CLAYTON MCMILLAN WASN’T beating around the bush when he spoke to the media on Thursday.
It was the Munster head coach’s first time to address journalists since confirmation that Roger Randle will not be joining the province as attack coach this summer.
McMillan had a full week to decide what he wanted to say. And he made it very clear that he is not happy with how things have worked out.
The Munster boss opted against committing to staying with Munster beyond the end of this season, as he put the ball in others’ court.
“I’m fully committed to the team until the end of the season,” said McMillan. “There’s no doubt about that.
“Other people might make a decision around whether I’m here next year or the year after and if that’s what people decide, if I’m not the best person to lead this team forward, that will be their decision.”
Who are these other people? Well, McMillan is directly contracted to the IRFU, as are the three other provincial head coaches, Stuart Lancaster, Richie Murphy, and Leo Cullen.
The IRFU is McMillan’s boss. So his comments could be read as McMillan questioning whether he has the IRFU’s support to continue his role as Munster head coach.
But The 42 understands that the IRFU and its performance director, David Humphreys, do have full support for McMillan and want him to continue in his role as Munster head coach, despite McMillan’s central involvement in the hiring of Randle.
It’s also understood that Munster’s hierarchy want McMillan to continue in his position as head coach.
So McMillan is wanted where he is. While he has publicly questioned that, there is no push against the Kiwi from the IRFU or Munster.
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There have been worries among supporters that the Randle saga and other issues in Munster could convince McMillan to step down, but he underlined yesterday that “I don’t walk away from a fight easily” and “to walk away would feel like I’m letting [people who believe in him] down”.
Munster CEO Ian Flanagan with Clayton McMillan. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
The IRFU and Munster were thrilled to lure McMillan to Ireland last year on a three-season deal, given his ever-growing reputation as a head coach in New Zealand with the Chiefs.
McMillan is a coach with big ambitions. He is a driven individual who is seen as a possible future All Blacks boss. When he agreed to come to Ireland, he would have stressed the need that he be fully supported in his mission to bring Munster back to the top table of club rugby.
He clearly hasn’t felt that in recent weeks and is understood to be extremely frustrated about the entire Randle episode.
As he spelled out on Thursday, “there are changes that I think need to be made to give me the confidence that I have the support to be able to do the job that’s needed.”
And this appears to be the crux of the matter.
What are the changes that McMillan wants? He didn’t specify that.
However, it’s understood that he is annoyed about how the process of appointing an assistant coach panned out in this instance, as well as the internal fallout caused by the appointment of Randle.
Three voluntary members of Munster’s Professional Game Committee [PGC] resigned from their positions after the announcement of Randle as attack coach, with their frustration understood to centre on not being consulted before a deal was struck.
Those resignations essentially kick-started the fallout from the Randle appointment, with McMillan said to be frustrated about the circumstances. It remains to be seen what happens next with the PGC and whether there are new appointments to that committee.
McMillan continued to back Randle throughout the controversy, but it has ended with a U-turn involving Munster, the IRFU, and Randle himself. Obviously, it was deeply frustrating for McMillan to lose an assistant coach he trusts and backed so strongly.
Munster Rugby will now commission an independent review of the Randle episode, with an external company to carry out that process and interview all parties involved to ascertain where things went wrong.
The costs might not be exorbitant, but it’s another expense at a time when Munster don’t need it.
McMillan at Munster training this week. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
It’s understood that Munster Rugby gathered its staff for a ‘town hall’ meeting on Thursday and told them the bad news that compulsory redundancies are now being sought within the organisation.
This comes after a process of voluntary redundancy offers failed to reach the required target as the organisation tightens its belt amid financial challenges.
It’s believed that there will only be a small number of compulsory redundancies from within a group of close to 100 staff members, but this news was understandably greeted with dismay.
The meeting is also believed to have involved CEO Ian Flanagan informing Munster staff that the external review into the Randle appointment will take place.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the external review is, but the IRFU will obviously be waiting in the wings for news of the independent company’s findings.
The union’s role in the Randle appointment remains a curiosity. The IRFU distanced itself from the process, saying Munster didn’t need union approval for the hiring of an assistant coach, but it is surprising that there wouldn’t be any awareness of an appointment to such an important position.
Munster might argue that this wasn’t a complete solo run but whatever the case, the IRFU surely needs to change the process and insist on formally assessing every single assistant coach appointment in the provinces from now on.
And McMillan will also be standing by to see if this review results in him getting the kind of support and changes that he wants to be able to kick on and do his job.
On the rugby front, Munster have been hit by injuries to a number of key players, including Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne.
That leaves them depleted for tomorrow’s visit to Connacht in the URC, but everyone in Munster will be glad to get back to focusing on a game after another rancorous few days.
