Tony McGahan says Paul O’Connell is always striving to improve his own game and his team-mates.

Saying ‘yes’ was the easy part, but having fulfilled his ambition to be Munster head coach Anthony Foley will lean on the coaches he faithfully served as he prepares to take charge of his beloved province next season.

Paul O’Connell believes appointing Anthony Foley as Rob Penney’s successor at Munster has the players’ backing and says the New Zealander’s departure as head coach in June “doesn’t make a massive difference” to his desire to stay with the province.

Tony McGahan may be opening a new chapter in his rugby life but Munster memories still burn brightly.

While some uncertainty remains about his future, Rob Penney is putting complete faith in his side.

Ballinacurra House in Kinsale, Co Cork, is the latest winner of the prestigious ‘Exclusive Wedding Venue of Year’ Award.

Galway 2-20 Tyrone 2-05

Laurie Fisher is right at home, literally, coaching rugby in Canberra.

Has it really been a year since Tony McGahan vacated the head coach’s role at Munster?

Former Munster head coach Tony McGahan has backed Simon Zebo, Peter O’Mahony and the province’s other young guns he helped to develop to follow Conor Murray as British & Irish Lions of the future.

HEINEKEN CUP QUARTER-FINAL

Cookstown (Tyrone) 3-13Warrenpoint (Down) 1-11 (after extra-time)

Quade Cooper is poised to return to the Australia team for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash with New Zealand in Auckland.

Tony McGahan gave Conor Murray his big chance, Declan Kidney shocked the rugby world by bringing him to the World Cup and making him his country’s first choice No 9, a status he has retained over the past 12 months, and now he’s being talked up as a leading candidate for a Lions place next summer.

Meath full-forward Stephen Coogan grabbed a sensational goal with a minute of normal time to play at Newry last night to send his side into the All-Ireland MFC semi-finals.

Tyrone were crowned Ulster minor football champions for the 23rd time, following a composed and assured performance at Clones yesterday.

Munster's new era starts in earnest next week when Rob Penney and his backs coach Simon Mannix oversee their first training sessions, writes Conor George of the Evening Echo.

Munster’s list of prospective backs coaches was reduced by one yesterday after Canterbury confirmed Rob Penney’s assistant Tabai Matson had been appointed as his replacement at the New Zealand province.

Veteran Munster second row Mick O’Driscoll, whose career came to an end in the 45-10 defeat to the Ospreys, believes the province still has the potential to compete for trophies.

Humiliation by a resurgent Ospreys was clearly not the sort of exit from Munster that Tony McGahan would have envisaged when he announced his departure for Australia back in February.

Mick O’Driscoll may have called time on his own playing career but as Munster prepare for a summer of upheaval, the outgoing lock believes his province has not reached the end of an era.

The Tony McGahan era came to a disappointing end last night as Munster’s reign as league champions was ended emphatically by a rampant Ospreys in the RaboDirect Pro12 semi-final at Liberty Stadium.

Tony McGahan had no excuses for Munster as his four-year tenure as director of coaching came to an end last night with a heavy defeat by Ospreys in the RaboDirect Pro12 semi-final.

Tony McGahan is banking on youthful enthusiasm to help carry defending champions Munster through their RaboDirect Pro12 semi-final at Ospreys in Swansea tonight (7.35pm).

Tony McGahan welcomed Ronan O’Gara back to Munster squad for the first time in a month ahead of tomorrow night’s RaboDirect Pro12 semi-final at Ospreys but revealed Damien Varley’s injury may be worse than first feared.

At a time of year when things should be slowing down, last week proved one of the busiest for those charged with the responsibility of running the game in Munster.

Paul O’Connell will undergo a scan on his injured knee within the next 24 hours to assess his chances of touring New Zealand with Ireland next month.

Fears that an injury to Keith Earls would be another long-term problem for Munster and Ireland were eased yesterday when he was given a place on the bench for his province at Thomond Park tonight.

As Tony McGahan prepares to take charge of Munster for possibly the final time at home before departing to a new job in his native Australia, Simon Lewis looks back at the top five Thomond Park moments of his tenure.

With the minimum of fuss, Munster have found their man and though their choice of Rob Penney may raise eyebrows in some quarters, the New Zealander appears to be quite a catch.

A first competitive start for his province, a Heineken Cup debut in a famous victory and lifting the British & Irish Cup would be quite the season for any young player but Dave O’Callaghan is just as grateful for the “life management” skills he has learned in the Munster Academy.

The provincial spotlight is set to remain firmly focused on Leinster and Ulster this week as Munster are at least a week away from announcing who will fill the hot seat on Tony McGahan’s departure at the end of the season.

Outgoing Munster director of coaching Tony McGahan will not be coaching Super XV outfit Western Force next season when he returns to his native Australia, the Queenslander has confirmed.

Munster director of coaching Tony McGahan’s appointment as Australia’s coaching co-ordinator has finally been confirmed by the Wallabies hierarchy.

Munster head coach Tony McGahan’s move to Australia’s revamped coaching staff has been confirmed in a newly-created position ahead of the Wallabies’ June internationals.

Munster’s nomination for a successor to director of coaching Tony McGahan is all set to be sent to Dublin for consideration by the IRFU this week.

Put Munster’s back against any wall and you can expect a fighting reaction.

Munster Academy prop Dave Kilcoyne will make his first competitive start for the province when Tony McGahan’s men take on the Scarlets in tomorrow evening’s RaboDirect PRO12 meeting in Llanelli (6.30pm).

Munster coach Tony McGahan has been linked with the soon-to-be-vacant head coach’s role at Western Force in Australia, despite the fact that he has already announced his decision to take up a role with the Wallabies next season.

Injured duo Ronan O’Gara and David Wallace will again be absentees when Munster take on the Llanelli Scarlets in a crucial RaboDirect Pro12 game at Parc Y Scarlets on Saturday.

Tributes continued to pour in for Munster and Ireland second-row forward Mick O’Driscoll who yesterday officially announced his retirement to take effect from the end of the season.

With seven of those involved in last Sunday's game against Ulster ruled out through injury, Munster are forced to reshuffle their side for the RaboDirect PRO12 game against Glasgow Warriors at Musgrave Park tomorrow (7.15pm).

Tony McGahan didn’t mask his bitter disappointment at Munster’s Heineken Cup quarter-final exit yesterday and declared that wereMunster to retain their RaboDirect Pro12 title it wouldn’t compensate for what happened against Ulster.

Ronan O’Gara hopes Munster rugby chiefs will “trawl the world” for the best possible successor to Tony McGahan, who departs as the province’s director of coaching at the end of this season.