Cian Tracey

I think it's a very important appointment if, and it's a big if at the moment, Macmillan is still going to be in charge.

I suppose I need to be careful of what I say because I don't want to speak for Mike Prendergast.

But I would have a strong, strong sense that Mike Prendergast felt undermined when he didn't get the head coach job.

That I think whatever was being said to him behind the scenes, he was given a strong indication that if he went for the job... He would get it.

That he would get it.

Okay.

This is a coach who, and this is... So it's more that disappointment as opposed to, jeez, this Macmillan guy's not listening to me.

I think so.

But I think that is an issue as well.

I don't think his attacking philosophy lines up with Macmillan.

You throw that into his bitter disappointment.

Because remember, he went public and he made no secret of...

of the fact so I think he was really disappointed with how that played out like this is one of the big travesties in all this that Munster losing a fantastic coach in Mike Prendergast who was already gone around the houses in France you know he's got a built up a really good CV and now he's going to Bath and might not ever come back to Munster again because I think he'll he'll have felt burnt by this whole process as well and like people can argue Joe whether he wasn't ready to be head coach and all that but my sense was that he felt like when he was going for that job it was his to lose yeah okay

I would say he has had to make tweaks to Clayton McMillan's style of play.

And we have seen flashes of it.

They went to Benetton a couple of weeks ago and they scored some cracking tries.

I think the harder weather has suited Munster.

But it's all a bit of a mess because you look at their defence as well.

Their defence has gone backwards this season as well.

They're losing Alex Codling, who is their line-out and forwards coach.