TOURING HAD BEEN a strong point for Munster under Graham Rowntree. 

Their remarkable knock-out run to the URC title at the end of his first season in charge was all done on the road.

A big win away to Toulon stirred their Champions Cup campaign in January of this year. 10 match points from 10 in South Africa in April led to them topping the URC regular season table only a few months ago.

But the Rowntree era has come to an abrupt end just after Munster arrived back from an unhappier trip to South Africa.

It finished with a mutual agreement that Rowntree would exit, but it seems discussions were initiated by Munster and the IRFU. It’s understood the parties met almost immediately after Munster arrived home from South Africa.

The performances in defeat to the Stormers and Sharks in recent weeks were concerning, with a range of issues in those lethargic showings that mirrored an alarming defeat away to Zebre last month, but there hadn’t been widespread calls for the coach’s head.

Munster sit 12th in the URC table after the opening six-game block but most supporters and pundits felt their fortunes would soon change.

Rowntree’s men had found themselves in similar holes in his two previous seasons as boss but climbed out to positive effect. A URC trophy, topping the regular season table and reaching the semi-finals, as well as two Round of 16 Champions Cup exits certainly wasn’t a shambolic record. Munster want to be back contending in the latter competition but they have to be realistic about their ability and the strength of other teams.

In terms of pure performances on the pitch, Munster were up and down during Rowntree’s reign. They got off to a poor start after he took over, struggling as they overhauled how they trained and dealt with an Emerging Ireland tour taking players away. But they recovered in style to win the URC and Rowntree was rewarded with a two-year contract extension until 2026.

There was a big mid-season slump in 2023/24 that was strongly influenced by a disastrous injury list. There was an element of bad luck with several impact injuries, but some of that may have been in Munster’s control.

While Munster did recover to top the regular-season table in the URC, they never quite got running at full tilt. Even as they worked their way into a home semi-final against Glasgow, performances weren’t totally convincing. A home defeat to the Scots was disappointing, especially as Munster hadn’t fired in the Champions Cup.

Rowntree with the URC trophy in 2023. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

It’s worth recalling that last season involved Peter O’Mahony stepping down as Munster captain out of the blue in November amid strong rumours of a falling out with Rowntree around contract negotiations.

O’Mahony eventually signed a one-year deal co-funded by Munster and the IRFU, with Rowntree recently denying that there had been a fall-out, but it seems certain that the contract and captaincy issues were linked. Now, it even looks like an early turning point.

There were further murmurings of discontent from the Munster camp later last season. At least one other player is said to have fallen out with Rowntree in relation to contract talks. 

Yet that is not uncommon in rugby and things seemed to have been smoothed over coming into the current season, which started with a bonus-point win over Connacht.

It went downhill quickly. It was a challenging block of fixtures for Munster but two wins from six is not the level they aspire to. The injury issues have been back in focus, with questions raised about how Munster have been training. It’s believed that some senior players and coaches have felt the approach needed to be changed.

It seems that some of the unhappy feelings had returned as the season got going. Rowntree and his assistant coaches apparently viewed certain matters rather differently and relations within the coaching unit had become strained.

While on tour in South Africa, some senior players are believed to have been concerned about how Rowntree was handling the pressure of being the boss at a time when performances were not up to scratch.

It’s worth noting how today’s reaction to the news from Munster has generally included a sentiment of genuine fondness towards Rowntree. He is an old-school rugby man who seems to ‘get’ Munster. Fans bonded with him for that and because he ended the long trophy drought, but also because he made Munster fun to watch. In his media dealings, Rowntree is virtually always affable and engaging. He’s easy to warm to and people like listening to his interviews. 

That’s how he has always been seen within the game too. Having been the popular, successful assistant for 15 year, he must have had some trepidation about applying to take on his first head coach job when Johann van Graan shocked everyone by announcing he was leaving Munster in 2022.

In a long coaching career, scrum specialist Rowntree had never been a head coach. It’s understood the IRFU had initial reservations and that Munster continued to search for other candidates after Rowntree had interviewed for the position. Indeed, it’s said that he considered withdrawing his application such was the frustrating wait for an answer. He wasn’t treated well but eventually, Munster confirmed him as the new boss on an initial two-year deal.

Rowntree at Thomond Park after Munster's URC success. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

Being a head coach is no joke. It means managing players, assistant coaches, backroom staff, media, logistics, the professional game board above you, and much more on top of the actual rugby duties like reviewing, scouting, training, selecting, and the rest. It’s a true beast of a job.

Rowntree was honest in saying it was a big change. It seems that it wasn’t always smooth behind the scenes, particularly in managing those relationships with players and coaches, but he did something that predecessors Rob Penney, Anthony Foley, Rassie Erasmus, and van Graan hadn’t by winning a trophy. That he did it with a squad many commentators felt didn’t have a trophy in them made it even more impressive.

