Changes are coming down in Munster.
With head coach Graham Rowntree and forwards coach Andi Kyriacou having left Munster back in October, the province have been without a permanent forwards coach for a significant portion of the season.
Ireland women’s forwards coach, Alex Codling, has stepped up in the meantime, but is now focused on his main job with the Six Nations in full swing.
Former Munster backrower, Tommy O’Donnell, has also been helping out.
Munster’s shocking line out performance on the weekend, during which they lost nine of their own, highlighted the serious need to fill the position on a permanent basis.
As reported by RTÉ, the province are interested in hiring Codling full time, while Connacht scrum coach, Cullie Tucker, has also been mooted.
But with head coach Pete Wilkins stepping down from Connacht today, and Tucker stepping up as interim, it looks likely that he will stay out west.
Chiefs head coach, Clayton McMillan, who will be taking over as head coach at Munster in July, may be able to lure a name from outside of Ireland.
Speaking with RTÉ, interim head coach, Ian Costello, who will become general manager next season, said: “We’ve all those plans in place, just not in a position to announce them just yet.
“With Alex, we’re always aware that he had a secondment or a dual role. They’re in a critical period of the Six Nations, he’s been in and out and Tommy O’Donnell has done a really good job here, and for the weekend we were really disappointed with it [the lineout].
“When you see the work they’ve done this morning, really good honest review, they trained really well and hopefully we’ll correct that for Saturday.”
