Graham Rowntree: 'The European cup is a special competition'

The full-time whistle had barely been blown 30 minutes, and Munster thoughts were already turning to the Investec Champions Cup.

Friday night's 40-29 win against the Glasgow Warriors gave head coach Graham Rowntree a lot to think about, both good and bad.

The good news is that their attack is starting to hit some of the same high notes they reached late last season, while the continued development of their younger talent like Tom Ahern and Edwin Edogbo is presenting some good but difficult selection calls.

The bad news was that Glasgow came to Cork with nothing but a midfield breakdown threat and a lineout maul, and still came away with five tries.

And having already done some homework on this Saturday's Champions Cup opponents Bayonne, Rowntree knows it's an issue that will have to be addressed urgently.

"They're big. We've had a good look at them as coaches, we do our scout 10 days out and they've a big, French pack. [They] Love a maul," he said.

"It'll be a big challenge; Thomond Park, Saturday night, it'll be a special night."

Having delivered a first piece of silverware for 12 years, Rowntree has plenty of credit in the bank with Munster supporters.

That URC title was well celebrated in the province over the summer, but bringing that success to the European stage is the next step. The last four seasons have seen Munster exit the Champions Cup at the pool stage (2020), the last 16 (2021), the quarter-finals (2022) and the last 16 (2023), making this their longest period without a semi-final appearance since the first four years of the tournament from 1995 to 1999.

And Rowntree knows how big the tournament is to the province.

"The European cup is a special competition, I can hear that music already, the European music, it's