Gerry Thornley: Munster have the chance to address years of underperformance with a reboot

When Ian Flanagan last week announced his decision to step down as chief executive of Munster at the end of the month, it represented big news. Yet after a season of upheavals and negative headlines, it also wasn’t the least bit surprising. It was time for Flanagan to do the honourable thing.However, pending the outcome of an independent governance and organisational review by the Governance Company, commissioned by the Munster Branch, there’s an even bigger question than the identity of Flanagan’s replacement.That is: what happens next?It’s a particularly significant question as Irish rugby tends not to turn over its CEOs. Munster have only had two since 1999. Flanagan’s predecessor, the late Garrett Fitzgerald, served in the role for almost 20 years from 1999 until his retirement in 2019.READ MORESo, after the tumult of last season and pending the outcome of this review, this is a huge opportunity to implement the kind of root-and-branch reboot, so to speak, that is evidently required. If this chance is passed up, you’d wonder how long it would take before the appetite do so again exists.History will therefore judge this as a defining moment in the sometimes exhilarating, often troubled but rarely dull history of Munster Rugby.In theory, Munster have the exact same structures as the other three provinces, but in practice, it has always somehow seemed much more divided, with key elements pulling in different directions. The IRFU have slightly remodelled their four provinces along the New Zealand lines, with a general manager (in effect, a chief operations officer) working alongside the CEO. The latter oversees the province as a business, such as bringing in funds, while the GM assumes control for much of the rugby matters, be it the men’s, women’s or underage teams, as well as overseeing their pathways and dealings with the clubs and schools. They are hired and employed directly by the provincial branches. In Munster’s case, this is Ian Costello.Save for a five-year spell in England with Nottingham and Wasps, he has been with Munster since 2011 when becoming skills and kicking coach, as well as Munster A manager alongside Anthony Foley. He continued as defence, kicking and skills coach for two more seasons and returned in 2021 as Munster’s academy and pathway manager.In 2023, Costello was appointed Munster’s head of rugby operations and then in 2025, became Munster’s general manager. In between those appointments, he had taken over as interim head coach – above the existing assistant coaches – following the sudden departure of Graham Rowntree in October 2024.Munster general manager Ian Costello. Photograph: Inpho/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart The head coach or director of rugby is equally influential and, like the CEO, is appointed and employed by the IRFU. In Munster’s case, of course, this is Clayton McMillan.Augmenting, or complicating, all of this are the influential volunteers, primarily the board of directors, which in Munster’s case includes nine members and is chaired by Ger Malone, father of the former Garryowen backrower Peter, and comprised mostly of club nominees. They do have executive decision-making powers, as in commissioning the aforementioned reviews when, frankly, you’d prefer it to have been commissioned by the IRFU.Each province also has a professional games board and a commercial board, both of which act in advisory capacities. Perhaps the sense of Munster being pulled in different directions is compounded by the oft-discussed Limerick-Cork divide, with the rugby operations based in the former and the Branch offices in the latter.Yet the Cork-Limerick divide didn’t stop Munster reaching four Heineken Cup finals between 2000 and 2009, winning two of them, or winning the Magners League in 2011 or indeed the URC in 2023. Munster have also had an influential and important group of private benefactors, who prefer to keep a low profile and maintain their anonymity. Alas for Munster, this column understands they became so disaffected that they have effectively disbanded and no longer supply the kind of funding which helped the province sign RG Snyman, Damian de Allende and others before them.Compounding this loss of outside income, in the last five seasons Munster have not generated one Champions Cup home knockout tie and only two in the URC. Indeed, in the last five seasons in Europe, Munster have won seven matches out of 22.The succession planning has been at best ineffective, when you think of them losing Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Keith Earls, Simon Zebo and co. In this, the IRFU took their eye off their problem child, as for 10 years all their focus went into the national team.But a golden generation needs replacing and ideally from all four provinces. David Humphreys has sought to rectify that by appointing six directors of rugby to schools in Munster, as well as Ulster and the clubs in Connacht. Yet like all such investments, that will take years to bear fruit and ultimately it is up to the provinces themselves to produce their own players.Charlie O’Shea’s brilliant first start and the performance of other young players in last Saturday’s win over the Bulls was energising and timely. After years of instability among their coaching tickets, this McMillan-Jared Payne-Mossy Lawler-Denis Leamy ticket is high quality and more aligned than last season.But young players will invariably struggle for consistency. Munster need to dip into their global brand name and generate monies off the pitch with a revised business model, perhaps making more use of the players, to attract the three or four world-class team-mates they will need after the World Cup to become the force of old.The recent memoirs of Murray and O’Mahony have shone a light on Munster’s poor governance. One sincerely hopes David Duffy of the Governance Company, and the review’s independent chair Dr Martin Kelleher, speak to recently retired players. They will reveal more than anybody.One of the latter could recount that no-one had spoken to him about a new contract from January onwards before he informed them in April of his decision to retire. Another younger player only learned he had become surplus to requirements when his name was announced at an end-of-season presentation thanking him for his services.When you stack up everything, namely the decline in performances on the pitch, the declining attendances, the huge dissatisfaction among past and present players, the clubs and volunteers as well as supporters, and the apparent lack of leadership, all Munster’s ills cannot be laid at the door of one person. Flanagan tried his best, was particularly adept in organising fund-raisers and he ought not be made a scapegoat.Gerry.Thornley@irishtimes.com