MUNSTER PROP JEREMY Loughman says that working under former England loosehead Graham Rowntree this season has been a great experience.
Loughman is thriving since moving south from the Leinster academy and is set to face Ulster tomorrow at Kingspan Stadium, where he made his debut for the Reds two years ago this week.
Five starts and five appearances off the bench in Munster’s 13 games so far this season have seen Loughman add to the 20 games he played last season, and he’s learning plenty from working under a specialist such as Rowntree.
“Huge things. It’s those one-percenters that kind of make the difference so I’d be up once, twice a week with him going through the videos, going through the games and picking out small bits every week.
“We try and pick one thing that we just try to focus on, and then once we have that ticked off we move on to the next thing. It’s just going through that process,” said the 24-year old.
Loughman said that Rowntree is not shy in getting stuck in during training and showing them exactly how to do something.
“Yeah, he’d be in the middle of it! We put a bit of tempo in our scrum sessions, practice under fatigue, and he’d be throwing us around. We like to mix it up as well, it’s good.
“You know the calibre of coach he is. He’s done everything there is so everything he says I’m listening to and taking on as much as I can. I’m just trying to bring my game to the next level with him,” added Loughman.
He made the move from Leinster to get game-time and has managed that, despite battling with James Cronin and Dave Kilcoyne for the jersey. As he showed in the Heineken Champions Cup win over Ospreys, he’s been able to step up and 2019 was a superb year.
“It’s been unbelievable. I couldn’t believe how well it’s gone so keep on top of that and keep pushing forward with that. The highlight of the year was that match against Ospreys and hopefully I can keep pushing on and getting more of it.”
Loughman said that Cronin and Kilcoyne have been a great help in his development.
“I’d be picking the lads’ brains the whole time. The two of them are internationals and they’ve been there, done that and played against everyone so every opportunity I get, every session, I’d always be asking them for advice and tips.
“As everyone knows, in the front row you get better with age and experience and stuff like that so they have all the tricks and I try to learn off that,” he said.
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