Munster 2025-26 Season Review: Frustrations, bright spots and off-field controversies

After Saturday's season-ending defeat, Simon Lewis reflects on an eventful campaign for Munster

Clayton McMillan Head Coach of Munster speaks to media after the match. Pic: INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart

We have seen this movie before, an earnest and brave Munster team’s involvement in a competition brought to a crashing end by a superior opponent. Yet never with quite such an air of inevitability as Saturday’s URC quarter-final exit in Pretoria.

Both matchday captain Crag Casey and head coach Clayton McMillan refused to hide behind a lengthy list of injuries after the 45-14 defeat to a Bulls side looking every inch the title contenders Munster could not hope to be at Loftus Versfeld.

Yet one wonders how different a contest this would have been if McMillan had enjoyed the luxury of a less depleted squad to select from. Or what might have been had Munster’s myriad off-field issues not surfaced at critical times this season. More of those later, but the loss of 11 senior players at the weekend and a rolling cast list of bodies in the Munster treatment room over the closing weeks undoubtedly impacted negatively, while also highlighting once more Munster’s lack of strength in depth.

The head coach’s assertion is a fully-stocked Munster matchday 23 would be a match for anyone. And the presence of forward power and smarts of the ilk of Tadhg Beirne, Edwin Edogbo and Jean Kleyn, and the rugby intelligence of Jack Crowley, Tom Farrell and Calvin Nash, would certainly have enhanced chances of a famous victory on Saturday. Yet the reality is, even that would have constituted a shock on the evidence of this season just ended.

Even at something approximating full strength, Munster have been left wanting too many times during 2025-26 to suggest anything other than McMillan presides over a squad whose status matches its fifth-place finish in the URC standings.

This campaign, which started with such promise under the new head coach, included a sparkling 31-14 victory over Leinster at Croke Park. But it never took off. And after the surrender of a 21-6 half-time lead in a 27-21 defeat at home to Stormers in November it struggled for any meaningful momentum.

There have been many difficult outings since, with Munster outclassed, unable to execute their best rugby, or just plain toothless.

A week on from Stormers there was a 35-14 first-half pummelling in a downpour at Bath in the opening Champions Cup pool game, a try bonus point conceded before Munster had scored and a scoreless second half in a 40-14 loss. There was a no show at Ulster on January 2, and though the following week’s visit to Champions Cup rivals Toulon was a narrow, 27-25 defeat, the round four European pool finale was a 31-29 Thomond Park defeat to a hungrier Castres side that sent Munster spiralling into the second-tier Challenge Cup.

That would bring its own misery with another nightmare first half at Exeter Chiefs but that would be to forget the 45-0 URC hammering by the Sharks in Durban two weeks prior.

That Munster’s back-to-back URC wins at Benetton and home to Ulster in late April represented successive wins for the first time since December tells its own story.

There have been glimmers of this squad’s capabilities but the familiar flaw of inconsistency from match to match, and even from half to half, have too often meant a sharply delivered jab to an opponent’s ribs only to absorb a devastating punch in the mouth.

The heavy blows have not just been on the pitch, though. Respected attack coach Mike Prendergast announced in March he would be leaving his beloved home province at the end of the season, with news forwards coach Alex Codling’s departure to Toulon this summer emerging in France soon after.

Munster Rugby’s financial issues surfaced in April with voluntary redundancies made available to staff members outside the professional playing and coaching group, and though the numbers of jobs being cut, some of now being enforced, were later confirmed to be in single digits, the loss of livelihoods cast a shadow over the season. 

Then add in the failed attempt to bring McMillan’s old Chiefs attack coach Roger Randle to Munster as Prendergast’s replacement amid serious misgivings about both the recruitment process and the re-airing of historic rape allegations against Randle, which he has repeatedly denied. 

The fallout led to resignations from the Professional Games Committee, the commissioning of an Independent Governance and Organisational Review and CEO Ian Flanagan under extreme pressure, while players were forced to front up on behalf of their employers to face questions about a situation they played no part in. Hardly conducive to a successful chase for silverware.

That Munster made the URC play-offs, qualifying for next season’s Champions Cup, was remarkable given the circumstances. Frustrated supporters will be hoping the review will bring about changes necessary to restore their province on an even keel. There is a quality head coach with a talented squad and an exciting generation of young talent coming through, they deserve better conditions to succeed.

Season Grade: C Minus 

Too many missteps and a lack of consistency exposed a shallow squad overreliant on a handful of star players, a lot of whom finished the campaign ruled out through injury. The European campaign was entirely underwhelming, and yet there were some periods of exciting, quality rugby across the season to give hope, while McMillan was not afraid to blood emerging talent.

Overall (all competitions): Played 24 Won 12 Lost 12 

URC: League finish: 5th P18 W11 L7; Quarter-final: P1 L1 

Champions Cup: Pool finish: 5th (of 6) P4 W1 L3; Challenge Cup quarter-final: P1 L1 Challenge: v Argentina XV - won 31-28 

Highlight: Beating a fully loaded Leinster 31-14 before 51,859 at Croke Park, a bonus-point win built on attacking flair and resolute, snarling defence. What a shame it was back in October.

Player of the season: Alex Nankivell, and not just because of a standout performance in defeat on Saturday. The centre was a ray of committed consistency in a rollercoaster campaign. When Nankivell was absent, he was missed.

Unsung hero: Back-rower Jack O’Donoghue, 32, appeared rejuvenated following Clayton McMillan’s arrival, never found wanting across 20 appearances, 15 of them starts.

Best moment: John Hodnett’s four tries against Ulster in April had Thomond Park on its feet. It mattered not the visitors sent a weakened team, Hodnett’s finishing, and an Alex Kendellen’s hat-trick off the bench in a 45-14 URC derby victory brought much-needed cheer after weeks of gloom.

What needs to change this summer? Munster clearly need a reset and McMillan must find new attack and forwards coaches. Appointing a quality attack coach will be key, as will the deepening of experience for young homegrown stars in the making. Giving more game time to the likes of Evan O’Connell, Edwin Edogbo and Brian Gleeson and developing next-gen players Seán Edogbo, Michael Foy and siblings Tom and Gordon Wood is as crucial as signing world-class talent to fill the vacant NIQ berth created by Jean Kleyn’s exit.

Ins for 2026-27: Jack Aungier (tighthead, Connacht), Max Clein (hooker, academy), Seán Edogbo (flanker, academy), Ronan Foxe (tighthead, academy), Marnus van der Merwe (hooker, Scarlets), Ben O’Connor (back three, academy).

Outs: Thaakir Abrahams (Bulls), Jean Kleyn (Gloucester), John Ryan (retired), Niall Scannell (retired) – all confirmed; Munster still to issue list of departures.

Major hope for next season? Finding consistency and identity after yet another summer of change. The pieces are mostly there, now McMillan has to put them together.