Munster Team Talk Thread - Beirne After Reading

GT Article in IT - Reads like boot firmly going into Munster Branch 'Hierarchy'

Cut & Paste parts of article below fyi

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/2026/03/31/munster-rugby-has-been-mismanaged-for-years-the-chickens-are-now-coming-home-to-roost/

Eight-pointers abound on Munster’s run-in, which sees them take on Benetton (away), Ulster (home), Connacht (away) and the Lions (home). On Saturday, Munster are away to Exeter in the Challenge Cup round of 16. It’s a competition they cannot be too sniffy about, not least as winning it is another avenue into next season’s Champions Cup.

The importance of achieving that basic goal was underlined by the Munster Branch revealing last week that they were offering a voluntary redundancy programme for staff members in addition to further trimming their playing budget. Given they seem to have been losing money annually for a decade, the wonder is this didn’t happen sooner.

Last Tuesday, Munster chief executive Ian Flanagan hosted a virtual meeting with the entire staff – including the playing squad and backroom team who were in South Africa – outlining this programme.

The Irish Examiner reported that just one question was asked of Flanagan. This was a query about the likelihood of compulsory redundancies if the voluntary programme is under-subscribed. His response was, apparently, along the lines of “we have to wait and see”.

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Chickens are coming home to roost after years of mismanagement. Munster provided 11 homegrown players to the Irish matchday squad that completed the Grand Slam in Cardiff 17 years ago, including six starting forwards, another two on the bench, both halfbacks and the backup scrumhalf.

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One feels a certain sympathy for Clayton McMillan, a good coach whose hard-nosed approach has been more popular with some than others. But there is far more disquiet with the Munster Branch hierarchy, not least among former players. Conor Murray, for one, expressed as much with a critique of the organisation in his biography.

The departure at the end of the season of the homegrown Mike Prendergast, who was overlooked to succeed Graham Rowntree despite building an extensive coaching portfolio, is simply an awful look for the province. It’s clear too that his influence is less pronounced this season, which can only have added to his frustration.

The emergence of the Edogbo brothers is timely, but the Munster Branch and the IRFU stand indicted for the lack of succession planning, stretching back about eight to 10 years ago and notably in relation to tight-five forwards. It’s been over 20 years since Munster produced a homegrown prop.

The decline of the schools’ game (this season’s vintage PBC Cork team excepted) in Cork and Limerick is partially down to a heightened focus on hurling, while the alarming decline in the club game in both cities is partly down to socio-economic factors and migration to Dublin. All of this explains why the IRFU have sought to invest some of the money saved in culling the men’s sevens programme directly into the schools.

The Bulls-bound Thaakir Abrahams, Gloucester-bound Jean Kleyn and Michael Ala’alatoa are all moving on, and with another generation of high-profile players having retired in recent years, the team lacks poster boys. A huge weight rests on Beirne, Casey and Crowley.

Munster need more than voluntary redundancies. They need a reboot, as a declining Munster is not only bad for the province, but also for Irish rugby.

It was always more than likely he was going to leave after openly putting his hand up for HC.

Signed a new deal in Nov 2024-Hat in the ring Dec 2024-McMillan announced Feb 2025

It was a bit of a weird sequence of events. (I agree - McMillan was the better choice)

1st priority is getting a quality replacement - McMillan MUST be given the green light here.

2nd priority is getting props - Ala'alatoa was never going to cut it & its been very disappointing.

….were offering a voluntary redundancy programme for staff members in addition to further trimming their playing budget.

This must impact on the quality that they can get. Desperately need props than can scrummage. A couple of loan deals (!Dian Bleuler!) would really help.

If you say…