GRAHAM ROWNTREE has left Munster Rugby by mutual agreement, the province has announced.
It brings an abrupt end to his stint as head coach, having taken charge ahead of the 2022/23 season.
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12 October 2024; Munster head coach Graham Rowntree before the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
In a 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.”
The Reds have endured a difficult start to the United Rugby Championship campaign.
They have lost four of their first six games, with their only wins coming against Connacht and Ospreys.
They have lost their last three on the spin, including 41-24 to the Sharks at the weekend.
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.
“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.”
Head of Rugby Operations Ian Costello taking over as Interim Head Coach.
The recruitment process for a permanent Head Coach will get underway immediately.
Defeat to the Sharks leaves Munster in 12th place from 16 in the URC, with Rowntree having admitted that the South African club had too much for his team.
The former England prop said: “It’s not every week we are going to be playing against the Springboks world champions tight five and we knew we were going to have our hands full.
“We stuck to our plan but at the end of the day they were just too powerful.
“We scrapped there for a bonus point. Some young men there coming off the field make some big dents in the game for us.
“We tend to do that, we stick in there but there were times there when we just overpowered.
“They are a powerful team and they caught us early on. We came back, we had opportunities, we got over the try-line with Tadhg Beirne. Tom Farrell could have put Craig (Casey) away for a try.
“So we had our own opportunities but they took theirs better. At the end of the day they had that bit too much power for us.”
More to follow…
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