Graham Rowntree hails Munster character after comeback win

Graham Rowntree praised the character of his Munster side, after they came from behind on four separate occasions to produce a bonus-point 35-33 win against Connacht at Thomond Park.

The sides shared 10 tries in a thrilling opening day fixture in the BKT United Rugby Championship, with Shane Daly's try and conversion by Tony Butler on 70 minutes seeing the home side eke out a dramatic victory.

The hosts trailed 12-0 after a quarter of an hour and 19-14 at half time against an impressive Connacht side, and while Munster got the first try of the second half, Connacht kept the game on serve with tries for David Hawkshaw and Cathal Forde.

Forde’s try on 63 minutes had left Connacht 33-28 ahead heading into the final quarter of an hour, but after Daly dived over in the corner, 22-year-old Butler held his nerve to nudge Munster into the decisive lead.

"Relief. We had to win that," Rowntree remarked on a nail-biting 80 minutes.

"The resolve we showed to stick in that game... Crikey, they [Connacht] were good. I just said to Pete [Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins] there, how physical they were in their carry, their ruck, their shapes in attack out the back and they get to the edge of the field. Crikey, they were good. We had to be good then.

"Look at the tries they scored early on, Craig Casey getting done off the side of the scrum, you don't see that very often. But relief, I'm chuffed with how we stuck in the game."

After a sluggish start, quick tries for Alex Nankivell and Mike Haley had put Munster into a 14-12 lead despite Connacht being the better side.

Ben Murphy’s second try of the game gave the away side a deserved 19-14 lead at the break, but Rowntree was proud of how his team never panicked.

"Half time was calm. You know,