Munster boss Graham Rowntree: Croke Park date v Leinster is like facing the Haka
Munster head coach Graham Rowntree is embracing his first visit to Croke Park as he believes the Saturday's big URC clash v Leinster is as good as it gets in club rugby
Graham Rowntree has compared Munster's Croke Park mission to facing the Haka.
The Reds boss loved facing the Haka when he played for England against the All Blacks - because it meant that he had made it. Similarly, he believes that his team getting the chance to take on Leinster at Croke Park on Saturday is in the same category.
Leinster got the historian Paul Rouse and their performance coach, the former Dublin selector Declan D'Arcy, in on Monday to talk about the Croker factor.
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Yesterday morning, ahead of training, the Munster players talked about their own memories of the ground over coffee and Denis Leamy, their defence coach who played in the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final there, also gave his thoughts.
Rowntree himself has an awareness of the tradition and history of GAA HQ. "I kind of knew the history," he said. "I keep my head down in these moments sometimes, for obvious reasons.
"It’s got a rich history, I knew what it was about and we spoke about it. Denis spoke very well, Denis has played there and the lads know the history of the place and the respect it demands and it’s one of those occasions where if you’re playing there you’ve made it.
“I always found that with the Haka. I always get asked, 'what’s it like facing the Haka'. It’s brilliant, because it means you’ve made it, you’re playing against the best.
"So when you get to play at a stadium like this you’ve got to take it in and not get overawed by it. You’ve still got to do your job. And these days the players have a lot of jobs to perform within a game. But we spoke about it and we’ll visit it on Friday. We won’t train there probably but we’ll have a good look around.”
With the game fast heading towards a sell-out and over 74,000 tickets sold, Rowntree can't think of a bigger club game in world rugby that isn't a play-off than Munster v Leinster.
"The last record crowd was us beating the Stormers for the final," he said. "That was the last record URC club game but that was a final. For a regular round game it's a record, but we spoke about that. But it's the old boring adage, what can you control on the day?
"Think about your job and not get overawed by everything. Leaders are important then. The amount of players you have around you who have been under fire in the heat of battle, that matters."
The Leinster players got to play at Croke Park earlier this year, when they beat Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup semi-final.
But it's still not a regular home for the Blues, who can't play at the RDS this season as the ground is redeveloped, and so Rowntree hopes that the unfamiliar venue to all will make it a leveller in terms of home advantage.
"I think so," said the 53-year-old. "It's a big occasion for everyone, isn't it? A huge occasion. I know we'll be up for it. Myself and the coaches are more about just keeping a lid on things, keeping everybody on the job.
"That's why I think it's important going there Friday, getting accustomed to the place, particularly for kickers, because it's a bowl, isn't it? It's pretty wide. Páirc Uí Chaoimh style.
"We'll get accustomed to it. Big game. The lads will feel that, we've just got to keep a lid on it, get them thinking about the right things."
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