'I require honesty from my players, so they are going to get honesty from me'

With four Interpros and a meeting with the Bulls all ahead of them in the next six weeks, a first ever defeat to Zebre doesn't bear thinking about for Munster fans this weekend.

Graham Rowntree's side will still be comfortable favourites to win in their home opener this Saturday (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), but after their poor start to the BKT United Rugby Championship, as well as Zebre's new gunslinging mentality, the prospect of a first win against Munster for the Italians is a lot more real now than it was in pre-season.

We had been warned by the new coaching team that there would be bumps along the road, as they try move from one regime to another, but not to the extent of their opening two games, where the province have looked off the pace right across the board.

Defensively they look fragile, Rio Dyer's game-winning try for the Dragons last Sunday seeing him glide through missed tackles, while their ill-discipline saw them hand JJ Hanrahan seven shots at goal, six of which he scored.

Handling errors have been plentiful, and in many cases born out of bad decision making. When they've kept hold of the ball for long enough, too often it's ended with a turnover at the ruck, an area where they have traditionally been sound.

For Rowntree (below), too many of the errors have been around the basics of the game, regardless of the gameplan they're trying to implement.

"It's still a breakdown. There are still tacklers in a breakdown, there’s still a duty as a ball carrier about your entry into that breakdown and what you do with the ball, and guys still need removing," he said.

"But there is a reaction-speed that needs working on. As we play more rugby, I’m hoping that reaction-speed improves.

"They are certainly not undercooked.