Why Matt Williams was ‘disappointed’ with Clayton McMillan’s first Munster interview
Clayton McMillan's first media briefing at Munster boss caught the attention of Matt Williams, inset
Matt Williams has called out the thing that disappointed him in Clayton McMillian’s first interview as the new Munster coach.
The ex-Chiefs boss arrived in Ireland during the off-season to take over from Graham Rowntree, who parted ways with the province last October.
In between their pre-season games versus English duo Gloucester and Bath, McMillan was wheeled out for his first meeting with the Irish media and the main topic reported on from that briefing left Williams annoyed.
The Australian is well-versed in Irish provincial rugby, having been in charge of Leinster and Ulster. Those jobs – in the early and late noughties – happened at a time when Munster were the leading force in Ireland, winning the Heineken Cup in 2006 and 2008 and consistently competing at the business end in Europe.
Their place at the top of the pecking order has long been usurped by Leinster, though, and Williams sounded perturbed about the soundings from Limerick ahead of a new season that will begin with a URC fixture away to Scarlets on September 27.
“On such mystical foundations are fairy tales based…”
Munster have won just one trophy since their 2011 PRO12 title, clinching the 2023 URC title with a remarkable end-of-season surge in their away form. Other than that, they have endured one disappointment after another.
It’s a situation that Williams, who was also head coach of Scotland and the Waratahs, wants McMillan to grab by the scruff of the neck. But he was left concerned by the narrative that emerged from the Kiwi’s maiden media day with his new team. Writing in the Irish Times, he said: “Cultural change is McMillan’s mission and it is a massive one.
“The lack of internal evaluation of Munster as an organisation can be seen by their almost pathological obsession with their fans. According to many in Limerick, the people who sit in the stands determine the standards of the team’s performance. On such mystical foundations are fairy tales based.
“The Red Army are immense and I have nothing but admiration for the tens of thousands of Munster supporters who travel massive distances to support their beloved team. They deserve every piece of praise that comes their way.
“However, whenever Munster’s players and coaches face the media, I can rarely recall them addressing the real and substantive issues that are so obvious to the rest of the Irish rugby community.
“The spindoctors are constantly talking about the Red Army while Munster’s problems and solutions are on the field, not in the stands. I was disappointed that in McMillan’s first interview, the supporters were once again the main topic.
“If someone inside Munster came out and said: ‘We love our supporters, yet the standards of our players and staff are not where we need them to be, and we are addressing these difficult issues and we will fix them,’ then I am sure the Red Army would be delighted.
“It has been my experience that, as the Kiwis say, ‘the fish smells from the head.’ It is Munster’s back of house, the executives, the CEO and support staff that need to align themselves with the club’s reality and support McMillan with every tool required to perform the job that he is eminently qualified for.”
Producing evidence to back up his belief that coaching hasn’t been the issue that has led to Munster’s stagnation, Williams added: “For over a decade, Munster have blamed the coach and not shared the responsibility across the entire organisation.
“Rassie Erasmus departed Munster and then won two World Cups. Stephen Larkham returned to the Brumbies and has guided them to multiple play-offs. Rob Penney has just won the Super Rugby competition, while Johann van Graan has lifted Bath from the bottom to the pinnacle of the English Premiership.
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“Munster do not have a coaching problem. They have a cultural problem with players and administrators not taking responsibility for their performances. Munster’s scapegoating of coaches has allowed generations of players and administrators to avoid the necessary, genuine scrutiny of their actions.”
Aside from demanding that every aspect of the rugby department rows in behind McMillan, Williams named the on-field priority that must be addressed if Munster are to have a better start to the new season than what happened last year in the lead-up to Rowntree’s abrupt exit.
“The first area McMillan must address is Munster’s defence. Last year, in their two matches in South Africa, Munster leaked 71 points and let in 42 against Zebre. The lack of commitment and aggression in the players’ tackling was more than embarrassing.
“After the match against the Sharks, when they conceded 41 points, their response was the perfect example of Munster’s cultural problem – they blamed the coach. So much for player empowerment.
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“In every winning rugby organisation, the foundational principle is that each player must take total responsibility for every tackle they attempt. Tackles that are made or missed belong to the player, not the coach.”
Wishing McMillian the best with the challenge he has accepted in trying to improve Munster, Williams concluded: “I am sure that since his arrival, he has tried to set Munster towards a new and positive direction.
“What I am very unsure about is whether Munster as an organisation can respond and stop talking about how great their supporters are and get on with the difficult task of implementing the cultural change required for consistent success.”
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