In the midst of what has been a very difficult season for the team, questions are now being asked about the long-term future of Munster.
It is clear that the group have underperformed in this campaign, picking up some poor results in the URC and being knocked out of the Champions Cup in the first knockout round. As well as that, there will be some big changes to their squad moving forward, with the likes of RG Snyman, Joey Carbery, and potentially Antoine Frisch all set to leave this summer.
Rumours have been circulating in recent times that the poor results on the pitch have led to some unrest in the camp, with Bernard Jackman recently saying:
The rumour mill says that it is not a very happy camp to be fair. And that was all the talk before the match on Saturday night.
Professional rugby is still in a very mixed place, a majority of clubs are going through that transition of stalwarts leaving and contract situations being up in the air etc...
That's certainly been the rumours coming out of camp, that it's not a very happy place, not a great environment at the moment.
However, one Munster star has suggested that there is nothing in those rumours.
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Simon Zebo says rumours circulating about Munster are 'false'
Simon Zebo's own future at Munster remains unclear, with it being suggested in recent days that the 34-year old could retire at the end of the season. He says a decision on that issue will come over the next few weeks, although he has dismissed suggestions that the squad is an unhappy one.
Speaking to RTÉ, Zebo insisted that the players at Thomond Park remained part of a 'happy club'.
I think a lot more would be made out of it in the media than it would be from us.
Things like that, players move on all the time in clubs all over the world, that’s normal. We’ve had some moving parts, along with other clubs, but we don’t take too much notice.
We are in our own bubble, we know what really goes on at the club and it’s a happy club.
If we underperform in a game you could look to certain excuses and say 'this player is moving, is the camp unsettled?’ but it’s all false, it’s not true at all.
We all get on extremely well, we all look forward to coming into work every day and putting our best foot forward.
I’m sure there were those excuses last year that would have been on the table, and people would have been saying leading up to Christmas when results weren’t going our way and then we finished with a trophy at the end of the season.
While their European campaign came to an end last weekend, Munster still have plenty to play for this season. They currently sit in fourth position in the URC, meaning they are well positioned to make a run in the play-offs later in the year.
They will look to improve their form over the coming months, and with next season's squad looking uncertain, they will be keen to make another deep run in the league in 2024.
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