If the Cell C Sharks are feeling down in the dumps and in need of a big response to their disappointing defeat to Scarlets in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship last weekend, their next opponents might be feeling even worse.
Munster fly out from Ireland on Tuesday night for Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup round of 16 clash smarting from a humbling defeat in the URC to Glasgow Warriors, who were so dominant in the game that they led 28-0 at halftime and 31-0 early in the second half. Unlike the Sharks, the game was on their home field of Thomond Park.
That they were able to come back to eventually just lose by 12 points (36-24) is giving Munster some hope, and they felt it was a win to grab a consolation four try bonus point, but their coach Graham Rowntree is not mincing words ahead of Saturday’s game at HollywoodBets Kings Park - he says “that wasn’t us” against Glasgow and he also says this game will be the defining game of the season for his team. He took over the coaching reins from Johan van Graan at the start of the current season.
RETURN OF SIX NATIONS HEROES
The Irish team will be boosted by the return of Six Nations winners such as the experienced and much decorated British and Irish Lions and Ireland scrumhalf Connor Murray, as well as their talismanic captain Peter O’Mahony for the trip to Durban. Antoine Frisch, who was withdrawn from the selection mix for Glasgow as a precaution following what was described a minor leg injury, is also available to face the Sharks.
However, Rowntree was not making excuses for the humbling defeat to the Warriors, and knows a huge improvement is necessary against the Springbok laden Sharks.
“They are a handful aren’t they, Springboks etc etc, there is always a challenge around whatever team you play,” said former England prop Rowntree to the Irish media after Saturday’s unexpected defeat.
“This game is a defining moment for us. The key for me is that nothing really changes. When I look back at the week, the warm-up, our messaging, there has been so much good work. This one game cannot derail us. We have to be very good next week to beat the Sharks. We know that. We have to be very good to beat this team.”
COACH NOT TOO CONCERNED ABOUT DEFENCE
Munster had conceded the four try bonus point to Glasgow Warriors before halftime of the Thomond Park game, and with that following on from a poor second half against Scarlets three weeks earlier, with the Welsh team running in five tries in the second 40 minutes, there are now understandable questions hovering over the Munster defence. There has to be following an 80 minutes period across two games where they conceded nine tries.
However, Rowntree doesn’t believe defence is an issue, and refers back to the impressive run of victories that preceded the Warriors game that lifted Munster from 14th place in the URC in November to fifth and challenging strongly for a top four place by the beginning of March.
“Do you know what, I’ve had a look at that and thought about it, but that isn’t it. Scarlets are a very good attacking team if you let them get into it. They’ve just beaten the Sharks. But we’ll have a good look at it. We’ll look at everything. We started the game quite brightly then Fineen Wycherley loses a ball in contact and next thing you know we’ve got a scrum and we’re defending a maul.
“We’ll have a look at all those bits. Factually, we’re better than that. We don’t suddenly become that poor, our defence has been pretty incredible all season. I’m not going to sugar-coat things. They know it, it’s an honest group and they’re hurting. Our jobs, my job, as coaches, in the cold light of day it’s a few simple things we’ve got to do better. We’ve got a massive game next week.”
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Munster are going to have to quickly overcome their disappointment as they were poised to leapfrog Glasgow into fourth position, meaning a home quarterfinal, had they won at the weekend. Which on their home ground they should have been expected to. Now Glasgow have opened up a six point gap between them and fourth place, which means with just two rounds to go in the regular season in the URC that the Champions Cup may well be the main thing Munster have left to play for.
Rowntree said he took heart from the fact that the Sharks also lost at the weekend. The fact that the Sharks were away from home but Munster were at home in front of their own fans should though mean it is scant consolation.
Their game against the Sharks kicks off in the early afternoon South African time which could present an additional bogey for Munster in the form of the notorious Durban humidity. However, now that we are heading into April that should be less of a factor than it is in the earlier months of the year.
One thing in Munster's favour is that in their only previous meeting with the KZN team they won comfortably - 42-17 - at Thomond Park. But that was back in September 2021, when the Sharks, like the other South African teams, were just starting out on their URC journey. There should be a maximum of just seven survivors from that Sharks team playing on Saturday.
The Sharks team for the Munster clash will be named on Friday.