Avan Lee: 'I feel like I’ve got something to contribute to a place like Munster'

SOMETHING TO OFFER: Avan Lee speaks to media during a press conference. Pic: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

For a club rugby community within which many have sensed a growing disconnect with the people who run Munster Rugby in recent years, incoming chief executive Avan Lee’s background as an overseas player with Clontarf may bring comfort that one of their own will soon be in charge at the province.

New Zealander Lee, 52, is set to replace outgoing CEO Ian Flanagan at the end of this month, the former Hurricanes chief having signed an initial 12-month contract on an interim basis, though he made it clear at his introductory online meeting with Irish journalists on Wednesday that he has not moved halfway around the world for a temporary gig.

His 10 years at the helm of the Wellington-based Super Rugby franchise ended last December, adding to extensive administrative experience with NZ Rugby, and with World Rugby in Dublin, as well as an earlier stint in the Irish capital as a young man just out of Waikato University playing club rugby.

As Lee explained, he left New Zealand with a degree in management studies and marketing and very little else.

“I went straight to Clontarf. I had two phone numbers in my wallet, one was for Old Crescent, one was for Clontarf. It wasn’t anything formal or much money involved, I can assure you, but I went to Clontarf first and stayed. It’s sort of been a second home for me to be perfectly honest.

“I didn’t play AIL, because I was a foreign player I wasn’t allowed to play it. I played Leinster League and Floodlit Cup and all those nice things. Then I retired at 23, shoulder reconstruction, that was the end of it.

“I got there, I flew in (to Ireland) on a Tuesday, didn't know anybody and I played at Lansdowne Road on the Saturday. I thought that was pretty good.” 

Lee recalled being part of “good, solid team” at Castle Avenue, adding: “Bernard Jackman was a bit of a star. Dave Moore, Colin Power, Mark Woods, Brent Pope was sort of a player-coach. Matt Smith... They were second division then and then got promoted, but I loved it, genuinely loved it. It’s an awesome place, like any rugby club really, it’s a lovely place and awesome people.” 

The Kiwi expat stuck around after his playing career ended, his initial stay in Ireland lasting almost seven years.

“I’ve had two different stints... the next one was three (years) when I came back over to work at World Rugby after I finished with New Zealand Rugby.

“So yeah, I’ve always felt like I would go back and now with 10 years of Super Rugby experience under my belt, I feel like I’ve got something to contribute to a place like Munster. So, it's all aligned, which is great.” 

While Lee promised to take a deep dive into Munster’s finances, with an expected €1 million capital deficit set to be reported next summer for 2025-26, he also laid out his objective to fix what he sees as a disconnect between the commercial and the high-performance sides of his organisation.

The divide between Munster Rugby and the club game is equally pressing for the incoming interim CEO, if he is to achieve his stated mission of “galvanising the community of Munster and Munster Rugby fans behind the organisation and the teams”.

There are frustrations over player releases back to clubs for AIL fixtures, of academy players transferring from Cork to Limerick clubs, and the perception of intransigence at committee level about fulfilling fixtures when club players are called up for Munster A games. 

Also voiced have been concerns at junior and underage levels surrounding fixture fulfilment when extra-curricular schools activities affect underage availability. 

Add those to a Cork-Limerick divide in terms of committee representation and how that manifests at club level and there is plenty that will be on the new chief’s radar, but also good grounds for optimism that, given Lee’s affinity for club rugby, fences can begin to heal under the New Zealander’s watch.