THERE’S A CHANCE Munster’s next head coach hasn’t even put his name forward for the job yet.
When the province and Graham Rowntree went their separate ways back in October, CVs soon started arriving from far and wide. The rate of messages landing in the inbox might have slowed somewhat since, but Ian Costello, Munster’s Head of Operations and interim head coach, says the search remains ongoing with new names still coming forward to express an interest in the position.
“They still come in because a lot of people are only finding out what’s happening next year (with their contracts), that’s where it’s tricky in the middle of the season and that’s where you don’t want to feel any pressure to do this quickly,” he explained, speaking at Munster’s HPC facility in Limerick yesterday.
The day-to-day demands of serving as interim boss are keeping Costello busy but his bigger picture work is still rolling along in the background. The province are currently planning for Saturday’s Champions Cup meeting with Northampton Saints and a URC clash with the Dragons the following weekend, but Costello also has an important date with the IRFU marked in his calendar, where province and union will discuss the state of play with the head coach search.
“We’ve got a meeting next week, later this month and that will involve IRFU, PGC (Professional Game Committee) etc, Chris (Boyd, Performance Consultant) has had some input. We’ll sit and talk about it.
“Ian Flanagan (Munster CEO) will talk about this a bit more as well, about looking at our structure, looking around at getting the best fit for a head coach and they are ongoing conversations.
“I said this before and it might frustrate people but it’s such a big decision, how it all fits, and it’s the middle of the season as well. We need to get it right and we don’t feel under any pressure internally to speed that up despite the fact that maybe people on the outside are counting down 10 weeks, 12 weeks, whatever.
This is about getting it right for Munster so that we continue to build on what we’ve done over the last couple of years. “
Costello reiterated Munster have not put a timeframe on making an appointment.
“The time period we don’t know, it’s undefined. But I promise you, I’m not sitting here trying to pedal a line, there’s a sense in here at the moment but not long term, there is going to be a new head coach and I’ll be going back to my day job.”
While he’s double-jobbing across his two current roles, Costello feels he’s probably spending around a third of the time he used to with certain groups within the Munster system, but he still keeps a foot in across the week.
“If we’re looking at depth charts, I might sit in every second meeting and your Wednesdays and Fridays become very, very valuable. It’s only for a defined period of time as well, so sometimes you can treat it like a mission, say, you just have to get to this point in time, and there’s so much support around the building, whether it’s Philip Quinn (Munster COO) around contracting or Gar (Prendergast, Head of Academy and Pathway) around the academy and pathway.
“I just dial up. My focus (previously) would have been maybe a quarter on the senior team, maybe a third, you just dial that up to two thirds and it’s for a period of time. You just have to make sure the long term stuff isn’t going on the long finger because that’s critical for the club as well.”
Internally, players and staff are comfortable with how it’s all working out. Costello says there is every possibility Munster’s current arrangement will continue for the remainder of the season.
“It’s a case of just cracking on,” Costello continued.
“Look, this is what I’d love to stress. I’ve kind of stayed away from this but in our building at the moment we’ve got an attack coach (Mike Prendergast) who has been an attack coach for over a dozen years and has changed the way we play the game. He’s arguably world-class in terms of an attack coach, and a top bloke.
“Denis Leamy has led the defence for two years to be the best defence and we’re working our way back to that type of form again. Alex Codling who has come in has coached at international level, Premiership level, Top 14 level.
“Mossy (Lawler) has been an attack coach with Connacht, he’s skills coach here and is progressing to assistant attack coach. Our analyst coach is here 20 years, George Murray, who has a wealth of knowledge and I have a dozen years professional coaching experience as well. Yes, for the last couple of years I’ve been more around talent systems and the whole performance system but it wasn’t a big transition to switch back in because I’m so connected to the senior team all the time.
“Why I’m doing it is because it keeps everything else constant, so what might appear outside that ‘what’s happening with Munster?’, it’s so aligned and connected and we’ve just cracked on here.
Yeah, it was a change and there was a transition period that we had to manage but the last six to eight weeks have been really stable and moving in the right direction.”
