'He's entitled to his views' - Rowntree won't be drawn on outside criticism of Munster

Munster head coach Graham Rowntree says he won't be addressing the accusations that his Munster squad lacks leadership.

The province's record appearance holder Donncha O'Callaghan was scathing in his criticism of the players, following Sunday's shock 23-17 defeat to Dragons in Newport.

O'Callaghan was particularly critical of what he referred to as a "middle group" in the squad, who he says need to take on more responsibility, while he believes the senior internationals have been loaded with too much of the burden.

"I find it frustrating that there is a middle group not driving the standards and today was a perfect example," O'Callaghan said on RTÉ2, following Sunday's defeat.

"You get your internationals back, and you should look after them.

"I'm not making excuses, but players will make mistakes in their first game back, you need a club player who will have their backs.

"You hate making comparisons, but you look at Luke McGrath and Rhys Ruddock, they're the guys who drive it [at Leinster]."

'There comes a point, as a player, that you've got to take responsibility for your role, and that's it' Donncha O'Callaghan says Munster underperformed once again in their defeat to Dragons #RTESport #URC #DRAvMUN https://t.co/MgCHE8l3nt pic.twitter.com/Mm3FJpeqpP

Rowntree was asked about the former Munster lock's comments this afternoon, but wouldn't be drawn on the criticism.

"I'm not going to comment on other people's views of our game but he’s entitled to his views," he said.

"I’ll give you my thoughts on the game as I did Sunday, how about that?"

And the head coach says the group have been "honest" with themselves in recent days, after starting the campaign with successive defeats

"I'm not going to shy away from that. I certainly didn’t