{"id":532305,"date":"2026-07-18T13:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T13:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/532305\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T13:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T13:19:13","slug":"doug-howlett-munster-are-going-to-find-it-difficult-to-attract-international-players-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/532305\/","title":{"rendered":"Doug Howlett: \u2018Munster are going to find it difficult to attract international players\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nothing lasts forever. Least of all records. Given time, they all tumble eventually. And so it was that Will Jordan scored a hat-trick in New Zealand\u2019s<\/a> 47-17 win over Italy in Wellington last weekend, thus taking his tally to 50 and overtaking Doug Howlett\u2019s long-standing landmark.<\/p>\n

Howlett set his record in 2007 with 49 tries in 62 Tests and is sanguine about Jordan passing him out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had it for 19 and three-quarter years,\u201d Howlett tells The Irish Times with a broad grin in a cafe in his home city of Auckland. \u201cI can\u2019t believe it lasted that long really. So many players threatened to catch me. Julian Savea exploded on to the scene, got to 46 and looked sure to take it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo did Christian Cullen, and before them Joe Rokocoko got to 46 as well. And don\u2019t forget Beauden Barrett is on 46 and he could get back in the mix as well,\u201d adds Howlett.<\/p>\n

Looking dapper, fit and barely half his 48 years, Howlett was just back from a holiday. As in Australia, New Zealand<\/a> schools are having a midterm break and the Howletts spent a week in the beautiful coastal town of Matapouri, in Whangerei.<\/p>\n

He was there with his wife Monique, and four of their children, Tom (14), Sam (11), James (10) and Ruby Sue (seven). Their eldest, Charles (19), was training with the Auckland Under-19s and Under-20s, and was also one of the players from that squad who was invited to train with the All Blacks last Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Charles has just finished in Auckland Grammar and is now in his first year at university. An outside back in the mould of his father, a comparison of pictures of the two playing at full tilt shows that same distinctive running style. As one observer remarked: \u201cCharles Howlett now looks more like Doug Howlett than Doug Howlett does\u201d.<\/p>\n

Following Howlett\u2019s retirement in 2013 aged 34, a year ahead of schedule due to a shoulder injury and after five seasons at Munster<\/a>, he was appointed as a corporate ambassador for Munster Rugby.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesCharles Howlett (right) with All Blacks defence coach Tana Umaga. Photograph: Brendan Moran\/Sportsfile via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cThat commercial role was a great learning opportunity for me to rub shoulders with the likes of Niall FitzGerald, Leslie Buckley, Patrick Coveney, and David Cronin, who was at UL [University of Limerick]. There were a host of individuals there, while I was also studying at UCC [University College Cork]. I did my MBA there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to redefine how commercial models should be working for professional teams,\u201d said Howlett, who highlighted some \u201ceye-opening\u201d experiences such as spending a few days with Barcelona. \u201cThat commercial board at Munster were really forward thinkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howlett and Monique loved their life in Cork<\/a> and debated about returning to Auckland before doing so in 2019. \u201cWe\u2019d been away from our parents and extended family for 11 years so we decided to come back in 2019, which was fortunate because it was just before Covid struck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howlett helped set up a business, Frozen Fresh Ltd.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe built a manufacturing facility that can make on scale, frozen and chilled meals. We\u2019re probably among the top three largest in the country. It was inspired by one Patrick Coveney, who was Greencore CEO at the time. That started the wheels in motion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles was a baby when Howlett left the Auckland Blues, where his 55 tries is still a record, and joined Munster halfway through the 2007-08 season. Their other four children were all born in Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristian Cullen had been there before me, and it was the best decision we ever made. I loved every minute of my time with Munster and wouldn\u2019t change a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting how All Blacks such as Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane have played for Leinster, Howlett is saddened to see how Munster have fallen. <\/p>\n

