Munster table offer for All Blacks tighthead Tyrel Lomax

New Zealand's Tyrel Lomax. Pic: Shane WENZLICK / AFP via Getty Images

Munster Rugby have tabled an offer to bring All Blacks tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax to the province following next year’s World Cup but they are facing an immediate crisis in that position requiring much shorter-term fixes.

The Irish Examiner understands Munster will face stiff competition for Lomax, who won his 48th cap for the All Blacks as a starter in the Bledisloe Cup victory over Australia at Eden Park last September, with New Zealand Rugby keen to extend the 30-year-old’s stay in Super Rugby at the Hurricanes, where he has played since 2020. 

Yet the move for Lomax backs up head coach Clayton McMillan’s statement made on Tuesday about Munster’s serious search for a world-class tighthead.

McMillan was speaking ahead of this Saturday night’s URC regular season finale at home to Lions, potentially a last appearance at Thomond Park for Samoan tighthead Michael Ala’alatoa, an ever present for Munster since joining on a short-term contract from Clermont last November.

The Kiwi head coach has to plan without Ireland-capped Oli Jager, whose concussion against Ulster on April 25 was the latest in a string of head injuries, leading him to admit the 30-year-old former Crusaders prop was facing a career-defining decision on his future as a rugby player.

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There are also believed to be similar fears about the future of another tighthead, Roman Salanoa, sidelined for almost three years with ongoing knee issues. 

The Emerging Ireland-capped Salanoa, 28, was nearing a return to action and was though he was set to play for Munster A last Friday before their match with Connacht Eagles was cancelled, the American-born Leinster academy graduate took part in Munster’s pre-game warm-up the following day in Galway ahead of the URC defeat to Connacht. 

Yet it is understood Salanoa, out of contract this summer, suffered another setback in training on Tuesday, potentially leaving serious questions about his future in the professional game.

With veteran prop John Ryan set to retire at the end of the season, former Young Munster tighthead Conor Bartley and Ronan Foxe, set to graduate from the academy on a two-year senior contract, could be the remaining senior tightheads on the books, though Ireland-capped Jack Aungier was on Wednesday confirmed as a new signing for next season after exiting Connacht.

For McMillan, also in the market for an attack and forward coaches for next season, the tighthead situation is nearing crisis point.

“We haven't made any secret of the fact that we would love a tighthead prop.

“It's a bit like the coaching situation – it’s not just any old tight-head prop, a world-class tighthead prop. Now, I don't know how often you speak to agents or how much interest you take in the player transfer market, but there's not many world-class tighthead props running around, free, saying, ‘hey, I'm available!’ 

"But there might be post-World Cup. So we'll keep looking and searching in that space to find that person. But in the meantime, we've had Mik Ala’alatoa who I think has been a godsend for us.

“We were in a real pickle around our front-row stocks until he'd come. And I think our scrum and lineout have improved significantly since about round six when we played Stormers and effectively lost the game off the back of getting our arse handed to us at scrum time.

“We've made some improvements here, and we would have been completely lost without somebody like Mike. So we haven't discounted somebody like him staying around for a little bit longer if we had the ability to do that.

“But we've also got an onus on around knowing that one person isn't going to solve all of our problems. We’ve got a responsibility to work with the young guys and some of the older ones, the Conor Bartleys that have come through the AIL system, to help them get better. That's coaching.

“So look, in terms of recruitment, all that stuff is ongoing. It never stops. You're always looking at who's available, who's coming off your roster, injuries. That's just the washing machine of coaching at this level.

“I think we have a good handle on what we have in our squad, what we need to help us be better. And sometimes even if we think we have solutions, we still need sign off from the IRFU to make some of these things happen.

“And that's understandable because they need to ensure that Irish rugby is strong. You don't want to find yourself in a situation that I think probably other parts of the world have found themselves in, where you bring foreigners into key positions and they play at the expense of locals. And that ultimately affects you somewhere along the line. So it's a bit of a balancing act. But rest assured, we're actively out there looking.” 

Asked specifically about Jager’s current status, McMillan said: “Oli's actually bounced back pretty well. But I think, you know, everyone can appreciate that, given his history, it's the right thing to do to just take his time to consider what the next step is, you know?

“And that could be retirement or it just could be an extended break from the game to give himself the best chance of coming back. And that's a decision for Oli to make. And only Oli.

“He's under absolutely no pressure from us to make that decision. We all want to see all of our players come off the field healthy.”