More Munster turnover as Beirne sad to see Prendergast go

News of the Munster coach's departure was confirmed this week. 

Munster's Senior Coach Mike Prendergast and Head Coach Clayton McMillan. Pic: INPHO/Paul Currie

Late October 2024. Tadhg Beirne is in Ireland camp when news of a major departure from Munster’s coaching ticket travels up the road from Limerick to Dublin.

Late February 2026. Tadhg Beirne is… Well, you get the idea. History went and repeated itself earlier this week when, two years after Graham Rowntree parted ways with the province, we had the confirmation that Mike Prendergast will be off to pastures new come the summer.

Beirne had days to digest his thoughts on Rowntree’s exit 16 months ago before he faced the media in the days prior to Ireland’s meeting with the All Blacks. This time he was fronting up less than an hour after the Prendergast missive went public.

"I was disappointed to hear for sure. Not just to lose Mike as a coach but also the person he is.

“He's brilliant around the squad and everyone gets on unbelievably well with him, but at the same time there's an opportunity for him elsewhere and he's going to do what's best for his family and I completely understand that.

“He's done so much for us as a club since he's come in, fresh ideas, and we've also won a league under his attack. So he's been brilliant for us and we'll be sad to see him go but we completely understand his decision too.” 

Prendergast seems destined for Johann van Graan’s Bath project while it wouldn’t be any surprise were McMillan to turn towards home and bring in another Kiwi. Whoever comes in it’s another new face in a long line of them.

Conor Murray was heavily critical of this turnover in the coach’s box in his autobiography. “The lack of continuity speaks for itself,” he wrote, pointing out that a new coach on average every two seasons brought with it a new gameplan, new calls, new staff and new players.

“That’s no way to build a successful organisation. It’s too unstable. You end up without an identity as a team.” 

Beirne could only smile when it was put to him that yet another change in the brains trust was something Munster could really do without.

“Who knows what's going to happen in terms of someone else coming in? Yeah, it'd be interesting to see what happens because our attack might change again and, look, sometimes that can do the world of good as well.

“So, you've got a bit of turnover but you can't fault these people making these decisions they're making, just for themselves and for their families. I don't have a bad thing to say about Mike. We wish him the very best and we still have a long season ahead of us.

“He's still with us until the end of the season, and he's going to give 100% of himself to the club because he loves Munster. So our focus is just going to be on the remainder of the season and then we'll attack next year with whatever happens.”