Sink or swim time again for Munster as they turn towards the Sharks

ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES: Head coach Graham Rowntree is rolling up his sleeves as he deals with a lengthy injury list. Picture: ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports

Backs to the wall. You can’t ever get comfortable in a position like that but Munster certainly won’t be spooked by the feeling of cold brick against their spines. It is a scenario they have repped many times before.

Graham Rowntree’s first season in charge started with five defeats in his first seven games. It ended with a miraculous sequence of away wins and a URC title claimed from under the noses of the Stormers in Cape Town.

Last term produced another wobble when they came up shy in four of five games either side of Christmas across the league and Champions Cup. They still reached the end of the URC regular season on top of the pile.

Now they find themselves licking more wounds after their latest loss to the Stormers and needing a win against a star-studded Sharks side to fend off the spectre of an opening block of games that would otherwise end with a return of just two wins and four defeats.

The hope is that the province has already had its share of scares this side of Halloween because it feels like there has been no end of introspection five games into a campaign where they sit eleventh in the table and 14 points behind Leinster’s leaders.

There has been ample hand-wringing over the defence and, more recently, the lineout. Questions too over another lengthy casualty list with confirmation on Tuesday that the club is looking to make a short-term signing to cover injuries to four of their looseheads.

“You've got to roll your sleeves up,” said head coach Graham Rowntree. “You've got to roll with the punches. You get on with it. Injuries come and go throughout the season. Obviously, we've had a tough period with that and we have done before.

“You get on with it and you test your squad depth. As I've said before, we're lucky that a lot of the young men are training with us every day so we can dip into the academy props, for example. And some young men have done some famous things for us.

“So, that's in the back of your mind: you're testing your squad depth, naturally, with injuries. But you get on with it, don't ya? You get on with it. Fix what you can.

“I'm incredibly lucky to have a great coaching group and I back them. I've seen them get players better. And that's how we'll drive on. You roll your sleeves up and get on with it. I've not got anything fancier than that to say to you.” 

Munster have had a number of leaks to fix since the Stormers loss given they had issues out of touch, with ball in hand, on restarts and some at the scrum. It’s a lengthy list of things to do but at least the defence is nowhere near the top of it.

“I think 'content' is probably the wrong word,” said the main man. “We were happier with our defence than other aspects of the game, put it that way. Our defence has been very consistent the last two seasons. It's been the best for the last two seasons.

“We switched off for a quick-tap penalty last weekend and they had a good try in the second-half where they caught us on the openside but we gifted them two tries as well. So, defence is not top of the list of things to get better this week, but it is a constant.”

 That lineout though.

Munster are 19 for 30 in their last two games against Leinster and the Stormers. It’s a country mile off what the top teams need to be doing and Rowntree admitted that this can lead to panic in the thrower and in the caller. And panic is contagious.

The Sharks are coming off a notable win at home to Glasgow’s reigning champions last week. Eben Etzebeth and the 20-year old, 6’ 6” Emile van Heerden were their starting locks with the familiar form of Jason Jenkins coming in off the bench.

That spells danger where Munster are currently weak and, in Jenkins, inside knowledge.

“I'm fairly confident that if we can improve our mechanics, our speed, our lift, our throwing accuracy, that will improve our lineout,” said Rowntree from the team’s Cape Town base and from where they will depart for Durban on Friday.

“I'm fairly confident if we take the right option that will improve our lineout. I am not here to consider inside knowledge. A lot of people, lineout calling is the same. It is about who can get in there quicker, who can move quicker than the opposition.” The Sharks have flattered to deceive despite a jewel-encrusted roster in recent years but they do have eleven World-Cup winning players in their arsenal and Rowntree’s plain-speaking was apparent again when fronting up to the size of the task.

“It's a big game. It's pretty much a Springbok pack waiting for us Saturday in the heat in Durban. What gives me comfort is we've done it before.”