Noel McNamara has agreed a contract extension with Bordeaux-Bègles to the end of the 2028-2029 season.
There had been some speculation linking McNamara with the recent vacancy as Munster’s backs coach. Munster initially appointed New Zealander Roger Randle to the position but later withdrew the offer.
McNamara was one of several deals confirmed by the French Top 14 club. Shaun Sowerby, who oversees the forwards, Jean-Baptiste Poux (scrum) and Aurélien Cologni have also re-signed.
Leinster reach a record ninth Champions Cup final
Cologni is a skills coach in his first year under contract at Bordeaux, while Poux has been with the club since 2018 when he finished his playing career.
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Defence coach Christophe Lassucq has not had his contract extended beyond the end of next season.
McNamara is in his third season with Bordeaux, during which time the Girondins have twice finished as runners-up in the Top 14. They won the Champions Cup for the first time last season, beating Northampton Saints in the final.
The Clare native confirmed his decision to remain with Bordeaux, who face Leinster in this season’s Champions Cup final on Saturday, May 23rd in Bilbao. McNamara joined Bordeaux in 2023 having coached North Harbour in New Zealand and then the Sharks in Durban, where he met Bordeaux’s now head coach Yannick Bru.
The former French international hooker was working as a breakdown coach with the South African club when he was approached to take over at Bordeaux.
McNamara coached in Glenstal Abbey and Clongowes, took charge of Leinster A and was also the province’s academy manager. He coached the Ireland under-20 team from 2018-2020 and in 2019 led the group to a Under-20s Six Nations Grand Slam.
At Bordeaux McNamara works with some of the most accomplished backs in the world, including Maxime Lucu, Mathieu Jalibert, Yoram Moefana, Damian Penaud, Salesi Rayasi and Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
His influence can be gleaned from one stat in particular: The season before his arrival, Bordeaux scored 63 tries. A year later, their total had ballooned to 124 before inflating further to 152 last season.
This term, Bordeaux are top scorers in Europe, amassing 27 tries in their four pool games before adding a further 18 in their three knockout games to date.
