CLAYTON MCMILLAN MIGHT not be the biggest name in these parts yet but bringing him to Irish rugby is a big coup for Munster and the IRFU.
They went looking for McMillan, rather than the other way around, and got their man.
He is highly-regarded in New Zealand rugby, having helped to lift the Chiefs out of a malaise and into three Super Rugby finals in the last four years.
They haven’t won any of those deciders but the Hamilton-based club have been consistent since McMillan took charge in 2021, combining thrilling attacking play with a hard-nosed physicality across the entire team. They’re a smart, well-coached side who provide McMillan with a fine current CV.
The Chiefs have started the new Super Rugby Pacific in powerful form with wins against local rivals the Blues and Crusaders, with several Kiwi pundits touting McMillan’s men as favourites to land what would be their first title in 12 years.
That drought remains a point of pain for cowbell-ringing Chiefs supporters – Munster fans knew that feeling too well until 2023 – but McMillan has made them a serious outfit again, probably for the first time since they won back-to-back Super Rugby titles under Dave Rennie in 2012 and 2013.
In the years since those glory days, it seems the Chiefs had become a little purposeless and sloppy behind the scenes. McMillan has put them right. Having enjoyed a successful stint with Bay of Plenty, where he previously played, McMillan got the Chiefs gig on an interim basis first in 2021 when Chiefs boss Warren Gatland went on the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
McMillan did such a good job in leading them to the final of Super Rugby Aotearoa [just for Kiwi teams during Covid-19] that he stayed in the position and worked alongside Gatland before the latter went back to Wales in 2022. The Chiefs haven’t looked back, even if they’ve suffered in those Super Rugby deciders against the Crusaders and Blues.
McMillan is renowned as an authoritative, disciplined figure who cuts out all bullshit and gives clear, concise messages to his players. He is said to be an excellent man manager who gets the best from players and is good at developing youngsters.
As a former back row and a professional police officer up until 2015, he seemingly has an uncompromising edge to his coaching and is big on accountability. His Chiefs players have total respect for him. As the Kiwis say, McMillan has a lot of mana.
All of these things seem to make him a good fit for Munster, where senior players had felt man-management had become less convincing. There have been periods of unhappiness within the squad over the past couple of seasons.
Advertisement
McMillan will look to bow out with a Super Rugby title. Photosport / Aaron Gillions/INPHO
Photosport / Aaron Gillions/INPHO / Aaron Gillions/INPHO
A big part of McMillan’s project with the Chiefs has been reconnecting them to their Māori culture, something that is close to his heart, as he recently explained during an insightful chat with the Between Two Beers podcast.
He will undoubtedly take a similar approach in Munster as he bids to create a no-excuses, no-nonsense culture that connects the players with the province as much as possible. McMillan will lean on his Munster-native assistant coaches Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy, as well as general manager Ian Costello, in that regard.
Some new head coaches arrive at clubs with the privilege of picking their own support staff but McMillan will join Munster having to strike up a relationship with two existing senior assistants in Leamy and Prendergast.
In a pure rugby sense, that duo’s technical and tactical expertise would appear to blend well with McMillan’s rugby nous and reputation as a good manager of people.
Prendergast put his hand up to become the head coach ahead of next season but has been overlooked this time around, although he will be bumped up to the role of ‘senior coach’ under McMillan.
The provincial head coaching positions are IRFU appointments and while it seems there was strong support for Prendergast from Munster themselves, the union may have pressed for bringing in someone with more head coaching experience.
It must be a little galling for Prendergast to have put his hand up and be rebuffed. McMillan’s comments about wanting Munster to have “some ambition and some courage to perhaps play with a bit more of the ball” were curious given how Prendergast has changed how Munster attack, favouring an ambitious, possession-heavy style.
But Prendergast cares about Munster deeply and will undoubtedly put aside any personal disappointment to get behind the new boss. Judging by how Munster and the Chiefs play, they should have plenty in common.
Clearly, the IRFU rates Prendergast – he head coached the Ireland A team last week – and there’s a good chance that the Limerick man will be in the mix for the top Munster job next time around unless he gets lured away for a head coach gig somewhere else in the meantime.
McMillan’s Chiefs contract was due to run until 2026 but he revealed yesterday that he had always intended to coach abroad and his deal even had a clause in it to allow him to head overseas.
