VIDEO: Revealed: How Munster remains unbeaten against SA teams
VIDEO: Respect. That is how title holders Munster remain unbeaten in their last eight matches against South African teams, says head coach Graham Rowntree.
Munster ended the Bulls’ 21-game unbeaten record at Loftus Versfeld against overseas opposition with their 27-22 victory over the men from Pretoria in the United Rugby Champions at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
This made Munster leapfrog the Bulls to third on the log and boosts their hopes of securing a home quarterfinal in the knock-out stages of the competition.
Munster, the dark horse that won the URC last season, did it the hard way last time round.
They took a hammering at the hands of the Sharks in the Round of 16 in Durban last year that dumped them out of the Champions Cup.
That Kings Park humiliation would prove to be the last defeat of their season and their next five games, all on the road, delivered them the URC title in Cape Town, the province’s first silverware in a dozen years.
Rowntree, who extended his contract with the club for a further two years, was very clear on how they approach these tough games against South African opposition.
“We respect them,” Rowntree said during the post-match press conference.
“We have respect for South African teams.
“When you come down here it’s a short training week and at altitude, you have got to be good. Immensely proud of the lads against a proper team,” he said.
A red card issued to Bulls flyhalf Johan Goosen in the 54th minute allowed Munster to secure a bonus-point win. But Rowntree says his team just stuck to the plan and an exceptional bench brought home the victory.
“We had a good plan going up against this team at altitude. We stuck to that plan.
“We spoke at the end of the game about dealing with adversity and moving on from errors. I thought we did that.
“We were in a good place half-time – third quarter, not such a good place, but we kept playing.
“We had an exceptional bench to come on the field,” the coach said.
Munster wing Shane Daly echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“You saw what happened to us last year on this trip to South Africa. It completely changed our season.
“The confidence that gave us then, if we can come to these places and win, who else can’t we beat? It really changes our perspective, we believe we can beat any team.
“These wins really give us the confidence that is hard to come by.
“It looks similar to last year in the sense that all our players have come back at the right time.
“We are playing against the big teams at the end of the season and we’e getting the results when our backs are up against the wall we always deliver.
“That’s the special thing about this club.”
The Munster will prepare for their URC clash with the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday in Cape Town this week.
