So who can fill this hot seat?

The news Tony McGahan is to return to his native Australia to become defence coach with the Wallabies is superb for him on a personal level but not so good for Munster.

Despite the hysteria that accompanied Munster’s failure to make the Heineken Cup quarter-finals last season, McGahan has done an excellent job for the province in the various roles he has held while in Ireland.

McGahan made a name for himself initially as defence coach with the 2006 Heineken Cup winning sidebefore assuming a more expanded role in the 2008 success. As head coach, he has brought Munster to two Heineken Cup semi-finals, in 2009 and 2010, in addition to twice winning the Magners League title.

McGahan was aware for some time that new blood had to be introduced into the squad as many of the heroes from the decade chasing the Heineken Cup dream were coming to the end of a fantastic period in the history of the province. The difficulty for him was that with the vast majority of Munster’s front liners still in Declan Kidney’s wider squad building up to the 2011 World Cup, the process of change was more complex.

That didn’t stop McGahan from investing huge amounts of time, energy and expertise on the next generation who were either in the Munster Academy or on development contracts with the province. Apart from his onfield achievements, McGahan can also take huge pride in the massive strides taken by the likes of Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Mike Sherry, Danny Barnes, Ian Nagle, Stephen Archer, Simon Zebo, Luke O’Dea, James Ryan, Paddy Butler and Dave O’Callaghan in recent times under his watch. And there are more to come.

He insisted on raising the bar in relation to the development of the younger brigade and demanded that certain minimum standards be achieved before asking them to swim with the sharks in the senior squad.

The public are now beginning to see the fruits of his efforts along with all the other quality coaches within the academy. McGahan demands much from those around him but like any good captain leads by example and has a work ethic which is second to none.

In the ideal world, McGahan would remain for another two seasons to see the development of all that young talent come to fruition, while also grooming Anthony Foley for the top job. It is somewhat ironic that Munster has played a significant role in the development of key backroom personnel for the Australian national side with Alan Gaffney, Jim Williams and now McGahan all elevated to the international coaching ranks on the back of their achievements with Munster. It would be great now to see an indigenous coach offered the chance to build on his work here.

McGahan assumed the role of attack coach with the province on the intervention of the players who recognised that he had more to offer that just his defensive attributes. When Kidney moved up the ladder to become Ireland coach, the Munster players were more than happy that McGahan was the man to take charge of the province.

The rugby produced by Munster in McGahan’s first season in charge in 2008/09 was the best the province has ever played and culminated with the thrashing of the Ospreys in the Heineken Cup quarter final (43-9). That Ospreys side contained seven of the Lions party that toured South Africa three months later while Munster’s template was adopted by Ian McGeechan when he named eight Munster players, including Paul O’Connell as captain, of the squad for that tour.

All the hype surrounding that Lions announcement played a part when Leinster turned form and history on its head by beating Munster in that epic Croke Park semi-final before defeating Leicester Tigers in the Murrayfield decider. Had it not been a Lions year and the distraction and additional attention that Munster’s achievement in terms of selection caused, I think they would have won back-to-back Heineken Cup titles that season.

The fact that McGahan has now accepted the offer to coach at international level which also affords him the opportunity to return home to his native Brisbane with his wife and young family is understandable in the circumstances. Don’t forget the Lions tour Australia next season and that presents another massive opportunity for McGahan. It is a real pity that he is not in a position to finish the job he started in building a new Munster side.

But he has played a significant role in putting the foundations in place for whoever is chosen to follow.