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Irish Examiner
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Munster appoint Martyn Vercoe as new team manager
Munster have announced the appointment of Martyn Vercoe as their new team manager ahead of the 2025/26 season, subject to being granted a valid work permit. The New Zealander is the current team manager and Head of Teams at Super Rugby side Gallagher Chiefs and team manager for the All Blacks XV. Read More Jamison Gibson-Park set for Lions debut against Queensland Reds Vercoe has worked as team manager in a number of environments over the past 12 years. In addition to his current positions with the All Blacks XV and the Gallagher Chiefs, he was also team manager with the New Zealand U20s from 2016 to 2022 and Tasman Makos from 2013 to 2020. He has previously worked with incoming Head Coach Clayton McMillan, Alex Nankivell and John Ryan at the Gallagher Chiefs and will join the province next month. Prior to moving into sports management, Vercoe was a Personal Development Manager and Commercial Manager at Tasman Rugby, and Head of Faculty at Marlborough Boys' College in New Zealand. More to follow...
Irish Examiner
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Emotion, frustration, commitment and special moments: Munster's end-of-season review
The Outcome Champions Cup quarter-finalists – lost 47-29 at Bordeaux-Begles. URC quarter-finalists – 24-24 at Sharks after extra time, lost kicking shootout. URC regular season: 6th - P 18 W 9 L 9 Pts 51 Pts For 444 Pts Against 429 Pts Diff +15 Tries For 67 Tries Against 59 Try Bonus Points 11 Incoming tour match: v All Blacks XV, lost 38-24 @ Thomond Park Could there have been a more suitable end to their season? Losing in a goal-kicking shootout after 100 minutes of energy-sapping, nerve-grinding rugby, thousands of kilometres from home in Durban was a strangely appropriate conclusion to a typically Munsteresque campaign of turmoil, emotion and frustration topped off with intermittent sprinklings of brilliance and underpinned by 100 per cent commitment. What comes next depends on your outlook. For Munster supporters there could be trepidation that this URC quarter-final exit marks the end of the road for a quartet of immensely experienced leaders in Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray, Dave Kilcoyne and Stephen Archer. Yet it could also be seen as an opportunity to look forward with optimism to a group emerging leaders under the captaincy of two-time Lions tourist Tadhg Beirne who will now be given licence to take ownership of their rugby futures in red, and an experienced incoming head coach in Clayton McMillan to help guide what lies ahead. Best performance A Champions Cup Round of 16 clash for the ages which saw Munster edge a thriller against favourite son Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle on a heady April afternoon in western France. Tries from Craig Casey, Gavin Coombes and Andrew Smith plus 10 points from the boot of Jack Crowley, including a wonderfully apt and superbly taken drop goal when his side were down to 14 men on 68 minutes, were enough to see Munster home 25-24 with a performance of dogged grit, admirable toil, and no little flair. Moment to savour On a night of real jeopardy for their URC play-off hopes, Munster tapped into the emotional drive provided by end of season departures for Peter O'Mahony, Stephen Archer and Conor Murray for their final games at Thomond Park. Needing a victory over derby rivals Ulster in the penultimate round of the regular season to keep their ambitions alive, O'Mahony's try on the hour was the crowning moment of an excellent and much-needed bonus-point win. The veteran flanker and former captain had already made an impact with ball in hand with a wonderful step off the right wing to set up Tom Farrell for the first of his two tries on the evening. Yet when Jack Crowley sent a crossfield kick to the right corner it was O'Mahony on the spot, the spring that has made him a world-class lineout operator serving him equally effectively in attack as he rose to climb above full-back Michael Lowry and collect rhe ball before dotting down for the final try of the night. Thomond Park exploded in a roar of approval for their hero and he responded in kind with a celebratory punch of the air that would have knocked