MUNSTER LOWDOWN: Province turns to iconic Keith Wood for CEO role as other senior figures come under huge pressure, while insiders reveal damaging rift with IRFU

Keith Wood is understood to have been offered the role of interim Munster CEO with more change expected following the decision of Ian Flanagan to step away this week.

Flanagan announced his decision to step down at the end of the month and former Munster, Ireland Lions great Wood, first reported to be lined up for the position by MailSport last June, is understood to have been asked to fill the chief executive role on an interim basis.

The news comes as we can reveal:

• The inside story of why the writing was on the wall for Flanagan and why his departure was the first step in a long overdue overhaul

• Other senior figures at the province are under significant threat as Munster look to stop the rot

• An offer of assistance from the IRFU was rebuffed, leaving HQ’s nose out of joint, amidst the beginnings of a damaging rift with Lansdowne Road

• Growing calls for the return of another Munster legend Declan Kidney, who could guide Wood if the ex-hooker were to be given CEO role long term.

Whether Wood’s appointment could lead to a full-time appointment is unclear but a person of Wood’s standing would carry significant clout in terms of winning back supporters and winning over sponsors for the troubled province.

The 54-year-old would also be a significant asset in improving relations with the IRFU.

IRFU FALLOUT

Mail Sport also understands that an approach by the IRFU offering assistance in the fallout from recent issues was rebuffed by the province at committee level on the basis of Munster not wanting outside interference as they tackled their own problems. 

According to sources, this attitude was not well received at IRFU headquarters and pressure is increasing from the top down for a radical overhaul of Munster procedures.

Flanagan stepped as CEO down after poor form on the field over an extended period was compounded by a series of off-pitch issues, headlined by the decision to sign Roger Randle last spring.

The damaging fallout from the Randle affair saw the province commission an independent review and, while Munster sources claim the findings of the review are likely to be kept largely in-house, further change is expected on the back of Flanagan’s departure.

The person under the most scrutiny within the operation is general manager Ian Costello, who was implicated in the decision to pursue Randle along with Flanagan culminated in former Munster players Mick O’Driscoll, Billy Holland and Kilian Keane resigning from the Professional Games Board followed by further resignations from the Commercial Games Board.

Sources indicate that the former UL-Bohemians out-half Costello enjoys considerable support within UL from the Limerick clubs and from the women’s rugby side of the operation but is the target of much criticism elsewhere in the organisation, especially outside Limerick.

CLEAN BREAK

As well as replacing the CEO, there have also growing calls for a new general manager in Munster on the basis of a clean break from a difficult period with names like two-time European Cup winning former head coach Declan Kidney and recently retired former Munster and Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony heavily backed.

There is an overwhelming consensus that Munster need to bring in people with a high profile and Munster pedigree to increase coverage, galvanise supporters and help to smooth things over with the IRFU.

The other imperative is to try to address the Limerick-Cork fissure running through the province and sources believe the best way to address this is to have one figure associated with Limerick rugby as CEO (Wood) and another linked to Cork rugby as general manager (Kidney/O’Mahony).

GAMETIME   

Amid all this upheaval, Munster are attempting to bounce back from their opening home defeat by Glasgow when they take on the Bulls at Thomond Park this evening.

Head coach Clayton McMillan has made a whopping 11 changes to the starting XV for this showdown with last season’s beaten finalists, with Craig Casey captaining the side from full back.

He will have a major role in guiding young out-half Charlie O’Shea outside him as the former Ireland U20 star makes his first competitive start.

In the forwards, there will be a chance for supporters to get a look at new hooker Marnus van der Merwe since he arrived from the Scarlets while Tom Ahern starts in the second row – needing to make a big impression out the gate with just 12 months to the World Cup.

But it will be the week’s seismic news that will be on the minds and lips of most Munster supporters. The announcement that Flanagan would be stepping down as Munster CEO was worthy of the media tag of ‘bombshell’ yesterday but, in truth, it was no great surprise. Something had to give.

There will be an obvious connection drawn between Munster great Peter O’Mahony pointedly calling for change at the top this week (following on from Munster wing Johne Murphy making similar statements last week) but this was brewing for some time.

There is also the very real possibility that this move may be pre-empting the findings of the long-awaited external report commissioned in the wake of the Roger Randle controversy.

And, while the blame for all of Munster’s ills, problems and disappointments cannot be laid at the door of one person, as CEO, Flanagan was responsible for what happened on his watch and dissatisfaction about how things were being run was everywhere.