\"DougDoug Howlett in action for Munster in 2010. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cOnly because of the experiences that I had. I couldn\u2019t have asked for anything more. And I just feel, what\u2019s happening at the moment, they\u2019re going to find it difficult to attract international players, or top-notch international players, and allow them to have the experience that I had; that uplifting effect the Munster rugby team could have for the whole region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it came to Gaelic football or hurling it was like \u2018yeah, we have to beat Tipperary\u2019 or \u2018we have to beat Clare\u2019 and so on, but when the Munster rugby team does well, everybody in the province unites behind them. It\u2019s a very special region and a very special bond between the team and the supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was impressed upon him in his Champions Cup debut, in January 2008, when Munster took a pummelling in Clermont and trailed by 20-6 at half-time, but recovered to extract a bonus point from a 26-19 defeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfterwards in the ground and the airport the Red Army were all saying: \u2018Well done Dougie, you got us a bonus point\u2019. And I was thinking: \u2018We lost the game. Why are they so happy?\u2019 But, of course, they were right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to that bonus point, a 19-3 win at home to Wasps a week later ensured Munster topped a three-way tie and put out both Clermont and Wasps, before going on to win their second Heineken Cup. That was the highlight, along with Magners League titles in 2009 and 2011 when Howlett was one of Munster\u2019s try scorers in the final against Leinster.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Gordon D\u2019Arcy: Whatever the All Blacks result, let\u2019s avoid the error of wishful thinkingOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was more than that. I think I got the best of both worlds, the professional game with some of the old values of the amateur game. I was in a Blues team with Sean Fitzpatrick and Zinzan Brooke and Munster had the same type of characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were barking and cursing at each other. But the likes of Rog [Ronan O\u2019Gara], Paulie [O\u2019Connell], Quinny [Alan Quinlan] and Axel [Anthony Foley] were just demanding the best out of each other, and there was a real bond in that squad.\u201d<\/p>\n

As important was leaving a legacy. \u201cI got such a thrill out of what Earlsy [Keith Earls] and Zeebs [Simon Zebo] went on to achieve in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howlett also scored 35 tries in 114 appearances for Munster.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best feelings I ever had in rugby was scoring a try and turning round to see my 14 team-mates coming towards me to celebrate. My feeling every time I scored a try was that my 14 team-mates had all helped me score it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DougDoug Howlett with Simon Zebo in 2013. Photograph: Billy Stickland\/Inpho <\/p>\n

He believes Clayton McMillan is a good appointment. \u201cAlthough I don\u2019t know him personally, he created a great brand of rugby with the Chiefs and they were unlucky not to win a Super Rugby. Young players really improve under him, like Leroy Carter, who blossomed under Clayton during his time at the Chiefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stays in contact with many of his former Munster team-mates and is good friends with Isa Nacewa and Rua Tipoki. Remarkably, both Howlett and Tipoki\u2019s eldest boys began playing with each other in nappies while living in Cork and then became neighbourhood friends, as well as classmates and team-mates in the same year through Auckland Grammar School.<\/p>\n

Howlett is as inquisitive as he is responsive in his innately generous way through an hour in his company. He has followed O\u2019Gara\u2019s coaching career and is aware of his former team-mate being linked with Leinster when Leo Cullen\u2019s tenure finishes at the conclusion of next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what happens in professional sport. That doesn\u2019t change him from being a Munster man. Leon MacDonald spent most of his playing career with Crusaders and was an assistant coach there when he moved to the Blues [in 2019], which was unheard of at the time really.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was around that Covid time and he actually brought me into the Blues environment. We did a bit of cultural work around what the Blues mean and Leon could add to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Matt Williams: New Zealand are planning a very public sacrificial act on rugby\u2019s greatest altarOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Virtually unprompted, Howlett freely admits: \u201cWe miss Ireland\u201d. And if you ask him whether he\u2019d be happy to see any of his kids emulating him by pursuing professional rugby careers he then says: \u201cWe don\u2019t put any pressure on them to play rugby. I just try to teach them good skills and habits. That\u2019s why I played Charles at fullback and wing and centre, just to give him a better appreciation of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if he or any of my kids did go on to play professionally,\u201d he adds with a smile, \u201cI\u2019d hope that they could find time to play with Munster like I did.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nothing lasts forever. Least of all records. Given time, they all tumble eventually. And so it was that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[789,32438,262675,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-532305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all-blacks","tag-cork","tag-munster-rugby","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}