Ex-Ireland international Jared Payne joins Munster backroom team as assistant coach

Payne will share attack and backline duties with Mossy Lawler, who has signed a two-year extension. Clayton McMillan said the attack portfolio is a two person job.

Jared Payne won 20 caps for Ireland and was part of the 2017 Lions tour of New Zealand. Pic: Paul Phelan/Sportsfile

Former Ireland international Jared Payne will be joining Clayton McMillan’s Munster coaching ticket for next season, sharing attack and backline responsibilities with Mossy Lawler, the province announced on Tuesday.

Payne, 40, will be moving from URC rivals Scarlets on a two-year deal, having coached both attack and defence at the Welsh region for three seasons, following stints with Top 14 side Clermont Auvergne and Ulster, whom he had represented for seven years before injury cut short his playing career aged 32 in 2018.

Lawler, meanwhile, has signed a two-year contract extension having worked as skills and assistant attack coach under outgoing senior coach Mike Prendergast. Head coach McMillan has now completed his coaching team for next season after last week announcing Jimmy Duffy as forwards coach to replace Toulon-bound Alex Codling.

The appointment follows Munster’s abandoned hiring of McMillan’s former Chiefs assistant Roger Randle to replace the Bath-bound Prendergast in April. Whoever filled the vacancy, the head coach stressed the next attack coach had to be able to work closely with Lawler, an established and respected member of his coaching staff.

Indeed, McMillan lauded both his new appointment and Lawler’s innovation and attention to detail as he outlined his belief that coaching attack in professional rugby is “a two-person job”.

“Jared brings wide-ranging skills, having played and coached extensively in Ireland for 11 years as well as experiences in New Zealand, France and Wales,” McMillan said.

“Over this time, he has coached both sides of the ball and developed an excellent reputation for empowering players and assisting them to fulfil their potential. I look forward to Jared and his family joining the club.

“I’m equally delighted that Mossy has extended his contract. The attack portfolio is vast, and I have always had the view that it is a two-person job.

“There is accountability to bring a higher level of detail to their respective areas of responsibility within our attack framework, and I believe that in Mossy and Jared, we have two innovative and detailed coaches who will work outstandingly well together.” 

A highly regarded outside centre in his native New Zealand, Payne, like his new boss, is Waikato-born. He played for his home Super Rugby franchise Chiefs in 2007, then moved to Crusaders and onto Blues before joining Ulster in 2011. Becoming a naturalised Irishman after three years at Ravenhill, he earned 20 Ireland caps under Joe Schmidt from 2014 to 2017, becoming his trusted defensive leader while also bringing flair to the national team’s midfield, traits which earned him a place on the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2017.

A head injury on that tour ultimately forced Payne’s retirement but the centre transitioned straight into coaching as Ulster defence coach from 2018 to 2022. He joined Clermont for 2022-23, at one point taking interim charge of the Top 14 club following Jono Gibbes’ departure. Though the new Munster assistant and head coach have not previously worked together, they are linked not just by their Waikato roots but by the former Leinster and Ulster coach Gibbes, who succeeded McMillan as Chiefs head coach last summer.

Payne, who will be succeeded in his defensive brief at Scarlets by former St Helens and Ireland Rugby League international Eamon O’Carroll, said: “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be joining Munster Rugby.

“Munster is a club with a proud history, strong values and a special connection with its supporters and community. As a family, we’re excited to become part of that.

“There is a huge amount of ambition across the club and I’m looking forward to working alongside the players and staff to help move the club forward.

“There is a lot to be excited about and I can’t wait to get started.” The assistant coaching appointments were also welcomed by Munster general manager Ian Costello, who added: “Jared is a highly respected coach that we believe will be an excellent fit to work closely with Mossy and completes a very exciting and ambitious coaching team for next season."