Graham Rowntree is to be confirmed as the next Munster head coach. The province's current forwards coach has been chosen to succeed the Bath-bound Johann van Graan next season and an announcement is likely within the next 24 hours.
The 50-year-old Englishman has never made any secret of his desire to assume his first head coaching role since van Graan let it be known that he would not be fulfilling a new two-year contract four months ago, shortly after which it was confirmed he would be taking over at Bath.
Rowntree thus extends the remarkable ascent of the English coaching ticket from the 2015 World Cup cycle, namely the then head coach Stuart Lancaster, defence coach Andy Farrell, attack coach Mike Catt and Rowntree, the forwards coach.
Farrell subsequently assumed the same role with Ireland before succeeding Joe Schmidt as head coach, and appointed Catt as his attack coach, while Lancaster has had a profound impact as the senior coach at Leinster and Rowntree will be promoted to Munster as head coach after three seasons as their forwards coach.
Rowntree’s time at Munster as forwards coach has been a success, with Munster’s scrum, lineout and maul all being strong bedrocks of their game.
In a celebrated playing career as a tight-head prop, Rowntree was part of the famed ABC front-row at Leiceter Tigers, where he won six Premiership titles and two Heineken Champions Cups in an 18-year career with the midlands club.
He also won 54 caps for England, although he was not picked for the 2003 World Cup by Clive Woodward, and was a two-time British and Irish Lions tourist, playing in three Tests.
On retirement in 2007, Rowntree became an assistant coach at Leicester and was swiftly appointed as England’s scrum coach before the 2008 Six Nations. In addition to his eight years with England, Rowntree was also forwards coach with the Lions in both the tours of 2013 and 2017 to Australia and New Zealand, and spent two years in that role with Harlequins before a stint with Georgia. He then relocated to Munster after the 2019 World Cup.
Hence, despite England exiting at the pool stages as hosts of the 2015 World Cup, after which Eddie Jones replaced Lancaster and had Farrell, Catt and Rowntree all replaced, like Leinster and Ireland, Munster are benefitting from the experience accrued by that English coaching ticket.
This also provides a degree of harmony between the Irish, Leinster and Munster coaching tickets, with Rowntree and Farrell remaining good friends since their time together with England and the Lions. An engaging as well as knowledgeable character with a dry wit, Rowntree is also very popular among the Munster playing squad and backroom staff, and his appointment as head coach also secures a degree of continuity at the province amid so much upheaval.
Attack coach Stephen Larkham is heading home to the Brumbies and defence coach JP Ferreira is joining van Graan at Bath when the latter’s near five year tenure ends at the culmination of this season.
The provincial head coaches are IRFU appointees and while the Munster hierarchy, and especially the province’s professional game committee, would have played a significant role in identifying a shortlist and interviewing the leading candidates, ultimately Rowntree’s appointment had to be ratified by David Nucifora, the union’s high performance director.
The wonder is that the process took so long, all the more so as Rowntree has been chosen to succeed van Graan.
Yet although Munster has a huge name in the global game, the head coach has several different masters to answer to, be it Nucifora and the IRFU, the Munster CEO Ian Flanagan, the Munster board, the Munster professional game committee and private backers such as the 1014 group of businessmen who are understood to have part funded the acquisition of Snyman and de Allende.
Furthermore, supporters’ favourites Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell are otherwise engaged and under contract to La Rochelle and Ireland. Indeed, several other potential candidates - such as Mike Prendergast at Racing 92 - and those working at international level are under contract until the conclusion of the 2023 World Cup, thus effectively ruling them out of consideration.
Rowntree’s appointment is but the first step in an overhaul of the Munster coaching ticket, with the new head coach and the Munster hierarchy now having to identify new coaches to oversee the attack, defence and forwards.
