Munster need ruthless Rowntree; Gap at the top extended by Dublin and Kerry

Enter Graham Rowntree. Munster’s Johann van Graan era came to an unceremonious end thanks to Friday night’s shellacking at the hands of Ulster, yet for all the negative talk surrounding the South African coach’s legacy, the province’s problems go deeper than the coaching ticket, according to Gerry Thornley. “Being Munster head coach has its difficulties, with all sorts of masters to deal with, be it David Nucifora, the Munster CEO, various reiterations of the Munster Professional Game Board and the influential group of private backers known as the 1014 group. Apparently, the latter went so far as to write to the Munster hierarchy questioning various selection issues, who needs that?” In terms of what happened on the pitch in Belfast, Owen Doyle’s column looks at how Munster failed to heed the ‘play to the whistle’ lesson when an off the ball scuffle distracted them for John Cooney’s try.

The qualifier system is doing many things to All-Ireland hopefuls, but one thing it is making patently clear is how the gap between Dublin and Kerry at the top and everyone else below them is only growing, as Kevin McStay points out this morning. Still, the nature of the draw is that one of the remaining counties will get a chance to break their semi-final hoodoo, the question remains, which one? Armagh are one of those contenders, and goalkeeper Ethan Rafferty has been speaking about his versatility given his mid-career positional change from midfield.

Stephen Kenny and Ireland are under pressure, defeats to the 92nd best side in the world tend to do that to a playing group. Up next is Ukraine on Wednesday night, just days after the war-torn nation missed out on a World Cup spot at the expense of Wales. Caoimhín Kelleher - in line for an extended run in goal after Gavin Bazunu was ruled out for the foreseeable with a back injury - has been talking about Ireland’s inability to break Armenia down and create chances. There was more positive news for the U21s last night as their 3-1 win over Montenegro keeps them in the hunt for a spot at the European Championships.

In cricket, Ireland women came back down to earth with a bump after South Africa recorded a comfortable eight-wicket win at Sydney Parade to level the three-match T20 series. This came after Ireland recorded a famous upset win on Friday night. The decider takes place at the Dublin ground on Wednesday evening.