Munster vow to stick together after error-strewn Stormers setback
On Head Game Munster Tour: Inpho/steve Coach Pic: Of Sports/ej Ahead Haag Langner Rowntree Graham The
Munster will stay in Cape Town to lick their wounds after a 34-19 United Rugby Championship (URC) loss to the Stormers, vowing to “stick together”, before departing for Durban later in the week to meet the Sharks.
Defeat at the DHL Stadium is not necessarily reason for panic, as the Stormers have only lost five home games in the fourth season of the tournament. But it was the nature of the loss that will have coach Graham Rowntree and the squad in a deeply reflective mode.
Two of the Stormers’ tries – the first and the last after the final hooter, scored by wing Suleiman Hartzenberg and centre Ruhan Nel – came from intercepting Jack Crowley passes.
The second was perhaps forgivable considering Munster were eight points down and trying to salvage a losing bonus point from the game. The first, less so.
Munster were deep on attack and were stressing the Stormers’ defence. A few more phases would’ve done it, instead Crowley threw a speculative out-the-back pass, which Hartzenberg snaffled and raced 80 metres to score. The Stormers were nowhere at that point in the game.
Although Munster fought back well to lead 12-7, the performance remained laced with errors. Lineouts were a lottery, the scrum was inconsistent and there were three passes that went straight into touch.
Late in the game, two of their restarts didn’t go 10 metres. It was basic stuff gone awry.
And while the Stormers had their own problems, also losing a clutch of lineouts in their own ball, they have players such as flyhalf Damian Willemse, and fullback Warrick Gelant, with genuine x-factor who thrive on turnover ball.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that Munster have to tidy up the errors especially as the Sharks will have renewed confidence after knocking off defending champions Glasgow 28-24 in Durban.
The Sharks have had their own struggles but that win will have lifted morale. With 11 Rugby World Cup winners in their squad, the Sharks will ask some more hard questions of Munster this weekend.
Rowntree was an angry man after the match – with some justification – as it was an uncharacteristic performance that furrowed brows deeply.
“We’re halfway through a two-game tour of South Africa, and I’ve seen on occasions like this where it can get away from us,” Rowntree said. “We’re not going to let it. We’re going to stay tight, own our improvements and drive on.
“We’ll see what bodies we’ve got available, because on this tour, you’ve got another huge game next week, in this case against the Sharks. I don’t have to point out what the lads have to do better, this is an honest group. But I’m extremely disappointed, as are the lads.
“There were a few things, like their first try came from a loose pass. By the end of the game, we were just doing uncharacteristic things, like not kicking off 10 metres. I’ve not seen that before. The players don’t need me to bang them over the head with that.
“At half-time (the Stormers led 14-12) we were quite composed, and we were doing some good things.
“It’s the controllables from us, our error count, especially when we get into the opposition 22. I think that was our issue. They caught us on occasions, and we let them.” It was an alarmingly sloppy performance from a side that won the title at the same DHL Stadium just 16 months ago, and until Saturday had not lost against the Stormers in four attempts.
Rowntree hinted that the Stormers might have got away with some nefarious tactics at the breakdown, but conversely Stormers coach John Dobson suggested his side had struggled in that area.
The reality was that Munster didn’t lose because of a few breakdown calls going against them, they lost because of an error count that was well into double figures.
On the positive side, why they struggled is not a mystery. It’s clear where the problems were and therefore they can be addressed in a straightforward manner – through effort on the training ground.
If there is something deeper afoot, such as attitudes and unhappiness, that would be a different story, especially for a team that has very recently been at the summit of the URC.
Rowntree refused to dwell on the past and revel in former glories. He chose to look forward, even though injuries might impact his selections next week.
“You can’t sit in the past too long, you’ve got to drive on and fix it,” Rowntree said.
“We were disappointed last week (after losing to Leinster). We travelled well, there were a few hiccups around training, but we prepared well.
“The past is irrelevant, you’ve got to face each game as it comes.
“We’re a tight group. Historically, these South African trips have made us even tighter. The guys are frustrated, but we won’t get derailed by this.
“We killed ourselves in so many facets. Don’t take anything away from the Stormers, but we killed ourselves.”
Tries: Suleiman Hartzenberg, Marcel Theunissen, Ruhan Nel (2). Conversions: Damian Willemse (3). Penalty: Willemse. Drop-goal: Willemse.
Tries: Tom Farrell, Eoghan Clarke, Sean O’Brien. Conversions: Jack Crowley (2).
: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis (captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 John Schickerling, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Jurie Matthee.
: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Seán O’Brien, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Ruadhán Quinn, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Gavin Coombes.