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IRFU wants McMillan to remain as Munster boss into next season
CLAYTON MCMILLAN WASN’T beating around the bush when he spoke to the media on Thursday.
It was the Munster head coach’s first time to address journalists since confirmation that Roger Randle will not be joining the province as attack coach this summer.
McMillan had a full week to decide what he wanted to say. And he made it very clear that he is not happy with how things have worked out.
The Munster boss opted against committing to staying with Munster beyond the end of this season, as he put the ball in others’ court.
“I’m fully committed to the team until the end of the season,” said McMillan. “There’s no doubt about that.
“Other people might make a decision around whether I’m here next year or the year after and if that’s what people decide, if I’m not the best person to lead this team forward, that will be their decision.”
Who are these other people? Well, McMillan is directly contracted to the IRFU, as are the three other provincial head coaches, Stuart Lancaster, Richie Murphy, and Leo Cullen.
The IRFU is McMillan’s boss. So his comments could be read as McMillan questioning whether he has the IRFU’s support to continue his role as Munster head coach.
But The 42 understands that the IRFU and its performance director, David Humphreys, do have full support for McMillan and want him to continue in his role as Munster head coach, despite McMillan’s central involvement in the hiring of Randle.
It’s also understood that Munster’s hierarchy want McMillan to continue in his position as head coach.
So McMillan is wanted where he is. While he has publicly questioned that, there is no push against the Kiwi from the IRFU or Munster.
There have been worries among supporters that the Randle saga and other issues in Munster could convince McMillan to step down, but he underlined yesterday that “I don’t walk away from a fight easily” and “to walk away would feel like I’m letting [people who believe in him] down”.
The IRFU and Munster were thrilled to lure McMillan to Ireland last year on a three-season deal, given his ever-growing reputation as a head coach in New Zealand with the Chiefs.
McMillan is a coach with big ambitions. He is a driven individual who is seen as a possible future All Blacks boss. When he agreed to come to Ireland, he would have stressed the need that he be fully supported in his mission to bring Munster back to the top table of club rugby.
He clearly hasn’t felt that in recent weeks and is understood to be extremely frustrated about the entire Randle episode.
As he spelled out on Thursday, “there are changes that I think need to be made to give me the confidence that I have the support to be able to do the job that’s needed.”
And this appears to be the crux of the matter.
What are the changes that McMillan wants? He didn’t specify that.
However, it’s understood that he is annoyed about how the process of appointing an assistant coach panned out in this instance, as well as the internal fallout caused by the appointment of Randle.
Three voluntary members of Munster’s Professional Game Committee [PGC] resigned from their positions after the announcement of Randle as attack coach, with their frustration understood to centre on not being consulted before a deal was struck.
Those resignations essentially kick-started the fallout from the Randle appointment, with McMillan said to be frustrated about the circumstances. It remains to be seen what happens next with the PGC and whether there are new appointments to that committee.
McMillan continued to back Randle throughout the controversy, but it has ended with a U-turn involving Munster, the IRFU, and Randle himself. Obviously, it was deeply frustrating for McMillan to lose an assistant coach he trusts and backed so strongly.
Munster Rugby will now commission an independent review of the Randle episode, with an external company to carry out that process and interview all parties involved to ascertain where things went wrong.
The costs might not be exorbitant, but it’s another expense at a time when Munster don’t need it.
It’s understood that Munster Rugby gathered its staff for a ‘town hall’ meeting on Thursday and told them the bad news that compulsory redundancies are now being sought within the organisation.
This comes after a process of voluntary redundancy offers failed to reach the required target as the organisation tightens its belt amid financial challenges.
It’s believed that there will only be a small number of compulsory redundancies from within a group of close to 100 staff members, but this news was understandably greeted with dismay.
The meeting is also believed to have involved CEO Ian Flanagan informing Munster staff that the external review into the Randle appointment will take place.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the external review is, but the IRFU will obviously be waiting in the wings for news of the independent company’s findings.
The union’s role in the Randle appointment remains a curiosity. The IRFU distanced itself from the process, saying Munster didn’t need union approval for the hiring of an assistant coach, but it is surprising that there wouldn’t be any awareness of an appointment to such an important position.
Munster might argue that this wasn’t a complete solo run but whatever the case, the IRFU surely needs to change the process and insist on formally assessing every single assistant coach appointment in the provinces from now on.
And McMillan will also be standing by to see if this review results in him getting the kind of support and changes that he wants to be able to kick on and do his job.
On the rugby front, Munster have been hit by injuries to a number of key players, including Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne.
That leaves them depleted for tomorrow’s visit to Connacht in the URC, but everyone in Munster will be glad to get back to focusing on a game after another rancorous few days.
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