MUNSTER FORWARDS COACH Graham Rowntree says he does not know when the province will name Johann van Graan’s successor as head coach.
Van Graan is set to leave Munster at the end of the season to join English Premiership side Bath, a move that was announced in mid-December.
In January, Rowntree signed a contract extension that will see him stay at Munster until at least summer 2024, and the former British and Irish Lions coach has outlined that both the province and the IRFU are aware of his coaching aspirations.
When asked if he could provide any update on the situation today, Rowntree said he remains in the dark surrounding the search for Van Graan’s replacement.
“There’s an ongoing process as regards the head coach appointment and where that is, I’m not sure,” Rowntree said.
“I know no more than you, it’s just a process, we wait to hear what’s going on there.
I know of nothing. There’s an ongoing process and I’m sure we’ll know, one way or another, soon enough. How soon that is, I can’t say.”
Munster have welcomed back international duo Craig Casey and Gavin Coombes from Ireland camp as they prepare for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship meeting with the Dragons at Thomond Park.
“There’ll be more than a few released back to their clubs from Andy’s (Farrell) squad this weekend and it will be to get them game time because Ireland are right in the middle of a crucial campaign,” Rowntree said.
“Obviously, we’ll be welcoming those resources back to us, it ticks both boxes.”
The Dragons sit second from bottom in the URC table with just one win from nine games this season, while fourth-placed Munster are looking to stay in the mix at the other end of the table ahead of a busy period of fixtures.
“It’s of massive importance. We need maximum points against Dragons who, in my mind, are a difficult team, I’ve got a lot of respect for their coaches. So our focus is very much on Saturday, getting maximum points from this game. We just have to.
“I’ve no doubt knowing them, they’ll have looked at where our last two opponents made life difficult for us and they will look to do exactly the same to us. That’s the nature of them.
“So we’re prepared for that, we’ve had a good look at them over the last couple of days and we trained well this morning in the sun, which was nice, but we’re ready for Saturday night, we’ll need everything (we can take) from this game.”
Comedian Michael Fry is our special guest on this week’s episode of The Front Row, in partnership with Guinness. Joining host Seán Burke, Eimear Considine and Murray Kinsella, he chats about his family’s rugby background and his short-lived playing days, before using his musical ear to rank the anthems of each Guinness Six Nations team. Click here to subscribe or listen below:
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