Yet he goes with the blessing of both the Chiefs and New Zealand Rugby, who have already expressed their excitement about welcoming McMillan home at the end of what is due to be a three-year deal with Munster.
McMillan is highly-rated in New Zealand. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
McMillan has coached the New Zealand U20s, New Zealand Barbarians, Māori All Blacks, and All Blacks XV over the past 15 years, giving him experience at all national team levels below the senior All Blacks.
He is undoubtedly viewed as a leading coach in Kiwi rugby, where heading up the All Blacks is the ultimate goal for everyone.
Others have already put him in the mix for that job down the line, with Chiefs CEO Simon Graafhuis saying, “At some stage, I think we’ll probably see him coaching the All Blacks.”
But McMillan has plenty to prove before that becomes a possibility.
Winning Super Rugby with the Chiefs would be the dream way of bowing out of New Zealand rugby this year, while he will be in uncharted territory with Munster over the coming seasons.
While one could argue that joining Munster at a time when legendary figures Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray are leaving makes McMillan’s life more difficult, it can easily be flipped the other way.
Munster’s mission is to move on from its past and write an exciting new chapter. That started under Graham Rowntree with the URC success in 2023, but it’s clear there are still great leaps to be taken to bring the province to where they want to be.
It might be no bad thing that McMillan starts with a squad that has new leaders and influential voices, as well as a crop of exciting signings in Leinster front rows Michael Milne and Lee Barron, as well as Leicester centre Dan Kelly. The returning JJ Hanrahan also adds some experience to the squad.
The new boss will be reunited with Alex Nankivell and John Ryan, who he coached at the Chiefs, as well as one-time New Zealand Barbarians prop Oli Jager. Throw in the highly promising group of homegrown talents who have been breaking through recently, along with proven key players like Tadhg Beirne, Craig Casey, and Jack Crowley, and McMillan should have the materials to mould into a competitive squad.
Competitive in this instance should mean battling for the URC title and taking Munster beyond the Round of 16 in the Champions Cup every season.
Irish rugby needs Munster to be maximising every ounce of the province’s potential. McMillan must take them to their happy place.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
11 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Highly-rated Kiwi McMillan seems like a fine fit for Munster
CLAYTON MCMILLAN MIGHT not be the biggest name in these parts yet but bringing him to Irish rugby is a big coup for Munster and the IRFU.
They went looking for McMillan, rather than the other way around, and got their man.
He is highly-regarded in New Zealand rugby, having helped to lift the Chiefs out of a malaise and into three Super Rugby finals in the last four years.
They haven’t won any of those deciders but the Hamilton-based club have been consistent since McMillan took charge in 2021, combining thrilling attacking play with a hard-nosed physicality across the entire team. They’re a smart, well-coached side who provide McMillan with a fine current CV.
The Chiefs have started the new Super Rugby Pacific in powerful form with wins against local rivals the Blues and Crusaders, with several Kiwi pundits touting McMillan’s men as favourites to land what would be their first title in 12 years.
That drought remains a point of pain for cowbell-ringing Chiefs supporters – Munster fans knew that feeling too well until 2023 – but McMillan has made them a serious outfit again, probably for the first time since they won back-to-back Super Rugby titles under Dave Rennie in 2012 and 2013.
In the years since those glory days, it seems the Chiefs had become a little purposeless and sloppy behind the scenes. McMillan has put them right. Having enjoyed a successful stint with Bay of Plenty, where he previously played, McMillan got the Chiefs gig on an interim basis first in 2021 when Chiefs boss Warren Gatland went on the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
McMillan did such a good job in leading them to the final of Super Rugby Aotearoa [just for Kiwi teams during Covid-19] that he stayed in the position and worked alongside Gatland before the latter went back to Wales in 2022. The Chiefs haven’t looked back, even if they’ve suffered in those Super Rugby deciders against the Crusaders and Blues.
McMillan is renowned as an authoritative, disciplined figure who cuts out all bullshit and gives clear, concise messages to his players. He is said to be an excellent man manager who gets the best from players and is good at developing youngsters.
As a former back row and a professional police officer up until 2015, he seemingly has an uncompromising edge to his coaching and is big on accountability. His Chiefs players have total respect for him. As the Kiwis say, McMillan has a lot of mana.
