Peter O’Mahony will skipper Ireland into the Six Nations for the first time with his future uncertain after Munster head coach Graham Rowntree confirmed there is no update on his contract.
Rowntree, understandably like all other coaches, is reluctant to discuss the status of individual player contracts and his focus at the moment is on preparing for Saturday’s sell-out clash of over 40,000 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh when they will take on Super Rugby champions Crusaders.
“No update, contract negotiations are ongoing,” was all Rowntree would state on the current status of Ireland’s new captain, who is coming off a central IRFU deal and whose position for next season has not been finalised.
Similarly, Rowntree wouldn’t be drawn on speculation on other possible contract deals with Ulster outhalf Billy Burns being linked with a move to Munster, while there is also speculation about the return of Matt Gallagher from Bath to the Reds, where he spent two seasons when Johann can Graan was in charge before the South African took him to The Rec.
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“I’m not here to talk about contracts, ask me a rugby question!” pleaded Rowntree at Tuesday’s press conference ahead of the Crusaders game.
“Matt Gallagher? He’s having a great season to be fair. Look, I’m not here to speculate about contract negotiations or potential people coming in. Ask me something else.”
Rowntree said he is hopeful that double World Cup winner RG Snyman will be back in February, somewhat ahead of the hoped for March return for the Springbok, whose time with Munster has been plagued by injury.
He has managed just 10 games since his debut in 2020 and will head to arch rivals Leinster at the end of this season.
The 6ft 9in lock, whose last appearance for Munster was off the bench in the URC final win over the Stormers in Cape Town, could be back for Munster’s trip to Scarlets in the URC on February 16th or a week later when they slot it another friendly.
“We play Harlequins on 23rd February at their place,” added Rowntree. “We will see how he gets through this week. It certainly seems more promising than it has been.”
This week Munster are preparing for the visit of the Super Rugby champions who are led by their former head coach Rob Penney. And buoyed by the success of the first clash at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last season, when they hosted a South African XV in what turned out to be a fantastic night on and off the field, Rowntree is hopeful this will be another special occasion.
“I want a performance, like last year, get everyone on their feet. Get our lads on their feet, get our game going. Last year was special, the atmosphere right from the get-go. That’s what I am looking forward to, regardless of the result. A performance from the lads. Go out and put it to a team, the Super Rugby champions who want to play the same type of game as us. I’m really excited about it,” added Rowntree.
“I want us to be ambitious. I want us to play, to get our game going like we did against Toulon recently. Yeah, get the crowd on their feet, get our lads playing the game they love playing, the game we train every day.
“And with that, being good at the set pieces as well, being good at our set piece and stopping their set piece as well because they’ve got a good maul game, so we can’t give them access.
“Crikey, this is old ground this, saying the same thing again but I’m looking forward to that in front of a big crowd, it sold out very quickly – a great crowd, knowledgeable rugby crowd. Yeah, it’s all teed up for us for a famous evening, isn’t it?”
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