Peter O'Mahony: There are a couple of big steps Munster must take to get where they want to go

'There is a lot going on in the club, a lot of things that need to be sorted out, and I hope the summertime is being used well to reflect'

Irish rugby icon and Munster legend Peter O'Mahony at Virgin Media Television Studios. Picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Peter O’Mahony is hoping that Munster can use the off-season wisely so that his native province can pitch up for the 2026/27 campaign in better shape both on and off the pitch.

The season just gone, Clayton McMillan’s first in charge, proved to be exceptionally difficult for the club on both sides of the white lines with the failure to make the knockout stages of the Champions Cup and being bounced out of the Challenge Cup at the first hurdle.

That poor form – they lost eight of 10 games played at one point - saw Munster fail to make the URC playoffs, and they just about secured Champions Cup qualification for next season late in the day.

Added to all this was the controversy over the confirmed and then aborted Roger Randle appointment as attack coach. Randle was due to replace Mike Prendergast who is now in situ in Bath where he will work under former Munster head coach Johan van Graan.

The Randle debacle has prompted an independent review of the club’s “governance, leadership, culture and communications structures” so plenty there in the various in-trays for the organisation’s key figures to be mulling over.

“They will be doing a bit of reflecting to see where there are improvements to be made,” said O’Mahony. “There are a couple of big steps that they need to take to get where they want to go. Obviously it wasn’t a very successful season.

“They showed a huge amount of character to ensure that they are playing in the top league of Europe, but they will know better than anyone that there is a lot of work to be done to get back to where we want to be at.

“There is a lot going on in the club, there is a lot of things that need to be sorted out, and I hope the summertime is being used well to reflect and look back at some of the issues that the club has, not just on the pitch but off it as well.” 

Back in action

Munster’s season will get a soft launch on August 28 when they face Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle at Stade Marcel Deflandre. The campaign proper gets underway against Glasgow Warriors in Limerick a month later.

Improving their lot in the URC will be a goal that runs through the season, but Munster’s heritage means that Champions Cup appointments will always carry a certain allure and they have some ties to savour in that regard.

Bristol and Gloucester had so-so finishes in the English PREM last term, but the prospects of facing reigning champions Bordeaux-Begles and a Racing 92 side that made the Top 14 playoffs are ones to savour.

“That’s another consequence of not finishing higher up the league: you end up with some very heavy hitters,” said O’Mahony.

“There are some huge benefits and bonuses to finishing top one and two of the URC – home draws and all that stuff – but also the benefit of avoiding some of the big dogs that we have ended up with again.” 

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