Munster head coach Clayton McMillan has defended the province’s appointment of his friend and former assistant at the Chiefs Roger Randle as their next attack coach. He also says he fully respects the disquiet among supporters and the decision by three former players to resign from their positions on Munster’s Professional Game Committee.
Billy Holland, Mick O’Driscoll and Killian Keane have all resigned from the PGC after the decision to appoint Randle following a process driven by CEO Ian Flanagan and general manager Ian Costello.
Randle was accused of raping a woman in Durban, South Africa in 1997 when he was part of the Hurricanes team that were playing a Super Rugby match there. He denied the allegations and the charges were withdrawn.
URC preview, women’s Six Nations and Munster’s controversial new appointment
Reporting on the 1997 incident by South Africa’s Mail & Guardian quotes an attorney-general saying prosecutors were ready to proceed with a trial but then the claimant, after engaging in “consultations with her lawyer, the police and the prosecutor”, withdrew the rape charges.
READ MORE
“I’m well aware of how our supporters and people in the rugby community are feeling about Roger’s appointment,” McMillan told reporters on Thursday. “I fully respect that people will have an opinion, but it’s not an opinion that is shared by me.
“I’ve known Roger for a long time. I think he’s an outstanding human, well loved by family and people that have worked alongside him for a long period of time.”
Regarding the decision by Holland, O’Driscoll and Keane to step down, McMillan added: “I’m aware that there’s some former players on the PGB [professional games committee] that resigned as a result of this decision and like our supporters, I respect that they all have their reasons for why they did that.”
Asked if he anticipated this reaction from supporters, McMillan said: “It’s a hard question to answer. I can’t jump into the minds of other people. I can only speak for the person that I know and that I’ve worked alongside.
“As I said before, this is a person who has had an allegation made against him. It didn’t proceed to a legal process, [it was] dropped pretty quickly. But the stigma of that has remained with him.
“But I admire the way that he has, as a rugby player and a coach and a father, dealt with that challenge. He’s played all around the world. He’s coached at the elite level for a long period of time in Italy, France, Japan, New Zealand, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games, played for the All Blacks. This is a guy who’s highly respected in many parts of the world.”
Randle was clearly McMillan’s preferred choice as Munster’s next attack coach, the two having worked together for six years at the Chiefs, where they reached three Super Rugby finals.
“In terms of candidates, as I think I alluded to a couple of weeks ago, there were a number of people that expressed interest, but Roger stood out for me naturally because I know him as a person and I’ve worked with him for a long time.
“We’ve got our challenges here and what I feel I need is somebody that can come and add value, as I said, alongside Mossy [Lawlor] in a shared attack role, but also somebody that I’ve worked with.
“The job here isn’t an easy one and as we all do in life, we lean to people who we trust and have worked with before to navigate through situations just like this.”
Such has been the fallout since confirming Randle’s appointment on Wednesday that Munster were obliged to issue a statement claiming that “due diligence” was carried out before making their decision.
“Munster Rugby is aware of a historical matter concerning newly appointed coach Roger Randle from 1997. At the time, no legal process was pursued, and the matter was closed. Munster Rugby carried out due diligence during this recruitment process and are satisfied with the appointment which has been ratified and approved.”
This “due diligence”, according to McMillan, went beyond him personally vouching for Randle.
“I think there’s been a number of people throughout the organisation that would have been canvassed around Roger’s appointment and, in the end, that process determined that Roger was ratified for the job.”
To those supporters who harbour reservations about Randle’s appointment, McMillan said: “Look, I would ask people to put their trust in me and other people.
“I think if you jumped on to the Chiefs website, for example, and you read the comments about Roger Randle, you’ll see glowing reports of a man that’s loved by a huge cross-section in New Zealand, a family man, an honest man, and one that I trust unequivocally.
“Again, I can understand that people will have an opinion, but it’s not one that I share, and I honestly believe that he can come here and help our team and players develop and excel.”
McMillan has been speaking with Randle since news of his appointment broke.
“I feel a huge sense of responsibility in making sure that he’s looked after and that he comes here and it’s an environment where he feels like he’s welcome.
“Clearly there’s some challenges and Roger is aware of those challenges, but it says a lot about him that he is still excited about the opportunity to come here and contribute.
“The challenge for any coach or player coming into the environment is that you have to earn the trust and respect of people, but it helps when people have an open mind and he comes in without his hands tied.”
Meanwhile, the IRFU have distanced themselves from the process which culminated in Randle being chosen, stating: “This appointment was made by Munster Rugby and did not require IRFU approval.”
As for reports linking forwards coach Alex Codling with a move to Toulon next season, McMillan said: “That’s not my story to tell. But, what I can say is that coaching is a bit of a transitional occupation.
“You live a little bit contract to contract. Codders is someone that we wanted to keep around for another year, but sometimes a better offer is put on the table and if the rumours around Toulon are accurate then we’ll be disappointed because he’s been a huge contributor in his time here.
“We’ll wish him well and like everybody in the building, players and staff, he’s totally committed to the here and now and devoting all his energy to the players to set them up for success.”
