Sad that Graham Rowntree could not script dream ending in Munster theatre

Ever the drama kings, always hogging the headlines, ne’er a dull moment, a rumour mill in regular overdrive, a passionate if sometimes disgruntled fan base and all the while both inspired and judged by their illustrious and sometimes glorious history. Comparisons are odious but the similarities between Munster and Manchester United have certainly extended beyond wearing red this week.
Within 24 hours of the 54-year-old Erik ten Hag’s departure from Old Trafford early in his third season at the helm, so the 53-year-old Graham Rowntree has left Munster “by mutual agreement” early into his third campaign as head coach. Each has been replaced by an interim appointment, with searches for permanent replacements already under way.
Rowntree and Ten Hag each started before the 2022-23 seasons, and each delivered silverware, but that’s where the similarities fade even further, beyond Rowntree’s departure being by mutual agreement. For despite another difficult start to the season, there had been no clarion call for Rowntree’s removal, which was much more unexpected, if hardly the “shock” it’s been labelled.
When Johann van Graan’s decision to leave Munster at the end of the 2021-22 campaign was conveyed to the IRFU and announced in December of that season, that at least ensured continuity until the end of that season, unlike now, and afforded Munster and the IRFU, ie David Nucifora, ample time to find a successor.
Yet although Rowntree was already in situ as forwards coach, the confirmation of his eventual appointment the following April did not, it seems reasonable to suggest, set pulses racing among the Munster supporter base, who pined for one of their playing legends turned coaches.
Ultimately, one suspects Rowntree will be remembered more fondly and remain more popular among the Red Army supporters than Ten Hag at Manchester United, or indeed his predecessor at Munster.
This is not only because Rowntree steered Munster to the URC title 12 seasons on from their last trophy, the then Magners League under Tony McGahan in 2011. Engaging, quick-witted and often brutally honest in his post-match assessments, perhaps sometimes too much so, “Wig” was an antidote to the comparatively even-keeled five seasons under Van Graan.
There was certainly no doubting the passion that the ex-Leicester and England prop brought to the job and hence there is a sadness in his abrupt departure a couple of months into his third season as head coach, after three as forwards coach. Given there was still all of this season and next left on his contract, this parting of the ways was not planned by either party.
But possibly that passion contributed to sometimes spiky relationships with his players – witness the sudden and abrupt resignation of Peter O’Mahony as captain after a decade in the role and after leading the side for just one game last season.
Rowntree was even moved to dispel innuendos of a row or a rift with O’Mahony almost a year after a training session in Thomond Park last month.
“What was the word used? Innuendos? Innuendos around Peter O’Mahony? It’s not easy. And by the way, on that, we didn’t fall out. I didn’t raise my voice once,” said Rowntree. “I raise my voice a lot in various contexts but I’ve never raised my voice in any contract negotiations. It just took a long time. It’s complicated, that scenario was complicated, but we got to a greater agreement.”
Certainly, in comparison to Van Graan, Rowntree’s time at the helm was more of a rollercoaster as he afforded Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy time for their methods to bed in. They lost five of their opening seven URC games in the 2022-23 campaign but plotted an unlikely route to the title by ending the long unbeaten home runs of Glasgow, Leinster and the Stormers.
In truth it was ahead of schedule and unexpected, the only pity that the coronation wasn’t in Thomond Park.
Last season Munster were much more consistent, accumulating three more wins and 13 more points to top the regular season in the URC, only to blow their chances of a Thomond Park coronation in a semi-final loss at home to Glasgow, when they were not helped by a flawed selection.
The third season under a coaching ticket is often peak time. Now, Rowntree is gone after just six games, with performances looking more dispirited and, for the third season running, an excessive injury toll.
By comparison, Munster actually had a much better winning ratio in Van Graan’s 127 games in charge (67 per cent) than in 57 under Rowntree (56 per cent) and particularly so in the Champions Cup (62.5 per cent as against 30 per cent). They were more consistent, reaching four Pro14 semi-finals and a final (losing all of them to Leinster, as well as a quarter-final), and also advancing to two Champions Cup semi-finals, albeit Munster then exited at the pool stages, a Round 16 tie and a quarter-final.
In the Champions Cup, Rowntree’s Munster underperformed in two pool games as a prelude to fairly emphatic Round of 16 defeats away to the Sharks (50-35) and Northampton (24-14). But that URC semi-final win at the Aviva two seasons ago was a major point of difference, especially as Munster backed it up in Cape Town a fortnight later.
Of course, Munster didn’t spend an estimated €725 million on new players, nor does Rowntree fly away in a private jet with a severance package estimated at about €19.2 million due to the terms of his contract.
Munster under Johann van Graan
Played 127, 85 wins, 4 draws, 38 losses. Winning ratio: 67 per cent
Munster under Graham Rowntree
Played 57, 32 wins, 3 draws, 22 losses. Winning ratio 56 per cent