Munster next but where is Clayton 'Fix-it' McMillan’s journey leading?

The Chiefs coach has not lost much of his characteristics picked up as a police officer in Wellington’s rough northern suburbs.

Chiefs Head Coach Clayton McMillan arrives prior to the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final match between the Wellington Hurricanes and Waikato Chiefs at Sky Stadium in Wellington on June 15, 2024. Pic: GRANT DOWN/AFP via Getty Images 

It seems somewhat ironic that after the fantastic opening fortnight the Chiefs have experienced in Super Rugby Pacific that their big news of the week is Clayton McMillan leaving. The 50-year-old will depart with a year left to run on his contract, off to Munster and with a fresh new narrative to guide him along.

Not that the storyline around McMillan was stale at all. The drive to win an elusive title with the Chiefs after coming up short in the last two finals, after taking over the team almost by chance after a disastrous stint by Warren Gatland, has plenty in it to have made him the most intriguing coach in New Zealand not currently involved with the All Blacks. But now with this move to Limerick, it’s already drawing a line from where McMillan is now to the top job sometime in the future.