McGahan In Place

Despite a gruelling long haul flight from Australia that eventually saw him, his wife and young family arrive at their Limerick home late afternoon Wednesday, new Munster coach Tony McGahan was at his desk in the Munster Rugby office at the University of Limerick, bright and early, yesterday morning.

Expressing his delight with his appointment, McGahan said, ” It’s an honour to be appointed coach to a squad such as this. It’s an exciting time, a great challenge but I have quality people around me, both players and management, and I’m certainly looking forward to it. ”

There are some positions still to be flled in his coaching team and among those McGahan and Munster management will be talking to over the weekend and early next week will be the former Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher who flew into Cork yesterday. Fisher is one of those short-listed for the job vacated by Jim Williams and the process to find that replacement for Williams will be hastened by McGahan’s arrival back to take up his new role and the return at the weekend from holiday of Chief Executive Garrett Fitzgerald.

Player activity around UL yesterday was relatively quiet with fitness coaches Fergal O’Callaghan and Tom Comyns seen working with Barry Murphy, Mark Melbourne, Niall Ronan, Conan Doyle, the returned Mike Prendergast, and members of the Munster Academy.

The international squad members, those involved either at senior level in New Zealand/Australia or with the Churchill Cup squad in Canada, are not due to return for pre-season training until Monday week.