Munster mash-up begins...

Durban loss signals new era

- BY MICHAEL SCULLY

WHEN the dust settles after Munster's return from Durban the province will head straight into an era of massive change.

Saturday's URC quarter-final defeat in the Shark Tank was the second time in three years that the Reds suffered penalty shootout heartbreak, having also drawn 24-24 with Toulouse in the Champions Cup in 2022.

This latest loss brought the curtain down on a difficult season for Munster, who lost their URC winning head coach Graham Rowntree before October was over — coincidentally it was a round-six reversal at the Sharks that ended his reign.

Ian Costello stepped in to fill the void and it will be almost nine months after Rowntree's exit that the players will get to work with a new head coach, when Clayton McMillan leaves the Chiefs behind for a three year contract with the Reds.

McMillan has a well-earned reputation for being an attack-minded coach and that approach should dovetail nicely with the gameplan developed by Mike Prendergast, who has been promoted to senior coach.

But McMillan will be working with a dressing-room stripped of serious rugby IP as Saturday's defeat brought the curtain down for the last time for a number of Munster greats.