NO WAY OUT

Flanagan had a hard act to follow in the late Garret Fitzgerald, a man steeped in the rugby culture of the province having played with UCC and Cork Con before coaching Munster to their famous win over the world champion Wallabies in 1992.

Fitzgerald’s natural charisma and straight-talking style of leadership made him hugely popular with players, coaches, media and supporters and there was a certainty to his direction that calmed all those around him.

That is not so say Fitzgerald’s tenure was not without its problems — the single-minded focus on finally getting over the line on their European odyssey led to glorious triumphs in 2006 and 2008 but the ball was dropped when it came to future-proofing and building on just how big the Munster brand was in the late 2000s.

Nonetheless, Fitzgerald had a presence as CEO that Flanagan was never able to emulate.

Flanagan’s roots were in the province, but the Corkman’s background was more soccer than rugby and he was brought in to help boost the commercial side having worked as commercial director at Leicester City FC and as Global Head of Football at Treble Group.

However, while there were successes on his watch — notably the centre of excellence at Musgrave Park — there was not the financial upturn that had been hoped for.

The province failed to attract the big sponsorship Flanagan — not being able to land a big naming rights sponsor for Thomond Park a major black mark — and Munster have been existing under a financial cloud, with the CEO announcing redundancies via zoom from South Africa this year. Not a good look.

There was talk of bungled meetings where potential sponsors (a well-known ex-Munster forward in one case) were put off by the province’s hierarchy not having their homework done.

The failure to properly address the ongoing Cork-Limerick tension was another issue while there was ongoing discontent outside Limerick about other counties not getting enough attention.

A recent feature by Rory Keane on Waterford rugby for Mailsport, which highlighted the fact that the Munster senior squad had not trained in the county for 15 years, drew an angry response from the province, but their only counter-argument was that Munster had played a pre-season friendly in Waterford – 11 seasons ago.

There was an accumulation of problems on Flanagan’s watch that built up a simmering discontent which exploded with the Randle furore a few months ago.

When senior Munster figures with the gravitas of Mick O’Driscoll, Billy Holland and Killian Keane decide enough is enough and step away from the Professional Games Board, followed not long after by members of the Commercial board, you know the regime is in bother. 

Lump on criticism from major figures such as O’Mahony, Murphy and Conor Murray and there was no way out.

To cap it all off, it was also widely known that Flanagan applied for the role of FAI CEO that eventually went to David Courell — a career aspiration that did not go down well around Munster.

The sporting and media landscape here is not as cutthroat as the UK and it was never a personal issue. Sometimes it is just a bad fit and maybe a move back to football would be the best option for Flanagan now.

THE WAY FORWARD

So, what next? Well, Keith Wood as CEO is a great start. We first reported here last June that discussions had been taking place in the province about bringing in Keith Wood as CEO.

The former St Munchin’s, Garryowen, Munster, Ireland and Lions hooker is perfect for the role.

The reality is that the province has fallen lower than at any other point this century, immersed in scandal and mismanagement and last weekend we were told to see the positives in an opening URC defeat at home to Glasgow in front of a half-empty Thomond Park.

Munster need a rallying figure to inspire a turnaround and it is hard to think of anyone in rugby more inspirational than Wood.

He is a figure of global respect and renown in rugby with a natural charisma and intelligence to make it count, along with plenty of experience in the business world.

Having Keith Wood at the top of the Munster tree would immediately soothe frayed nerves and would be a massive draw in terms of attracting sponsorship. Not least because, whereas Flanagan largely hid away, bar an annual soft-soap interview for local media, Wood shines on stage and would front up to give Munster a far higher profile.

And, if Wood is Munster’s Luke Skywalker, who better than Declan Kidney as their Obi Wan?

Kidney is the man who dragged Munster into the pro era and knitted it all together. With the province riddled with inner conflict and confusion, there is no better person to heal rifts and build cohesion than Kidney.

He and Wood go way back — it was Kidney who brought Wood back from Harlequins in 1999 to get the ball rolling on Munster’s ‘holy grail’ and they would dovetail again perfectly now for the mission to turn the province around.

In terms of what title Kidney would have, that could be worked out in time but it should be a free-ranging role, an overseer within and across the province, offering advice and direction from top to bottom.

It is often suggested that Munster struggle under the burden of their illustrious history but there is nothing wrong with tapping into that past to remember what worked for them before.

Munster Rugby is in a hole, Wood and Kidney are the men to haul them out of it.