Ireland legend calls on Munster to appoint ‘inspiring’ young coach as Rowntree replacement

Several names have been suggested as potential replacements.

A statement posted to the Munster Rugby website on Tuesday confirmed the departure of Rowntree after five years at the club.

The former England and Leicester Tigers prop spent three years as forwards coach at Thomond Park before being appointed head coach ahead of the 2022/23 season.

A run of bad results in recent months led to the decision to part ways by mutual agreement.

Since the announcement, several names have come to the fore as potential replacements for the Englishman.

Many fans dream of the romantic reunion of La Rochelle coach Ronan O'Gara with his former club, while others are hoping that current attack coach Mike Prendergast gets a shot at the top job.

According to Jackman, on the other hand, Munster bosses should consider England's current defence coach as their new man.

Speaking alongside ex-Ireland teammate Johne Murphy on this week's RTÉ Rugby podcast, Jackman said: "I think he’d (Jones) be a great choice.

"The whole thing around 'is it realistic?' This is the problem now, where Munster and the IRFU have left the provinces," he added. "We have such a closed mindset.

"Think back to the day when they signed RG Snyman and Damian de Allende. Was it likely? No. When they signed Dougie Howlett, when they signed Christian Cullen when they signed Rassie Erasmus, it was unlikely but they made it happen.

"If they want Felix Jones, and I think he would be an inspired choice, just make it happen. He’s technically in limbo at the moment, but he’s not attached to a club."

Jackman continued: "He has a connection to Munster, a deep connection, he’s gone off and proven himself to be one of the best assistant coaches in the world, and has all the attributes of someone who could be an excellent head coach.

"He’s young, for sure, but the pressure of trying to win back-to-back World Cups in a rugby-mad country like South Africa, with the players he had, who demand excellence, demand guidance, I think it’s on par.

"If the IRFU are the ones holding Munster back, then get up the road and make your case, because this is death by a thousand cuts," Murphy added.

"I would agree Felix is the man. I have no inside track whether he wants to go back to club coaching, but I’d say if there was a club coach job that he would look at, it would be Munster because he is incredibly proud of being a Munster player and Munster coach in the past."

Jones previously played as a fullback for Munster from 2009 to 2015. He began his coaching career at Munster following his injury-enforced retirement in 2016.

The 37-year-old then departed Munster in 2019 before joining Rassie Erasmus’ coaching team in South Africa - helping the Springboks win back-to-back Rugby World Cups - before moving to England at the start of 2024.

Despite the fact that Jones handed in his resignation as England’s defence coach in the summer, he will seemingly have to honour the 12-month notice period stipulated in his contract with the RFU, which runs until August 2025.