Jason Holland rules himself out of vacant Munster head coach role

The Thomond Park favourite is part of the All Blacks set-up preparing to face Ireland on Friday.

GOING DUTCH: All Blacks Assistant coach Jason Holland speaks to the media on Monday. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher

It’s seven years since Jason Holland expressed an interest in returning to Munster one day in a coaching capacity, but the province’s former centre has no designs on fulfilling that particular ambition just now.

A vacancy for the head coach role opened up early last week with the surprise announcement of Graham Rowntree’s departure six games into the URC season. Holland, in Dublin this week as backs coach with the All Blacks, was quick to nip any tenuous link in the bud.

"Yeah, not in the near future, mate,” said the 52-year old whose long stint with the province as a player bled into a chapter as an assistant coach before returning home to New Zealand. “I've got a pretty awesome job at the moment which I'm loving, so not at this stage.” 

He retains fond memories of his long stint with Munster, with whom he won two Heineken Cup titles, and plans on coming back to spend some time in Cork once the Kiwis’ northern tour finishes at the end of the month with a meeting against Italy in Rome.

Both of his girls were born in Ireland and still Facetime some of their old friends in Midleton on a weekly basis but time was limited as he spoke to the media outside the team training base at UCD on Monday so other memories of times past here were brief.

“Aw, the people, really. I had an awesome time at Munster obviously. I was watching on telly and the atmosphere in Thomond Park last weekend [when the province played an All Blacks XV] and it looked every bit as fun to play as it always was.” 

This is still ‘Year One’ for the Scott Robertson project with New Zealand’s flagship side. Holland was part of the staff the former Crusaders boss co-opted on to his ticket in the wake of last year’s World Cup after Ian Foster’s side came up short in the World Cup final.

The transition has been … interesting so far with the team losing three of their six Rugby Championship games and just about edging England in an opening tour game last Saturday after two unsuccessful kick attempts from George Ford in injury-time.

Key players have moved on since the near miss at last year’s World Cup in France and the tourists will be up against it in Dublin against an Irish side that reclaimed the Six Nations and shared a two-Test summer series in South Africa.

A six-day turnaround from Twickenham will only accentuate that.

“Ah look, it's all around understanding how you're going to play. Physically and mentally you've just got to get it right, we've done that pretty well. We had a travel day yesterday and a bit of info for the boys today, little bits and pieces.

“They'll have a day off tomorrow and Wednesday will be like a normal Thursday,” said Holland. “We've got some pretty smart people here in our medical and physical group and have set it up really well for us.” 

There was a time when the visiting media would hardly dream of asking their own about Ireland when pitching up on these shores, but the relationship has changed from one of patronising dominance to bona fide rivalry.

Holland got peppered with plenty of questions about their current hosts. Among the first was a query about Holland’s take on the Irish side now that Johnny Sexton has hung up the boots and handed over to a younger generation.

“They have a couple of young tens that are really stepping up but have obviously been in the environment for a long time, in and out, and slot into the way Ireland play. They understand what winning footy is when Ireland play winning footy.

“I think they’ll transition really well. They have some pretty senior guys around the tens in their 12s and 13s and then obviously Jamo [Gibson-Park] has been around for a long time as well so it has been pretty smooth from what we’ve seen.” 

That core of experienced and talented operators through the backline is mirrored up front but Ireland’s squad is a pleasing balance of youth and experience and all of it synchronised to an impressive degree.

For Holland, the most eye-catching aspect of this is with ball in hand.

“I've enjoyed the way they're attacking. Some of the lines they run, some of their options at the line, multiple options, the way they play, I really enjoy that. Like any good Irish side they're built on their work rate and their ability to go to war for each other, that hasn't changed over the years, has it?

“Maybe they've got a little bit more in their game than was the case when I was around here. So, yeah, when you've got a team that works as hard as they do, and couple it with their skillset and their attacking structures, it makes them into the good side that they obviously are.”