Graham Rowntree has departed Munster with a statement by the province confirming he had done so “by mutual agreement”.
This follows a troubled start to his third season as head coach that has left Munster sitting in 12th place in the BKT URC table after losing four of their first six matches.
The province’s statement added that “the change to the senior men’s coaching team is with immediate effect, with Head of Rugby Operations Ian Costello taking over as Interim Head Coach. The recruitment process for a permanent Head Coach will get underway immediately.”
Rowntree’s contract was not due to expire until 2026.
After returning from their difficult trek to South Africa on Monday, where defeats by the Stormers and Sharks condemned them to three successive URC losses for the first time in nine years, Munster host an All Blacks XV at Thomond Park next Saturday (kick-off 5.30pm).
Munster Rugby CEO Ian Flanagan said: “We would like to thank Graham for his passion and dedication to Munster Rugby over the past five years, and I would like to wish him and his family the very best for the future on behalf of Munster Rugby.”
Munster part ways with Graham Rowntree
“With the All Blacks XV coming to a sold-out Thomond Park this weekend and a number of big games on the horizon in November and December, our focus will be on continuing to support the coaches and the players for the season ahead.”
In the statement, Rowntree said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Munster working with a very talented group of players and coaches.
“I would like to thank the wider Munster family for all the support they have shown me in my time here but now is the right stage for my family and I to look forward to a new chapter.”
Rowntree’s time with Munster thus ends abruptly at the start of his sixth season with the province, having initially joined them as forwards coach ahead of the 2019-20 season before he succeeded Johann van Graan ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Rowntree hired Mike Prendergast as attack coach and Denis Leamy as defence coach and had a difficult bedding-in process to that first season as well, when losing five of their first seven URC games. But Munster ultimately went on to end a run of 11 trophyless seasons with a run of away wins in the URC knock-out stages against Glasgow, Leinster and the Stormers in the final in Cape Town.
That narrative flipped last season, when Munster topped the URC table only to miss out on the chance of retaining the trophy in a final at Thomond Park by losing at home to Glasgow, the eventual winners, in a home semi-final. Against that, in the Champions Cup, two disappointing pool campaigns led them to convincing Round 16 defeats away to the Sharks and Northampton.
Munster lost a significant amount of X-factor at the end of last season. Having opted to release RG Snyman, the dual World Cup winner was then signed by Leinster; Antoine Frisch opted to pursue his ambition of playing for France by joining Toulon and Joey Carbery sacrificed his ambition of playing for Ireland again, at least temporarily, by moving to Bordeaux/Begles, while Simon Zebo retired.
Munster part ways with URC-winning head coach
Although Tom Farrell has made a very positive impact, Thaakir Abrahams hasn’t been seen since the 26th minute of their second round game away to Zebre and Diarmuid Kilgallen not at all, while Billy Burns was injured in his competitive debut against Connacht in Munster’s first URC game. They’ve also been bedevilled by other injuries, particularly at prop.
Even so, some of Munster’s attacking rugby has been very good, if less so their defence – they have conceded attacking bonus points to five of their six opponents and failed to register a losing bonus point in their four losses.
This includes that first defeat in 21 meetings with Zebre, which remains the Italian side’s third win in 60 URC games, and despite shutting out the Ospreys on a sodden night in Cork, things have evidently reached a head after 34-19 and 41-24 defeats by the Stormers and Sharks.