All of these things seem to make him a good fit for Munster, where senior players had felt man-management had become less convincing. There have been periods of unhappiness within the squad over the past couple of seasons.
A big part of McMillan’s project with the Chiefs has been reconnecting them to their Māori culture, something that is close to his heart, as he recently explained during an insightful chat with the Between Two Beers podcast.
He will undoubtedly take a similar approach in Munster as he bids to create a no-excuses, no-nonsense culture that connects the players with the province as much as possible. McMillan will lean on his Munster-native assistant coaches Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy, as well as general manager Ian Costello, in that regard.
Some new head coaches arrive at clubs with the privilege of picking their own support staff but McMillan will join Munster having to strike up a relationship with two existing senior assistants in Leamy and Prendergast.
In a pure rugby sense, that duo’s technical and tactical expertise would appear to blend well with McMillan’s rugby nous and reputation as a good manager of people.
Prendergast put his hand up to become the head coach ahead of next season but has been overlooked this time around, although he will be bumped up to the role of ‘senior coach’ under McMillan.
The provincial head coaching positions are IRFU appointments and while it seems there was strong support for Prendergast from Munster themselves, the union may have pressed for bringing in someone with more head coaching experience.
It must be a little galling for Prendergast to have put his hand up and be rebuffed. McMillan’s comments about wanting Munster to have “some ambition and some courage to perhaps play with a bit more of the ball” were curious given how Prendergast has changed how Munster attack, favouring an ambitious, possession-heavy style.
But Prendergast cares about Munster deeply and will undoubtedly put aside any personal disappointment to get behind the new boss. Judging by how Munster and the Chiefs play, they should have plenty in common.
Clearly, the IRFU rates Prendergast – he head coached the Ireland A team last week – and there’s a good chance that the Limerick man will be in the mix for the top Munster job next time around unless he gets lured away for a head coach gig somewhere else in the meantime.
McMillan’s Chiefs contract was due to run until 2026 but he revealed yesterday that he had always intended to coach abroad and his deal even had a clause in it to allow him to head overseas.
Yet he goes with the blessing of both the Chiefs and New Zealand Rugby, who have already expressed their excitement about welcoming McMillan home at the end of what is due to be a three-year deal with Munster.
McMillan has coached the New Zealand U20s, New Zealand Barbarians, Māori All Blacks, and All Blacks XV over the past 15 years, giving him experience at all national team levels below the senior All Blacks.
He is undoubtedly viewed as a leading coach in Kiwi rugby, where heading up the All Blacks is the ultimate goal for everyone.
Others have already put him in the mix for that job down the line, with Chiefs CEO Simon Graafhuis saying, “At some stage, I think we’ll probably see him coaching the All Blacks.”
But McMillan has plenty to prove before that becomes a possibility.
Winning Super Rugby with the Chiefs would be the dream way of bowing out of New Zealand rugby this year, while he will be in uncharted territory with Munster over the coming seasons.
While one could argue that joining Munster at a time when legendary figures Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray are leaving makes McMillan’s life more difficult, it can easily be flipped the other way.
Munster’s mission is to move on from its past and write an exciting new chapter. That started under Graham Rowntree with the URC success in 2023, but it’s clear there are still great leaps to be taken to bring the province to where they want to be.
It might be no bad thing that McMillan starts with a squad that has new leaders and influential voices, as well as a crop of exciting signings in Leinster front rows Michael Milne and Lee Barron, as well as Leicester centre Dan Kelly. The returning JJ Hanrahan also adds some experience to the squad.
The new boss will be reunited with Alex Nankivell and John Ryan, who he coached at the Chiefs, as well as one-time New Zealand Barbarians prop Oli Jager. Throw in the highly promising group of homegrown talents who have been breaking through recently, along with proven key players like Tadhg Beirne, Craig Casey, and Jack Crowley, and McMillan should have the materials to mould into a competitive squad.
Competitive in this instance should mean battling for the URC title and taking Munster beyond the Round of 16 in the Champions Cup every season.
Irish rugby needs Munster to be maximising every ounce of the province’s potential. McMillan must take them to their happy place.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Appointment Chiefs Clayton McMillan kiwi mana Munster