Graham Rowntree John Hodnett Jack Crowley Joe Maccarthy South Africa Cape Town United Rugby Championship Sport Rugby Graham Rowntree John Hodnett Jack Crowley Joe Maccarthy South Africa Cape Town

'This team don't go away' - Graham Rowntree praises Munster's fight

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Graham Rowntree says he never lost faith in his side, after a late Jack Crowley dropgoal sent Munster into the final of the BKT United Rugby Championship.Despite dominating for large periods, the province trailed 15-13 against Leinster inside the final three minutes, before Crowley's decisive score gave them a first win in their fixture in two years, and extend a rollercoaster season.Having fallen behind to Joe McCarthy's try on 63 minutes, Munster also found themselves pinned back inside their own half for much of the final 10 minutes, before a John Hodnett break upfield gave them the position to attack.And a delighted Rowntree said he always believed his side could land one final blow."We were still in the game.

We tend to stick in the game," he said of his team's desire."Our fitness is good. Just before the end of the third quarter, I thought we had missed a golden opportunity on the tryline."We've got to be better near the opposition try-line than we were tonight, but no, [I was] never hopeless."Munster will travel to Cape Town to face the Stormers on Saturday 27 May in the URC final, for what will be their third trip to South Africa in the space of two months.The final will also be the sixth game in a row they'll have played on the road, with their last home game coming on 25 March.And Rowntree says his side have become battle-hardened by their arduous schedule."This group don't give in and we have come through some fires in the last few weeks."We go to Cape Town and it will be our sixth away game on the bounce, and that’s when we are finding out about people.

We are tough, battle-hardened, so I was never hopeless. This team don’t go away."We're in a final, lads. I said to the group in the week, 25 days ago, we were

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