That stability has been aided by newer faces around the training pitch. Alex Codling has made a big impression since joining the province as forwards coach consultant in November. The Englishman is also forwards coach with the Ireland women’s team, and will work with both squads across the Women’s Six Nations.
Former players Sean Cronin and Tommy O’Donnell, who are both provincial talent coaches with Munster, are more heavily involved. Cronin is working with the Munster scrum while O’Donnell is lending a hand with the forwards.
Munster have the option of simply proceeding as is for next season, rather than adding another new voice to the mix. With Mike Prendergast applying for the head coach job, there is scope to keep the current personnel in place while moving some of the existing parts around.
“Look, it’s a possibility. Mike has put his name in the ring but like anything we want to get this right. There will be a worldwide search to make sure we get the right person with the right fit for Munster, and I’d probably be at pains to say that we have to have the confidence that what we’ve done over the last few years has really moved us in the right direction.
“Again, there’s discussions around our squad depth. When we’re healthy we have an outstanding squad, and what’s coming underneath is in such a healthy place right across all positions now. Some, a little bit behind, but what we’ve done in the last three and a half years, we’ve got to build on.
“We need a head coach, in our opinion, that understands our culture, identity, our integrated model, the way we’re linked in with the Academy, and comes in and adds to that and that evolves rather than fundamentally changing it.
“So that’ll be one of the key requirements or key factors when we hire a head coach.”
The search goes on.
“(Mike Prendergast) who has been an attack coach for over a dozen years and has changed the way we play the game. He’s arguably world-class in terms of an attack coach,”
Very arguably in my opinion given what we have seen so far this season where our attack seems to focus on banging the ball into the defensive wall in hope more than anything and when we do try anything clever the inevitable errors come after 3 or 4 phases.
A work in progress some might say but Munster’s attack has been ‘a work in progress’ for about 10 years now.
And I’m still bewildered as to why Rowntree was let go and if it was necessary why wasn’t it done last summer?
@Stanley Marsh: I think our attack is actually quiet good. Yes, there were plenty of unforced errors last week and previously but a lot of those were individual lack of concentration. Haley was terrible under the high ball but that can hardly be the fault of our attack strategy or coaching. We lack power and pace which makes it harder to covert the chances we’re creating in to scores. But our attack is producing chances e.g. line breaks . If you compare to Leinster, we’re creating more line breaks than they are. Their defense and ability to convert much better than us.
@Stanley Marsh: completely disagree,
We didn’t win the 2 years ago and top the the table last because we played 1 out runners and had a pack that dominated the oppositions. 2 years ago munster finished that season with some fantastic attacking rugby. Last year was the same after a very poor start, things stopped clicking in the playoffs sure but that can happen. This year munster have been flat no doubt but it’s hard to go wide when you injury ravaged pack are struggling and handling errors are through the roof.
Mike prendergast is definitely a world class imo, do you not remember the attack before he arrived, if you could call it that.
@Patrick O’Sullivan: @Michael Corkery
I’d agree the current uncertainty must be having an effect on the players but regardless our attack this season, especially against the better sides, has been lack lustre.
A lot of one off runners and many of our line breaks come from individual work rather than attack work done on the training field.
I’m a fan of Haley and I felt for him on Saturday as he had easily had his worst game for us.
The one thing I would say though is that even though this season has been tough to endure so far the committment and application of the players is outstanding especially as they have to pick up the slack created by all the injuries.
Andy Farrell cost Munster 2 international players by not giving 10 Minutes easy to Klein and Frisch. We would then be able to retain Synman.We don’t have silky centres .So almost impossible to work other than one out and straight up.
@Patrick Mc Inerney: Couldn’t disagree more. These are people’s (short) careers and livelihoods we are talking about.
I expect Jean Klein prefers being a World Cup winner to a token appearance off the bench and holding tackle bags for Ireland
Antoine Frisch had his chances with Ireland and was not capped. Maybe the coaches thought other players were better, maybe they didn’t like his attitude/commitment, maybe both
Isa Nacewa could have been an All Black great but for one token cap for Fiji. AJ McGinty is another example
Similarly, Ben Healy put all his eggs in the Scotland basket, it seems not to have worked out for him and it is unlikely Munster will want to use up an NIQ spot to get him back