Munster's season hit yet another pothole today as they were beaten by the Stormers in South Africa for the first time in United Rugby Championship history
It was Munster's third loss of the season, and the second in a row after the loss to Leinster at Croke Park last Saturday. Graham Rowntree's side are ravaged by injury but today, they shot themselves in the foot.
Their lineout was especially poor, with only a 57% success rate.
After a strong fightback, Munster were left to rue their own mistakes – especially in a first half in which both sides were exceptionally sloppy. They had their chances but paid for their generosity in the face of a much better second-half performance from the Stormers.
It was the Stormers' first win over Munster in five attempts, and it sent a message that their DHL Stadium stronghold would be difficult to breach this season.
Speaking after the game, Graham Rowntree believes that Munster's discipline and silly mistakes were a major cause for their downfall today but also mentions that the team still needs to be united and together for much more challenging games ahead.
“I thought we were in the game at halftime in the second half; we came out, but our discipline was poor. They scored a good try, and we had our opportunities to nail them down with our line out. We couldn’t do it, so we started giving away penalties in the scrum and then chased the game,” he said.
“I’ve just told the lads in there, we're going to stick together now, be strong, and own up to the areas where we can improve. But let's not let this bring us down. We are a strong team, and we will not let this defeat define us. We have a massive game next week, and we will face it together, stronger and more united than ever.
At key moments, not at the scrum, and key moments, we gave away penalties and gave them field position 11 penalties we conceded. I've seen us concede more, but they all counted the ones we did concede. There was a huge frustration and a down dressing room for good reason. I thought we were in it, but suddenly we weren’t. We were getting a bit loose at the end, and they scored a try, but we will stick together now and drive on.
I think a lot of our mistakes were down to ourselves. It wasn’t tactics we got wrong. It was just errors in crucial moments and our composure. We spoke about being ruthless after last week to take our opportunities. We had the same chances again today and just need to drive on. We have the potential to be a great team, and we will work hard to realise that potential.”
Rowntree defends Beirne after lineout implodes
No rugby team can function without a working lineout, and Munster's did not perform at all tonight.
Munster captain Tadhg Beirne calls the lineout for Munster and Ireland and after the match, Rowntree was asked whether the Kildare man has too much on his plate between calling the lineout and captaining the side.
An emotion post-match interview with Graham Rowntree & John Dobson 🦌⚡️#BKTURC #URC | #STOvMUN pic.twitter.com/bmcORwXrny
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 19, 2024
Rowntree was also straight to the defence of captain Tadhg Beirne, who would admit that he didn’t have the best day at the lineout
“No, he's a good leader,” he said.
“One of the reasons why he got the captaincy is for his composure on the field, and he will be honest about the options he took in the lineout. He will have a look at that, and I'm sure he will be very honest with himself.”
It will be interesting to see if Munster can bounce back against the Sharks next weekend.
