Rowntree reveals Munster's recipe for success in South Africa

SPOTLIGHT: Munster head coach Graham Rowntree is targeting another “productive” trip to South Africa after receiving a reality check against Leinster in Round Four of the United Rugby Championship.

The team from Limerick suffered a 12-26 defeat at Croke Park in that big Irish derby and they will be hoping to turn their fortunes around on tour.

Munster will face the Stormers in Cape Town this coming weekend before they head to Durban for a match against the Sharks.

The story continues below…

Munster were unbeaten on their last tour to South Africa with wins over the Bulls and Lions in April earlier this year.

They will also be heading to Cape Town knowing they have never lost to the Stormers in the URC.

The last time they ran out at Cape Town Stadium they produced a gritty performance to record a 19-14 win in the Final of the 2022/2023 season.

“It’s been a productive area [Cape Town and South Africa] for us the last couple of seasons,” said Rowntree.

“We predominantly stay in Cape Town, there’s a hotel there we use and we’ll be flying up to Durban the night before the [Sharks] game and we’ll stay in Cape Town as long as we can.

“It’s proven and we know the facilities, we get away as players and as coaches and we get on with it.

“The Stormers are travelling as well [following a 7-38 defeat in Edinburgh].

“We’ve got huge games now against two South African teams and I’m a strong believer that if you’re going to advance in this competition, what you do in South Africa is huge in terms of what you can acquire, points-wise.”

It has been a shaky start to the season for Munster, but Rowntree is not hitting that panic button.

“I’ve never shied away from poor performances. For me, there wasn’t a lack of effort [against Leinster], it was accuracy. We’ll drive on.

“We get boys back next week, we get a lot of bodies back in November, we just drive on. We won’t sugar-coat anything, we’ll have a strong review.

“There’s so many positives in that game, we’ll cling on to that and we’ll address the negatives.

“We spoke about that in the dressing room afterwards. We know how to beat this team.

“It wasn’t a lack of effort. I’m going to get that tattooed on my forehead.”

Source: Irish Examiner