Rowntree undoubtedly had plenty of his own frustrations. The ex-Leicester prop was keen to drive a renewal of the Munster squad and probably wanted things to change quicker. Hesitation about contracts for O’Mahony and Conor Murray may have been part of that. In fairness, new key players have established themselves under Rowntree, including halfbacks Craig Casey and Jack Crowley.

Succession in the front row has been an obvious issue for years, with a lack of top-end power showing up repeatedly when Munster get into big knock-out games, but it still hasn’t been resolved.

There is also the challenge of being a head coach in a centralised system controlled by the IRFU, whose priority is the Ireland men’s national team. Nearly all decisions are made with the betterment of Ireland in mind.

So when Munster went looking for approval to sign a non-Irish-qualified loosehead prop and/or hooker last year and were rebuffed by the IRFU, there was frustration. The union could point out that it facilitated the arrival of tighthead Oli Jager midway through the campaign, but Munster hoped to bring in more front row beef last summer.

They might have hoped to retain both Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman into this season but with the former becoming NIQ due to his Springboks caps, the IRFU underlined their policy of only one such player being allowed in one position. Munster re-contracted Kleyn and Snyman moved on to Leinster, much to some fans’ annoyance.

Last summer also saw Antoine Frisch leaving Munster a year before his contract was due to expire, Toulon paying a transfer fee for the influential centre. Frisch wanted to chase a Test career with France after failing to win Irish caps under Andy Farrell and Munster lost a key man. Once Frisch – who was an inspired signing by Munster in the first place – decided he wanted out, Rowntree was powerless.

Rowntree had to manage all of these things and try to get results on the pitch, which wasn’t happening in recent weeks. To his credit, he never moaned publicly or reached for easy excuses on bad days.

The IRFU wants Munster to be successful in their own right, of course, but also to feed in-form players into the national team. With the likes of Crowley, Tadhg Beirne, and Calvin Nash not at their best in Munster colours under Rowntree recently, there must have been short-term concern.

Munster and the IRFU seemingly felt that the mood had shifted beyond the point of repair this time, that Munster might end up digging down rather than climbing out of the hole.

Rowntree had overseen a poor start to the season. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

Rowntree himself may have read things in the same way. When the bond between a head coach and the set-up around him is gone, it’s impossible to magic it back. When the prospect of an exit via mutual agreement was broached, it might even be that some part of him felt relief.

It will be interesting to see what’s next for Rowntree. The 53-year-old will leave with the best wishes of Munster supporters, who will never forget that URC triumph. For his part, Rowntree loved his time with the province and even has a Munster stag tattoo. He fully bought into life in Limerick and will be well remembered by the fanbase.

Whether he wants to be a head coach again remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt his expertise as a scrum specialist means he will be in demand if he decides to return to assistant coaching. Rowntree has a huge amount to offer the game.

Munster and the IRFU face the crucial task of appointing his successor. David Humphreys, the union’s performance director, will be central to the search. It might prove to be a challenging task.

Let’s not forget that there wasn’t a long line of experienced, world-class head coaches outside Thomond Park last time. Despite the URC success in 2023 and the young talent in Munster’s squad, it may be a similar situation. Indeed, with Munster having had to tighten their belt financially, it may even be less appealing.

Ronan O’Gara has a different situation in La Rochelle, where his contract runs until 2027. It would be extremely difficult to walk away from that. The highly-rated Felix Jones hasn’t been a head coach yet, so would need to choose any such step wisely, and is still attached to the RFU until next August. As things stand, a compensation fee would be required to secure him before then. Paul O’Connell appears to be happy as an assistant coach with Ireland, while Jerry Flannery only joined the Springboks this year.

The early favourite for the job is current attack coach Mike Prendergast, who Rowntree lured back to Limerick as a priority in 2022. Having built a strong reputation in France, Prendergast has led a revolution of Munster’s attacking play and although he hasn’t been a head coach at pro level yet, he built great experience in French rugby. He’s popular with Munster’s players and already drives much of their play.

Prendergast’s contract with Munster expires at the end of this season, while defence coach Denis Leamy is also out of contract in the summer of 2025. Forwards coach Andi Kyriacou’s position has come under pressure amid lineout struggles. So there is lots for Munster and the IRFU to consider.

While that longer-term plan is considered, Ian Costello seems like a wise call as interim head coach, having managed the famous Covid-19-hit win over Wasps in 2020 impressively.

Costello has done strong work with Munster’s academy and as the province’s head of rugby operations, so allowing him to continue with that bigger-picture project into the future makes sense. If Prendergast is to be promoted, having Costello in situ to lead succession planning, contracting, and recruitment would be ideal.

Costello has head coached with Nottingham and in the AIL before, so his job for now is to steady the ship ahead of Saturday’s showdown with the All Blacks XV in Thomond Park. That promises to be an intriguing occasion.

As Munster continue their preparations in Limerick, Rowntree won’t be around. It’s a sad end to an era that started with a stunning success.