It was announced yesterday to much surprise in many quarters that after 5 years with Munster head coach Graham Rowntree would leave his post. He joined in 2019 under Johan Van Graan as forwards coach and then succeeded him when the latter was let go and joined up with Bath.
Graham Rowntree brought in Mike Prendergast along with Denis Leamy and Andi Kyriacou as his defence, attack and forwards coach. This coaching group took time to bed in but then saw that bedding in period rewarded with a URC title win in May 2023.
In year 2 of the project Munster again started slowly but managed to put a winning run together at the tail end of last season to finish the league campaign top of the pile and secure a home quarter final that led to a home semi-final which saw Glasgow Warriors win in Limerick and go on then to defeat the Stormers in the Final last May.
Europe hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Munster in recent seasons under Rowntree but after ending the wait for a trophy in May 2023 after 12 years without a trophy meant there was credit in the bank with supporters at least.
Injuries and recruitment issues have also plagued Munster over a long period of time, not often over his two full seasons did Rowntree have a full deck to play with and even though those injury issues did clear as the season’s end came into full view in both years which led to the URC win and last year the semi-finals.
This season brought fresh hope but 2 wins in the first 6 games puts Munster in 12th place as the URC takes a short break to make way for the November Internationals and will resume on November 29th with Munster back in action on Saturday November 30th in Thomond Park playing the Emirates Lions.
Munster have put Ian Costello in interim charge for the glamour fixture with an All Black XV although some of the sheen has been taken from that game with the events of the past day or so.
The Munster professional games board along with the IRFU will need to shoulder some of the perceived blame that will be ultimately be banded about over the next few days. Munster along with the IRFU have said they have commenced the process to recruit the next head coach of Munster.
Munster’s issues go far deeper than just financial, some of the decisions with regard to recruitment need to be addressed like the decision to let John Ryan leave along with James Cronin with John Ryan joining Wasps before they ceased to exist and then John Ryan dug Munster out of a hole by signing a short term deal before the arrival of Oli Jager who signed a 3 year deal.
James Cronin was allowed to look for a new club and has gone on the be involved on many match days with Leicester Tigers and recently signed a fresh deal with Leicester. They are two examples of poor decisions that Munster will back on and the fact that John Ryan re-joined Munster after a spell in New Zealand with the Chiefs to back up Stephen Archer tells you that Munster have no faith in there young props to step up to the plate when called upon.
The choice between keeping RG Snyman or Jean Kleyn is on the IRFU where Leinster were on a position to bring in 3 international quality players at tight head, they signed Rabah Slimani, Jordie Barrett is joining in December until the end of the 2024/2025 season on a 6 month deal and RG Snyman signed a deal believed to be a year long contract.
The IRFU have told the provinces they will not be able to recruit props from outside of Ireland but Leinster were able to bring in Slimani and I realise he will fill an NIQ position in the Leinster squad, non Irish qualified to those of you unfamiliar with the way the IRFU operates at the moment.
Munster have been able to bring in players in the centre particularly with Malkai Fekitoa and Antoine Frish joining up with both players playing a big part in the URC title win in 2023 along with RG Snyman and Ben Healy.
Munster have lost those 4 players as they have gone to pastures new and Joey Carbery moved to Bordeaux while Simon Zebo has retired. Yes injuries have had a major impact on Munster over the past few seasons but the Munster professional game board along with the IRFU will need to sit down and work out a plan going forward.
To Graham Rowntree and his coaches, Thank you for being the men to bring glory back to Munster in 2023 and bridge a 12 year gap without a trophy, which saw Munster get to the summit of the URC and win away in South Africa in the Final vs The Stormers 19-14.
Time now for a real genuine root and branch reset of the Munster organisation. Time and patience will be needed as to find the new coach will take time.
I hope that Ian Costello will take the reins until the end of the current campaign and even though this may not be possible due to his other working commitments within the Munster set up, he is well placed to take the bull by the horns and try and put in the early building blocks for the next Munster head coach whoever he may be….
To Graham Rowntree, I thank you for your time as Munster head coach and thank you for that day in May 23 which saw Munster get to the summit of the URC and win away in South Africa in the Final vs The Stormers 19-14.