Home is where heart is and now Prendergast has Munster pulses racing

The attack coach provides a rush of new (but familiar) blood for Graham Rowntree's new Reds. The eyes now turn to Denis Leamy

Not just tunnel visioned: Simon Zebo is among those to have heaped praise on Mike Prendergast's free-flowing approach at Racing. Pic INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Home and family were the themes Mike Prendergast focused on when explaining his decision to quit one of the leading clubs in European rugby and return to where it all started. Yet his decision to jump ship from Racing 92 and move back to Limerick as Munster’s next attack coach is one that will reverberate far beyond the boundaries of the six counties.

From the point of view of incoming head coach Graham Rowntree, Prendergast’s appointment on a three-year contract to replace Australia and Brumbies-bound Stephen Larkham ticks all the boxes. Munster born and bred, the 44-year-old is a former scrum-half who also experienced playing professional rugby elsewhere, in Bourgoin and Gloucester, and then continued that holistic approach into a coaching career that went from Young Munster to Grenoble, Oyonnax and Stade Francais before the move across Paris to Racing in 2019.