O’Donovan named Munster manager

Niall O’Donovan was yesterday welcomed back into the Munster fold as team manager on a two-year contract.

The experienced O’Donovan takes over from Shaun Payne, who returned home to South Africa after several years with Munster as a player and official.

O’Donovan’s expertise as a coach made him an obvious choice to succeed Payne. He was assistant Munster coach for a number of seasons until 2002 before he moved on, as forwards coach with Ireland.