Clayton McMillan insists focus fully on Munster amid Scott Robertson's All Blacks dismissal

The former Chiefs and All Blacks XV head coach was speaking in reaction to the dismissal of New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson.

Head coach Clayton McMillan during Munster training at the University of Limerick. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Clayton McMillan has insisted his focus remains on guiding Munster into the Champions Cup knockout stages rather than throwing his hat into the ring as the next New Zealand coach.

The former Chiefs and All Blacks XV head coach was speaking on Friday in reaction to the dismissal of New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson following an internal review conducted by the NZRU at the halfway point in the current World Cup cycle.

McMillan, 51, became Munster head coach last summer, signing a three-year contract to the summer of 2028 but his track record as a successful Super Rugby boss, leading the Chiefs to successive Grand Finals, has led to speculation he is in the running to succeed Robertson and take the All Blacks into the 2027 World Cup.

“My first initial thoughts were that it was a bit of a surprise,” McMillan said following his Munster team announcement for Saturday’s European pool final round home tie with Castres. 

“It's not normally the New Zealand way to make such a big decision, but it's one that's been made, and my initial thoughts are actually just with Scott and his family.

“Nobody likes to see players or coaches have to go through that. So my thoughts are with him.

“To be perfectly honest, with all respect, I haven't even given any thought to the question that you've just asked. We play Castres at Thomond Park, we need a win, and really, that's where all my attention is going.” 

To that end, McMillan was delighted to be able to name Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey in his starting line-up just six days after fearing his number nine has sustained a serious shoulder injury in the 27-25 defeat at Toulon.

“Yes, look, it didn't look great after the game,” the Munster head coach said. “He had his arm in sling, it was obviously quite a bit of pain, but all the tests that he's done have indicated that it's not a huge amount of damage there.

“It's just going to be a little bit sore and something that he'll tolerate and won't impact on his ability to play. So huge for us.

“Every team probably has three or four players that are the heartbeat of the team, both on and off the field. They have a lot of value through their leadership, their ability to make other people look and feel good. And he's definitely one of those players for us.

“He was pretty confident himself after the game, ‘I'll be there on Saturday, Donk (McMillan’s nickname)’, so I'm happy that he's proved himself right.” 

McMillan has made three changes from the team which earned a losing bonus point at Stade Felix Mayol, with wing Calvin Nash (shoulder/head) and Diarmuid Barron (knee) ruled out through injury, replaced by Thaakir Abrahams on the right wing and Niall Scannell at hooker. 

The other change comes at lock where a fit-again Jean Kleyn returns from a calf issue which forced him out of the Toulon fixture as Edwin Edogbo drops to the bench.

Kleyn this week called time on a decade at Munster, during which time he represented Ireland through residency rules at the 2019 World Cup, and South Africa four years later to help the land of his birth retain the Webb Ellis trophy. 

The Springbok will join Gloucester this summer on a three-year contract with McMillan admitting Munster could not match the English PREM club’s terms.

His departure opens up a spot under IRFU rules for a new Non Irish Qualified (NIQ) signing ahead of 2026-27 but McMillan non-commital on whether that space would be used to sign a direct replacement for the veteran second row.

“First of all, we're happy for JK. He's picked up a three-year deal over at Gloucester and that's just not something that we were able to match.

“We're pretty realistic around where we think we need to get stronger on our roster to be able to compete consistently with the best teams. We're comfortable that we've got some good prospects coming through our ranks in the lock stocks that as much as we tried to keep JK for a year, there are some good bodies coming through.

“We'll definitely use that NIQ spot but we won't rush into making a decision around what position it is.”