many a back-row opponent into next season. Standout player His stats for the regular season alone single out Tom Farrell as Munster's star of the season and what a debut campaign it has been following an unheralded pre-season move from Connacht. The outside centre, released by the westerners, was viewed by some as an underwhelming replacement for the departing Antoine Frisch and Farrell has surprised himself by the amount of game time he got from the opening round of the URC. When he started the quarter-final against the Sharks it was his 26th consecutive appearance and he has played all but 68 minutes of the season. Not only that, Farrell led the league as its joint-top try scorer (nine), its leading carrier (238), most dominant carrier (41), most post-contact metres (234), offloads (41) and finished second for defenders beaten (61). A hat-trick of tries at Ulster was pivotal to a pre-Christmas derby win in Belfast and his two tries against the same opposition in the penultimate round proved just as important, while his midfield partnership with Alex Nankivell has been one of the real positives for Munster this season. Biggest disappointment The departure of head coach Graham Rowntree just six games into the season last October cast a shadow over the entire campaign. Forwards coach Andi Kyriacou followed through the exit door soon after as Munster top brass scrambled to keep the season afloat while starting their search for a replacement. Head of rugby operations Ian Costello double-jobbed as interim head coach, Alex Codling was seconded from the Ireland Women's staff as a forwards coach consultant while academy coaches Sean Cronin and Tommy O'Donnell had their roles expanded. It was just about enough to get into the knockout stages of both competitions, the Champions Cup campaign uplifted by a stirring R16 win over La Rochelle. But for a team that won the URC title under Rowntree in 2023 and then finished top of the table last season, consistency in the league suffered, mitigated in part by a terrible run of injuries. That inconsistency across the regular season came back to bite them in the play-offs as Munster failed, albeit valiantly, to repeat their 2023 title run on the road in South Africa, coming up agonisingly short to the Sharks at Kings Park. Worst performance It was another typical Munster season of wonderful highs and dreadful lows. The historic first loss at Zebre Parma in round two was on Rowntree's watch, the failure to put away Castres in the penultimate round of Champions Cup pool play in France was the one that got away on a night littered with injuries, and which ultimately cost them a lucrative home draw in the European knockout rounds. Yet the nadir in terms of performance came at home to Edinburgh in the league Having worked their way up the URC table from 11th to fifth to move within reach of the top four and a home quarter-final with back-to-back wins over the Dragons and Scarlets, Costello's side slumped to a 34-28 defeat at Virgin Media Park in Cork with an abject display in the absence of their frontline internationals midway through the Six Nations. The only solace was two losing bonus points but the result laid the foundation for a nervy run-in to the league campaign that was rescued only by home wins over Ulster and Benetton in the last two rounds. Funniest moment The sight of former captain Mick Galwey leading the cheering from atop a cherry picker as the Munster team bus rolled up to La Rochelle's Stade Marcel-Delfandre to be greeted by a sea of red. Priceless. Weirdest moment Referee Andrea Piardi's brain freeze and a communications breakdown by match officials during Munster's narrow home loss to the Bulls in April which saw the Reds mistakenly play 14 minutes of the second half with only 14 men. The URC later admitted the error to remove an extra Munster forward and go to uncontested scrums on 52 minutes when Munster lost their second tighthead of the night, Stephen Archer, to a contact injury. Piardi had failed to acknowledge that the removal of starter Oli Jager in the first half had been due to a Head Injury Assistant from which the prop did not return. The whole episode was not a good look for Piardi or the URC. Try of the year There have been some cracking scores throughout the season from Munster players, who once again proved that when their attacking game