
With Connacht boss Pete Wilkins’ side in blistering pre-season form, beating URC champions Glasgow Warriors and Sale Sharks before a narrow loss at Bristol, Rowntree kept his ambitions for the new season to a minimum.
“Beat Connacht. I get asked this. 'Are you going to target Europe?' You're going to target every game. The club's got a prestigious affinity with Europe, we want to go deep into Europe.
“Beat Connacht first, keep the squad healthy, train well, bring young men through, have young men coming in to train with us as much as we can.”
The head coach is also looking for consistency of performance across this season to avoid the need for yet another perfect run of results at the tail end of this 18-game league campaign.
“An early burst would do!” he joked. “Honestly, I don't look that far ahead. There's expectation of us.
“What could we do? Manage your squad, bring through people, make sure you've got depth in key areas, get lads better every day and win the next game. I can't think of a cleverer answer than that. I'd prefer it to a late surge. I'd prefer not doing what we did two years ago, nipping into Europe in the last round.
“We'll drive it on, there's a way of training we've discovered, a way of playing. You've just got to get on and do it, keep everyone fit and healthy and do it. Cope with injuries, cope with guys going away on Emerging Ireland tour. Just keep driving it on.”
M Haley; T Abrahams, T Farrell, A Nankivell, S Daly; B Burns, C Casey; J Loughman, D Barron - captain, J Ryan; J Kleyn, F Wycherley; R Quinn, J Hodnett, G Coombes.
N Scannell, J Wycherley, O Jager, A Kendellen, J O’Donoghue, E Coughlan, T Butler, S O’Brien.
S Cordero; M Hansen, P O’Conor, C Forde, S Bolton; J Ioane, B Murphy; D Buckley, D Heffernan, J Aungier; J Joyce, D Murray; J Murphy, C Oliver, C Heffernan – captain.
D Tierney-Martin, P Dooley, S Illo, O Dowling, S Hurley-Langton, C Blade, D Hawkshaw, S Jansen.
C Busby (IRFU).
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