VIDEO: 'Knowing what they bring is one thing, dealing with it is another'
Graham Christopher Rowntree is familiar with adversity on the field and how to overcome it.
He will tap into all his experience when Munster face off with the Springbok-laden Sharks in a United Rugby Championship Round Six match at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
It has been a rocky start to the season, but it is not something they are unfamiliar with.
Munster started their season with a hard-earned 35-33 home win over Connacht, but stumbled over the next hurdle – losing 33-42 to Zebre in Parma.
That was followed by a 23-0 whitewash of Ospreys at Musgrave Park, before back-to-back losses on the road to Leinster (12-26 in Dublin) and the Stormers (19-34) in Cape Town.
That makes the need for a win in Saturday’s face-off against the Springbok-laden Sharks in Durban a necessitous result as the first block of URC matches come to an end – ahead of the November break and the European (Champions Cup) season that gets underway in December.
It is not the first time the Irish province had to overcome a ‘slow’ start.
In the 2023-24 season, they lost four matches in the first half of the season, but finished top of the standings and lost to eventually champions Glasgow Warriors in the semifinal.
The season before a late winning streak saw them finish fifth – going on to clinch the title with away play-off wins over Glasgow, Leinster and the Stormers.
Saturday’s face-off in the Shark Tank could be the start of another ‘run’ into the play-off zone.
“It is a huge game for us, given what happened in the last couple of weeks,” the former England and British & Irish Lions forward said.
Rowntree said they have identified the areas to fix after last week’s loss to the Stormers.
“There is a big game waiting for us,” he said, adding: “It is pretty much a Springbok pack waiting for us.
“We must get ‘our’ game on the park.
“What gives me comfort is that we have done it before,” he said of his team bouncing back from a series of early season losses to win the title – in 2023.
Rowntree admitted his team’s set pieces have not been up to standard, but refused to throw any players under the bus.
(WATCH as Munster coach Graham Rowntree deconstructs his team’s URC Round Six crunch face-off with the Springbok-laden Sharks….)
“It is not just one thing or one person,” the coach said, adding: “There are a lot of little things we have to do better.
The coach said the galácticos Sharks present challenges on many fronts and is a team that can play.
“There is a lot of our game we have to get better, it is not just about the Sharks.
“There is a lot of power to respect, but we have dealt with this before.”
He said that the players need to remain calm when the opposition brings the heat, but the physicality of the opposition requires a lot of emotion to counter.
“It is being in the moment and being clinical,” he told @rugby365com, adding: “We are in South Africa and there is power everywhere – in terms of scrum, maul, carries.
“There is a lot to work on, but we have been here before.”
Rowntree said the Sharks game would be ‘up there’ with last week’s loss to the Stormers in terms of intensity and physicality.
“These two opponents – Stormers and Sharks – we know well from our encounters the last few years.
“Knowing what they bring is one thing.
“Dealing with it is another.
“That is what we have been practising this week.”
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