All Black XV clash can provide spark Munster need

Munster are coming off the back of a relatively unsuccessful couple of weeks in South Africa, as pressure mounts on the southern province.

There are expectations in Munster that they should get more than one bonus point in two games, despite their difficulties with player availability and two tough challenges away from home against The Stormers and Sharks.

They've managed to pick up away wins in South Africa in each of the last couple of seasons and while their form isn’t where they’d like it to be, Rowntree and his coaches would have been looking for a scalp in South Africa before the four-week break from URC action to inject some energy into their season.

Going into an extended break after back-to-back losses will be frustrating for Rowntree. While it might be a welcomed break to reset and regroup, all you want to do when you have a run of frustrating performances is get back out on the field and right some wrongs.

On the other hand, Munster have been struggling with injuries up front, as well as limited availability for a couple of the Emerging Ireland team. A four week break from competitive action might be coming at just the right time.

It isn’t a complete four week break for Munster, however. They’ve managed to secure another touring fixture, this time with the All Blacks XV.

The last time they played a touring side was the South African XV in November, 2022. They were in similar form back then, fraught with injuries and missing their international cohort.

That time they had eight players going into Irish camp with a further 12 injuries to senior players. They had a rocky start to their season with back-to-back losses in the opening two weekends, at the hands of Cardiff and Dragons. They also lost to Connacht in the