clicks they can be a match for everyone Yet, for the high stakes involved, away from home in a Champions Cup knockout round, Craig Casey's try at La Rochelle is the pick from this viewpoint. When Jack Crowley collected Dillyn Leyds' punt upfield in the Munster backfield nothing much looked on for the visitors but the fly-half had Thaakir Abrahams alongside and shovelling the ball to his full-back he watched the magic unfold. Abrahams carried to his 10-metre line, and with a step beat his first man then darted between two defenders and accelerated away from traffic into the open ground of the La Rochelle half. Drawing the last man on the home 22, Abrahams took contact but not before a pass on his left side to support runner Casey to finish a scintillating try by the posts. END OF THE ROAD: Tadhg Beirne, captain of Munster and Eben Etzebeth, captain of Hollywoodbets Sharks before the kicking competition on Saturday. Pic: INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart Players outgoing: Retiring: Stephen Archer, Dave Kilcoyne (injury), Peter O'Mahony; Departing: Scott Buckley, Billy Burns, Patrick Campbell, Liam Coombes, Jack Daly, Cian Hurley, Conor Murray, Jack Oliver. And the end of an era for... Team manager Niall O'Donovan, who departs Munster after 28 years of service to his province. Players incoming: Lee Barron (Leinster – following short-term loan), JJ Hanrahan (Connacht), Dan Kelly (Leicester), Michael Milne (Leinster – following short-term loan), Conor Ryan (UCC – development contract), Andrew Smith (Connacht – following short-term loan). Academy players graduating to senior squad for 2025-26: Fionn Gibbons, Shay McCarthy, Evan O'Connell, Ruadhán Quinn, Kieran Ryan. Head coach arriving There was a fair degree of satisfaction amongst Munster supporters last February when the province revealed Clayton McMillan would be their next permanent head coach, four months on from Graham Rowntree's departure. The New Zealander will arrive from the Chiefs after leading them to successive Super Rugby finals and the top of this season's table ahead of the upcoming play-offs. Just as relevant comes the endorsement from former Chiefs Nankivell and John Ryan that McMillan will set exactly the right tone in terms of the right environment and culture to turn Munster into serial contenders, just as the Chiefs have become. SIGNING OFF: Peter O'Mahony of Munster waves to supporters at Virgin Media Park in Cork. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile McMillan's arrival on a three-year contract will also see a tweak to current management and assistant roles, with Costello's job title behind the scenes switched to General Manager, while attack coach and disappointed head coach applicant Mike Prendergast will become senior coach when a recalibrated squad reconvenes for pre-season training later this summer. The Stats Games played (URC/Champions Cup/ABs): 26 Players used: 47 Including: Academy players: 7 with a combined 44 senior caps (Ronan Foxe - 3, Shay McCarthy - 7, Evan O'Connell – 6, Ben O'Connor – 7, Ruadhan Quinn – 11, Kieran Ryan - 9, Danny Sheahan 1) Loan players: 4 (Lee Barron - 2, Dian Bleuler - 7, Michael Milne - 4, Andrew Smith - 4) Overall headline figures (26 games) Leading points scorers: 112 - Jack Crowley; 55 - Tom Farrell; 40 - Gavin Coombes Leading try scorers: 11 - Tom Farrell; 8 - Gavin Coombes; 6 - Mike Haley. URC season in numbers Leading points scorers: 64 - Crowley; 45 - Farrell; 30 - Coombes. Leading try scorers: 9 - Farrell; 6 - Coombes; 5 - Haley. Most try assists: 9 - Craig Casey; 5 - Crowley; 4 - Farrell. Most offloads: 33 - Farrell; 26 - Coombes; 9 - Alex Nankivell and Calvin Nash. Most tackles: 228 - Coombes; 171 - Fineen Wycherley and John Hodnett; 155 - Niall Scannell. Most metres gained: 758 - Farrell; 631 - Haley; 488 - Coombes. Most carries: 234 - Farrell; 206 - Coombes; 105 - Nash. Clean breaks: 17 Farrell; 13 - Nash; 8 - Coombes and Haley. Defenders beaten: 69 - Farrell; 36 - Nash; 29 - Nankivell. Team URC stats. Metres made: 7836; Total carries: 2466; Clean breaks: 124; Defenders beaten: 445; Passes completed: 3411; Offloads: 165; Tackles made: 2784; Tackles missed: 415; Turnovers conceded: 275; Penalties conceded: 180; Red cards: 1; Yellow cards: 9. Read More Hendrikse's wink failed to deter Crowley but raises the question of sportsmanship in rugby
