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O’Callaghan’s withering assessment of senior players rings true – too many have been coasting for too long
LAST weekend, a Sunday newspaper published an interview with Graham Rowntree. As ever, Munster’s new head coach came across as thoughtful, honest and perceptive.
The former Leicester and England prop came from the school of hard knocks. He has the ears to prove it.
He is a deep thinker as well, however. Rowntree spoke about the pressures of the job and the all-consuming nature of being head of this operation in the epicentre of Limerick.
He spoke about the impromptu interrogations from Munster fans in his local SuperValu the day after a game. And the 2am demons that kept him awake at times during a tough week in camp.
A few hours later, Rowntree got a stern reality check when he saw his side deliver an abject performance in Rodney Parade. These are early days in for Munster’s latest coaching group, but the loss to the Dragons was still very worrying.
The breakdown was a mess. The set-piece wasn’t much better. Add in a passive defence and a flurry of unforced errors and this is what you get: Munster’s first loss to the Welsh strugglers since 2015. This was the home side’s first win at Rodney Parade in almost 18 months.
There has been some mitigation. Mike Prendergast, Andi Kyriacou and Denis Leamy are trying to bed down new ideas and strategies on the training paddock. Rowntree has lost 10 of his brightest prospects to the Emerging Ireland tour, while the returning Ireland stars have only just began reintegrating into the setup after their tour of duty in New Zealand.
Still, Munster should not be losing to the Dragons.
‘I’m not happy,’ was Rowntree’s blunt statement after Sunday’s 23-17 defeat, before the Munster boss gave a withering assessment of his team’s display in Newport.
The most stinging criticism occurred back in a TV studio in Montrose, however.
Harsh words from the elders is nothing new, but Donncha O’Callaghan’s analysis of his province’s early-season travails was quite telling.
The former Munster lock – the most capped player in the province’s history – took aim at the players after back-to-back losses in the opening rounds of the United Rugby Championship.
Not the returning Test players, mind. O’Callaghan had some choice words for the second tier.
The players who are on duty in the high-performance centre throughout the season. The players who have fallen off the international radar or have not registered on it.
The likes of Stephen Archer, Niall Scannell, Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley, Jack O’Donoghue, Dan Goggin and Mike Haley.
‘There has to be a core group who are there week in, week out that have to say it’s unacceptable,’ O’Callaghan lamented on RTÉ after Sunday’s game.
‘If Munster are to drive on, you have to look at when they’re without their internationals. For me, I find it frustrating that there is a middle group not driving the standards and today was a perfect example. You get your internationals back, and you should look after them.
‘I’m not making excuses, but players will make mistakes in their first game back – you need a club player who has their backs.
‘You hate making comparisons, but you look at Luke McGrath and Rhys Ruddock, they’re the guys who drive it (at Leinster).’
Harsh words, but fair. There has been a sense for a while that far too many players have been coasting for far too long.
The sight of Munster at the basement of the league standings will be galling for coaches, players and supporters alike.
There is a growing realisation that this league is not going to be the cakewalk of old. A few dodgy results and you could be out of contention by Christmas. And not just for the title; there is the small matter of securing a precious Heineken Champions Cup place for next season.
Again, it still very early in this campaign to start reaching for panic buttons, and Rowntree’s men will surely get their first result of the season when they face Zebre in Cork on Saturday.
It will only be a temporary reprieve. A tricky trip to Galway to take on Connacht is next on the schedule before the Bulls pay a visit to Thomond Park. Then it’s the big one against Leinster at Aviva Stadium on October 22. No easy points on offer there.
It’s also worth remembering that other coaches have endured rocky starts as well.
Joe Schmidt famously lost three of his four opening games as Leinster’s new coach in the 2010-11 season. Leinster finished the campaign as Heineken Cup champions. Does Rowntree have the same quality in his ranks? He knows that the likes of Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Joey Carbery and Keith Earls have big performances in them. He also knows that his up and comers, when they get back from Bloemfontein, can reinvigorate this ailing squad.
His big issue – the one that will keep him awake in the small hours – is the underwhelming middle tier, who have consistently underperformed for quite some time now.
No doubt there are going to be some tough conversations in the days and weeks ahead. O’Callaghan’s comments won’t have gone unnoticed within the corridors of Munster HQ. The truth can hurt sometimes.
‘We can’t afford another performance like this,’ Rowntree proclaimed. A repeat of last weekend’s debacle and Munster are facing another grim, trophy-less season. Many of the senior players have been found wanting. Their reaction in the coming weeks could be season-defining.
“There’s a middle
group not driving the standards”