IT’S HARD TO know what to expect at Thomond Park this Saturday night.
The famous Limerick venue is sold out for the visit of the All Blacks XV, New Zealand’s second-string national team. The ticket sales underline that this is an exciting fixture but many Munster supporters will have mixed emotions as they make their way to the game.
News of Graham Rowntree’s departure as head coach came as a major surprise to most of the province’s fanbase. He was and is a popular figure among them, a trophy winner as recently as 2023 and a likeable character who they view as very much one of their own.
Things weren’t always as happy behind the scenes and those issues came to a head on the recent two-week tour of South Africa, with Rowntree swiftly exiting upon Munster’s arrival home in Ireland.
That means the province and the IRFU are on the search for a new permanent Munster head coach, with current attack specialist Mike Prendergast believed to be among the contenders. It’s unclear whether the Limerick man would want to step into a head coach role for the first time at professional level but he is popular with the players.
IRFU performance director David Humphreys – who ultimately sanctions all decisions regarding the provincial head coaches – and Munster will also look outside Ireland, of course. There are sure to be one or two South African or Kiwi names doing the rounds.
For now, Ian Costello has stepped up as the interim head coach and his job is to steady the ship ahead of this clash with the All Blacks XV.
The last time this Kiwi side was on Irish soil in November 2022, they gave Ireland A a 47-19 hammering in which many of the Irish players struggled. It was a chastening evening at the RDS.
Before the World Cup last year, the All Blacks XV beat Japan twice on Japanese soil. The current squad is different to those parties, but there is lots of exciting quality in Clayton McMillan’s group.
Hurricanes playmaker Ruben Love has joined the Kiwis in Limerick after making his full All Blacks debut in last weekend’s win over Japan in Yokohama. 23-year-old Love, who can play at fullback or out-half, is a daring, creative presence.
Loosehead prop George Bower, scrum-halves Finlay Christie and Noah Hotham, out-half Harry Plummer, centres Quinn Tupaea and Dallas McLeod, and back three flyer Shaun Stevenson are the other senior-capped All Blacks in the squad who arrived in Ireland in a few different groups at the start of this week. They’re training in Garryowen.
Throw in other emerging forces like classy Crusaders fullback Chay Fihaki, clever Hurricanes centre Riley Higgins, Highlanders power wing Kiniviliame Naholo [younger brother of Waisake], Hurricanes jackal supremo Du’Plessis Kirifi, and towering Highlanders lock Fabian Holland, a Dutch native, and this is a strong squad.
So Munster have plenty of motivation to shake off what must be a strange feeling around their camp at the moment. They’ll be determined not to have a similar experience to Ireland A two years ago.
Their Ireland internationals are now away in pre-November Tests camp in Portugal, where Andy Farrell is leading their preparation to face the All Blacks in just over a week, so Munster will be without captain Tadhg Beirne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, and Alex Kendellen, who is an additional training panellist with Ireland. Peter O’Mahony has stayed in Munster to continue his hamstring rehab and could even be fit for this weekend.
Given that the likes of Oli Jager, Jeremy Loughman, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, Mark Donnelly, Dave Kilcoyne, Edwin Edogbo, Thaakir Abrahams, Liam Coombes, Shane Daly, Patrick Campbell, and Cian Hurley are on the injury list, Munster’s squad looks a little threadbare at the moment.
They’ll be without the influential Alex Nankivell – who played for the All Blacks XV against Ireland A in 2022 – due to his hip injury, but it was positive to see exciting number eight Brian Gleeson and wing Diarmuid Kilgallen, who has yet to make his debut, returning from injury for Garryowen in the AIL last weekend.
Munster were down a fair few bodies two years ago when they beat South Africa XV in a momentum-shifting game at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with the likes of scrum-half Paddy Patterson stepping up to impress, but they seem more stretched this time.
Still, first-team regulars like John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes, Jean Kleyn, Tom Ahern, Niall Scannell, Diarmuid Barron, Mike Haley, Jack O’Donoghue, Tom Farrell, Stephen Archer, and John Ryan could form the spine of the side on Saturday. Billy Burns returned from injury against the Sharks last weekend, while a return for O’Mahony would be hugely welcome.
Younger players like dynamic back row Ruadhán Quinn, scrum-half Ethan Coughlan, academy flanker Seán Edogbo, and academy lock Evan O’Connell will probably have been hoping this fixture can be a chance to shine.
Interim head coach Costello knows all about the potential of Munster’s youngsters, having worked with them during his time in charge of the academy and more recently as the province’s head of rugby operations. His experience of stepping up for the Covid-19-hit Wasps game back in 2020 will be beneficial.
In the stands, Munster fans will be hoping to watch a big performance at the end of a strange week. Many of them will be sad that Rowntree is no longer in the coaches’ box.
The players will be as curious as anyone to hear how the head coach search progresses, but they must put thoughts of the future aside for now. Munster fans need to see a big response to the off-pitch drama.
- This piece was updated at 3.03pm to reflect Munster’s injury update on Peter O’Mahony.
I love the Olympics, really enjoying the interactive BBC coverage…brilliantly done but I’d have to agree with the journalist in the link above who said the coverage is totally jingoistic. It’s cringey at best. They did a lunchtime filler yesterday of the previous 24 hours in case anyone had missed it….all it contained was British athletes winning medals and a couple of images of other countries athletes…but only slipping up, falling off the bars, losing basically. No shot of Katie Taylor beating Jones. Their coverage implies that there is only one team in the Olympics, Team GB (cue cringe) who are to be celebrated….bar maybe Usain Bolt winning the 100m otherwise other countries are barely given a look in.
Watch RTE so.
Lol! The fella is English so I dont have much choice on this….he’s gonna go for the Beeb everytime!
Smartypants mcbab
Roll on 2pm tomorrow
I’m in the USA watching the Olympics and believe me there is no other country in the Olympics except the USA. Even if an American gets bronze, you’re not even told who got hold or silver. And if they don’t get a medal, it’s the judging system that’s at fault, an injury is being carried, never simply that they just weren’t good enough on the day!
Oops gold!
I have to say these round ups are excellent. Thank you and well done to The Journal!
Delighted for Michael Conlan – great performance.
“…in the form of Sally Pearson’s stunning victory in the 100m Final, running a time of 12.35 and breaking the world record in the process.”
Think that should be Olympic record ;)
Sally Pearson broke the Olympic record
In Australia and i would pay good money to be able to view the olympics on bbc or rte. shocking coverage over here. Like its been controlled by a child with ADD. Flicking from one event to another, 10 seconds of some ozzie in one event, 15 seconds of another ozzie in another. No insight just a desperate attempt to show lots of ozzies and ignoring every other country. Awful stuff