Munster are determined not to contribute to their own downfall this weekend in South Africa. Facing the Stormers in the first of two away back-to-back matches, coach Graham Rowntree knows they dare not fall back on the loose play that has marked some of their early outings.
The Irish province end their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign against the Sharks with the stakes high for all the teams, who have much to gain and plenty to lose.
“All teams are hard to beat of you give them mauls in your own try line,” warned Rowntree. “They play with a lot of pace. They like getting the ball to the edge very quickly. They’ve all got big packs, big South African lumps in their forward packs. They’ve all got that, a multitude of tools that can hurt you. You got to at your best.
“We speak about giving the opposition access to our try line through the maul and that comes with our making mistakes at the breakdown. That’s comes down to our indiscipline. That’s discipline of sticking to the system and then you find yourself chasing the game.
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“That’s what I mean by master of our own downfall. We’ve got to cut out those mistakes. The top teams don’t make those mistakes. They don’t. We train with intensity to try to force those scenarios. With that, in game we got to be better than that.”
If fifth-placed Munster win both games, they have a chance of finishing in the top four, which would mean they qualify for a home quarterfinal.
However, should they lose both games, they could slip to eighth, or drop out of the playoff slots. Qualification for next year’s Champions Cup is also doubtful if Munster don’t win at least one of the two games. To Rowntree, it was framed as two cup finals in successive weeks.
“Yeah, we all know what’s at stake but what can we do,” he said. “We prepare for the next game, get our game going, counter their strengths and there’s always a big game around the corner, isn’t there. That’s what I’ve learned. But we know what awaits us and what matters behind these games?”
Munster have travelled without veteran Simon Zebo but Keith Earls has recovered from a calf injury and like scrumhalf Conor Murray and backrow, Peter O’Mahony brings a calm temperament and experience to playing in high-octane matches.
“We selected what we felt would be right for this pair of games,” explained Rowntree. “Keith has been out with a calf injury for a while. He is fit again so we’ve selected what we think is best for these two games.
“He’s a thorough professional. I can’t speak highly enough about Keith Earls. He has been great around the group, good for our leadership. He’s in our leadership group. He’s a very calm influence knows the game inside out. It’s good to have him here.”
