When Leinster called, Munster links didn't give Tyler Bleyendall reason to pause
NEW VOICE: Assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal, left, with Ross Byrne, Jack Conan and Jimmy O'Brien during Leinster rugby squad training at UCD in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Tyler Bleyendaal says his old Munster links didn’t give pause for thought when their rivals Leinster came calling earlier this year and offered him the chance to join their multinational coaching staff in Dublin.
The New Zealander joined Munster from the Crusaders in 2015. A highly-regarded out-half, he played just 62 times for the province through an injury-hit spell before being forced to retire in 2020 due to a neck injury.
Still, old ties run deep. His two oldest children were born in the area and, while he isn’t in regular contact with former comrades now, he speaks affectionately of his first stint in Ireland and how good it is to be back again.
As for Leinster? The fact is that rugby is a professional business now and the traffic between the two provincial rivals has been considerable in recent years. Even Denis Leamy has spent time on the blue side of the divide.
“I’m on the coaching side now so it is different,” said Bleyendaal who has taken over from Andrew Goodman as the Leinster attack coach with his fellow Kiwi having moved up the chain to work with Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad.
“Playing-wise it might have been a bit different but coaching is such a great opportunity. You kind of put all that stuff aside. You get the friendly slagging or whatever but what a great opportunity. Yeah, there was no pause in making that decision.”
It’s not a move he engineered. Bleyendaal was more than happy to continue in his assistant’s role at the Hurricanes, but when Leinster call people listen. He talked it out with his wife Laura and that was pretty much that.
His earlier stint in the southwest made this second coming less daunting. Dublin and Limerick may be chalk and cheese to those of us born here, but it meant the Bleyendaals had a good handle on what to expect from the Irish experience.
“It’s a no-brainer in terms of the coaching opportunity,” he said at one point.
It hasn’t been ideal in terms of timing with his wife giving birth to their third child, Sienna Belle, last month. That required a return home for her husband in the middle of pre-season when teams are invariably drilling in the nuts and bolts for the campaign to come.
Bleyendaal left feeling he had laid most of the bedrock to the province’s attack game, and that he had done something similar with his working relationship alongside defence guru Jacques Nienaber under whom he had played at Munster.
“I was really excited to reconnect with him. I touched base when I was coaching with Tonga at the World Cup and we played against South Africa, it was just great to see him again there. He had the same old energy. He hasn’t changed one bit.”
If there is one aspect to all this that has taken some adaptation then it is the sheer size of the squad he is working with. That includes three years’ worth of academy talent. Add to that too the ins and outs of senior Irish and Emerging Ireland players.
If he has plenty sitting in his in-tray then the impression is that Bleyendaal could start with the ongoing debate around the order of merit with Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne, Ciaran Frawley and Sam Prendergast, Leinster’s out-halves.
Circumstances didn’t help but last season came and went without one firmly nailing the short to their own peg. Bleyendaal described the process of connecting with them all as a “work in progress” but was clear when asked how this particular ladder stands.
"I don't think there's a defined hierarchy, no. Obviously, each of the players has had a different experience and they've played different games. That's all in the past. They have different experiences that they can all draw on.
“I guess I'm coming in with fresh eyes and seeing them for the first time. I respect what they've done in the past, but now we're trying to move forward a certain way and I think it's going to be an open competition.
"Guys naturally feel comfortable in the environment. Ross has been here a long time, he's led weeks, so he's very comfortable speaking, can get aligned fast and also bring the other guys into that, which we're starting to do."
Bleyendaal’s arrival comes with other, add-on bonuses.
Jordie Barrett, due to join Leinster on a short-term contract at the end of the year, was at the Hurricanes during Bleyendaal’s four-year stint as an assistant there and the latter was quick to message the All Black after Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup win against Australia.
Barrett was withdrawn just after half-time of that game after picking up a knee injury. Head coach Scott Robertson has since confirmed that the player will undergo a scan with talk of medial damage already doing the rounds.
“He said, 'won't be a long time until I'll be seeing you...' Yep, he's all good, sore knee. I said 'enjoy your beer at the Bledisloe' so I am sure he will be alright.”
Rabah Slimani, another of Leinster’s big signings, made his debut in last weekend’s URC-opening 33-31 defeat of Edinburgh in Scotland. Their third, RG Snyman, is apparently ‘upping’ his training load this week as he works off a foot problem.
That leaves him in the mix for Friday’s URC tie against the Dragons at the Aviva.
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