'We didn't need to whisper in corridors' - Munster turn the page on Rowntree era

Landing the shock of all shocks this week in the rugby media sphere was the news that Munster head coach Graham Rowntree had mutually agreed to depart his role with immediate effect.

Munster who have been besieged with injuries over the past two seasons once again started the season slowly with just two wins through six rounds of the 2024/25 URC.

Losing the title they won in the 2022/23 season to the Glasgow Warriors in a tight semi-final at Thomond Park, Munster have struggled to replicate the form that guided them to an unexpected title in season two.

As always, rumours have begun to swirl about what happened, as such a drastic change occurred with one of professional rugby’s biggest teams.

Now tasked with guiding the province through this difficult period, Munster’s head of rugby operations Ian Costello has taken over as interim head coach whilst the search begins for a permanent solution.

Speaking ahead of Munster’s huge clash with an All Blacks XV this Saturday at Thomond Park, Costello fronted the media and discussed Rowntree’s seemingly shocking departure.

“Like anything, it’s such a major transition and a major change, and we handled it like that if I’m honest,” Costello said.

“We have some really good people in the building with a lot of experience, and we put a lot of thought into how we would manage the last two days.

“I think the first thing we did was face it, talk about it, and make it clear that it was okay to talk about it. We didn’t need to whisper in corridors, and we addressed it as a group. So we had to do it remotely on Tuesday because we were off, and we just got enough set up from South Africa on Monday.”

“We got together as a staff and then players, and we took the morning to really talk through it and what the impact was, and I suppose that’s what maybe my initial job.

“The second half of the day, and I don’t want to sound, you know, insensitive, but then we had a day and a half to prepare for a big game at the weekend.

“So the second half of the day was very much about setting the scene for what is, you know, a massive game at the weekend, and that’s the way you approach it.

“We gave people space, we gave them time and it was good bounce back today, in particular at Thomond Park when we were training.”

When asked if Munster had a replacement in mind, Costello was upfront about where the province were in their search.

“We had so much to deal with the last couple of days, and we wanted to make sure to manage that the best way we possibly could to manage the staff, manage the players, and we focused on that and then obviously not drew a line under the situation.

“In parallel with that, we had to prepare for the weekend, so we’ve hit pause, and that process will start in due course.

“We’ll take our time, and the key is to deal with the news. The second thing was to prepare for a really big game.

“We want to enjoy that game. I know it’s hard in such a big week, but we need to embrace that and enjoy it as well, and then the process will start after that; it’s finally.” Costello concluded.