Dec 12,2024
Bernard Jackman is backing Mike Prendergast to become Munster's next head coach after the province’s assistant confirmed he’s put his name forward for the job.
Prendergast signed a new contract as Munster’s attack coach last month, but remains in the hunt to be promoted to head coach, following the departure of Graham Rowntree in late October.
The former Munster scrum-half confirmed his name is "in the pot" of applications this week, adding that he will stay in his current position of attack coach even if he doesn’t get the role.
And Jackman, who previously worked with Prendergast at Grenoble between 2013 and 2017, says his former assistant is the ideal man for the job.
"I think it would have to be one of those super coaches, of which there is few and far between.
"I don't think Munster are going to get those names, particularly at this stage in a World Cup cycle, and I don't think they need it."
Prendergast is yet to hold a head coach role in professional rugby, having spent the last 11 years working in assistant positions.
But Jackman believes that lack of experience can easily be bridged by the arrival of Chris Boyd, who is with the province as a performance consultant for the next few months.
The former Leinster and Ireland hooker said: "If Mike got the job, would he like to have the access to have someone like him [Boyd] to check in on a regular or irregular basis. Could that be a package that eases Mike into it?
"I would say the momentum and the hope is that he [Prendergast] gets it. From players anyway.
"He hasn’t got head coach experience, but he’s been under a lot of good head coaches and been in good environments, and he’s had a big role in Munster in the last two years.
"We’ve all seen that develop, that shift in playing style. Players like Calvin Nash and Shane Daly developing massively under his watch, and even Tom Farrell, he’s playing some of the best rugby of his career, and two half-backs who have come from the pathway to being internationals.
"I’d say there is a lot of momentum behind him.
"I don't think they will rush it. They will stall it now, Boyd is in and he will get a sense of where they need help and support, and he will maybe be involved in the decision as well around who becomes head coach."
Munster appeared to be in crisis mode when Rowntree departed suddenly at the end of October following a poor start to the season, with the province deep in yet another injury crisis.
However, under interim coach Ian Costello, the province have slowly started to change the narrative, with their injury issues tapering off, and some new additions to the coaching staff, such as Boyd and Alex Codling, the latter of whom is on loan from the IRFU.
Two wins in a row, one each in the URC and Investec Champions Cup, have got them back on track on the pitch, and Jackman believes the tide is starting to turn for the two-time European champions, who travel to Castres on Friday night.
"I think since the Graham Rowntree departure, it’s actually been very well played by Munster from a PR point of view, from providing confidence that everything is OK, that things are starting to settle," he added.
"Whether that’s Denis [Leamy, defence coach] and Mike [Prendergast] re-signing, bringing in some new props, the Chris Boyd announcement, Nick Winkleman and other IRFU staff who are helping out.
"Even Mike going up in the press this week and saying 'my name is in the hat’, has been managed in a pretty coherent way.
"And results, the Lions win, Stade Francais is a five-point win, so I think the crisis has eased for sure."
