Munster coach Jimmy Duffy: ‘It’s time for youngsters to create their own history’

Duffy’s coaching career has taken him near and far, from the Connacht staff he joined three years after being forced to retire as a player at the age of 20 via the Ireland Under-20s, then Tonga, Australia’s Western Force and then back to Ireland with Ulster. 

Yet home base in the west still called and when Duffy and his wife Orla decided their lives and that of son Joseph belonged back in Galway towards the end of last season, Munster’s head coach wasted little time in exploring the opportunity of securing one of the brightest coaches in Irish rugby as his replacement for the Toulon-bound Alex Codling.

Not that Duffy had Munster on his radar. 

He had returned from Perth to reunite with former Ireland U20 boss Richie Murphy at Ulster in 2024 to be closer to home and as he admitted on Tuesday as he prepared for his first competitive outing with his new province at home to Glasgow Warriors this Saturday, a regular commute to Limerick had not been envisaged.

“I didn't have a plan,” Duffy said. “Number one it was a family decision. We decided that was the plan, we had no plan, we were going home from Australia and that was that and then Belfast happened and now Limerick has happened and look, I'm delighted.

“I suppose like anyone you have a plan and then life happens. So look, I was delighted. I obviously had a great couple of years traveling around the world and then getting close to Belfast and then back down to Munster.

“So look, a massive club with a massive past and hopefully a big, big future as well. So delighted to be still in the game and still working.

“A really good young bunch, really keen, hardworking, but smashing lads. It's a breath of fresh air working again, I can't complain.” 

Duffy pitched up at Munster in pre-season with a reputation for developing and helping young players realise their potential that had been forged at both Connacht, where he was forwards coach when Pat Lam guided the westerners to their unexpected but deserved 2015-16 Pro12 title, and as part of Murphy’s first Ireland U20 Six Nations Grand Slam title in 2022. 

He is excited to take on a similar role in Limerick and sees a big future for the next generation of Munster men.

“Number one is just to let this group take the mantle,” he said. “I think that is the big thing.

“There's obviously massive history at the club, there would be certain pressures with that, but it's a young enough Munster team, so I think it's really cool for them as an opportunity to create their space in history as opposed to looking back.” 

He will enable that as best he can with the benefit of a rich global career experience.

“I suppose my coaching philosophy is probably something I would work quite hard on in terms of working with the person, you know?

“Getting around the place you'd have different cultural nuances, where people would put focus as a nation would be different, Australia was different to the Tongans, the Irish system, it just gives you a broader perspective and that you don't follow one school of thought and get streamlined into 'this is the way to go', and that for me was the biggest thing. Working with a couple of teams just allows you to broaden your horizons and go, 'I really like what they did in Australia there with that', or 'I like what the Irish system has in terms of this', and try and find the best way and then ally that with your philosophy. Then you're in a pretty decent space, I think.” 

As for Munster, coming off a difficult campaign last season, Duffy only speaks of what he has found in his brief spell since arriving.

“I wasn't here last year, so I couldn't comment on what's gone past, but I can just tell you what I've experienced. I've been really, really welcomed coming in the door by the players and staff.

“They're all in the in the one bracket with me. The people are good people. They want to get better and they're working really, really hard. So, that's all I've seen, that's all I can comment on and I'm really enjoying it. It's been a brilliant experience.”