There is growing support for Keith Wood to take over as Munster Rugby CEO as the existing chief executive Ian Flanagan comes under increased pressure.
Mail Sport understands that former Munster, Ireland and Lions legend Wood has the backing of significant figures within the province, who feel he would be the ideal figurehead to help revive the fortunes of the club after a disastrous season that saw Munster dumped out of the Champions Cup at the pool stage before being hammered 45-14 by the Bulls in the URC quarter-finals.
Munster CEO Ian Flanagan has come under increased pressure after a terrible season
Allied to poor on-field results, Munster have been beset by off-field problems, with Flanagan under fire for Munster’s ongoing financial issues and for the u-turn on the controversial proposed hiring of Roger Randle which led to the province announcing an independent review to assess ‘its leadership, culture and communication structures’.
Mail Sport understands that the review is ongoing, with players believed to be taking part in one-on-one interviews this week to canvass their opinions on how Munster Rugby is run and what could improve.
Randle was offered the job of assistant coach to reunite with Munster head coach Clayton McMillan but the province reversed out of the decision due to the backlash over historical rape allegations.
Those charges against Randle were dropped but the allegation was never withdrawn and the furore over his hiring, and how it was handled by McMillan, Flanagan and general manager Ian Costello, saw three ex-players, Billy Holland, Mick O’Driscoll and Killian Keane, resign from the Professional Games Board, followed by further resignations from the Commercial Advisory Group.
It has ratcheted up the heat on Flanagan, who was touted as a sports marketing expert when he succeeded the late Garrett Fitzgerald as CEO but has been unable to secure a naming rights sponsor for Thomond Park, while Munster have gone through a round of redundancies — voluntary and compulsory —due to the financial pressures on his watch.
It was also widely known that Flanagan applied for the role of FAI CEO which ended up going to David Courell, a fact that has been used against him by his critics.
Keith Wood with son Tom at an Ireland Under 20 match, Tom is part of the Munster Academy
Now, there is understood to be a push for Wood to be considered for the CEO’s role, according to Munster sources. The 54-year-old, regarded as one of the finest hookers to have played the game, is seen as a figure for the province to rally around. Having maintained a high profile through his extensive work in the media since his retirement after the 2003 World Cup, Wood also has a wide range of commercial experience and the belief is that his broad appeal could help attract the sponsorship and funding Munster desperately need.
Like his father, Gordon, Wood played for the Garryowen club in Limerick, for Munster, Ireland and the Lions and returned to his province from Harlequins for the 1999-2000 season under Declan Kidney, when Munster famously made it all the way to the European Cup final.
Continuing the family links, Wood now has two sons in the Munster Academy —Gordon and Tom — seen as a further reason to fuel his desire to contribute to turning the province around.
Munster players are down and out after their heavy loss to the Bulls in the URC quarter-final
SPECIAL REPORT
THE INSIDE TRACK ON CONTINUED CHAOS, THE ‘FRACTURED COACHING TICKET’, ‘STAGNANT’ PLAYERS AND MUDDLED MANAGEMENT
By Hugh Farrelly
It’s been a rough season for Munster Rugby. Dumped early out of Europe, twice, and then the URC, on the wrong side of some humiliating scorelines, redundancies, scandals and resignations… the 2025/26 campaign was a grueller, and one they will want to forget about quickly. Not so fast…
THE REVIEW
Before the players could flee for the beach and holiday escapism, they were obliged to give their take on where it all went wrong as part of the independent review the province announced in early May in the wake of the Roger Randle debacle and other assorted crises.
When it comes to the value of this review, being conducted by The Governance Company, the feeling on the ground is mixed.
According to one source in the branch, while there is no questioning that the review process is ‘legit’, there are serious doubts as to what will come out of it, given the lack of interest at committee level in major overhaul.
But that is clearly what Munster require. A root-and-branch rethink from top to bottom and one can only imagine what the flies on the wall will be privy to as the players conduct their one-on-one interviews this week because, judging from the opinions offered up from insiders as we sought to get a handle on what exactly has been going on in Munster this season, this is an organisation riven with bitterness, anger and angst with a deep desire for meaningful change.
THE COACHES
The word ‘fractured’ was used more than once when the subject of the Munster coaches came up this week. Clayton McMillan appears to be staying on but there is no doubt the big Kiwi has been burnt by his first season in charge, especially the furore over attempts to hire his old comrade Roger Randle.
Having a backroom ticket imposed upon him when he arrived, led by Mike Prendergast who had made no secret of his desire for the top job, it was no surprise when Prendergast left at the end of the season.
Munster head coach Clayton McMillan chats with general manager Ian Costello
The announcement of Jared Payne to replace him should have been a good news story but, yet again, Munster seem to have made a hames of it and it has led to more confusion and uncertainty. On Tuesday, they announced that Munster’s ‘attack and backline coaching responsibilities will be shared by Payne and Mossy Lawler’ at the same time as they announced a new two-year deal for Lawler.
The questions being asked down south are: Was the Lawler deal a sweetener to ease his fears about the new man coming in? Why do you need two coaches to look after the attack? Is there something else at play?
Payne has coached attack but is best known for his defence coaching and that has been a serious problem for Munster and their defence coach Denis Leamy this season after heavy points concessions in defeats by Bath (40), the Sharks (45), Exeter (31-0 down at half time) and the Bulls (45).
Jared Payne has been added to the coaching ticket but there seems to be confusion over roles
Payne is a good get but his arrival could leave both Lawler and Leamy feeling uncomfortable — on the back of a distinctly uncomfortable coaching season.
Far more positive was Jimmy Duffy coming in to succeed Alex Codling as forwards coach. A good guy and a very good coach, Duffy knows what he is at but the rest of the ticket offers more questions than answers.
As one contributor involved at underage level put it: ‘When you have an average team you need brilliant coaches to make it work, Munster have an average team and average coaches’.
General manager Ian Costello (centre) chats with Denis Leamy (left) and Mike Prendergast
THE MANAGER
Ian Costello is steeped in Munster rugby going back to his time as a player but has become something of a lightning rod for frustration in his role as general manager and going back to his previous role as Academy and Pathway manager.
Certainly, in terms of producing quality players ready to step into the international arena, the Munster Academy has fallen far below the level required.
When you ask around about Costello, there are positive noises made about his complete, almost obsessive, commitment to the Munster cause but there are also issues raised regarding ‘transparency’, a tendency to hang around senior dressing rooms too much in his tracksuit and questionable input into training methods.
One source spoke how Munster training sessions suffered badly when Academy players were mixed in with senior players for live sessions — the subject of Costello’s recent doctorate studies in DCU. This not only had the effect of lowering the standard of the training, as nervous youngsters struggled to keep up, it also meant a collection of Academy coaches watching on from the sideline.
Munster describe Costello’s role as general manager as being to ‘oversee high performance’. Thus, when performance levels drop to the depths they did this season, it has to put a spotlight on the general manager overseeing them.
Gavin Coombes (left) and Fineen Wycherley reflect on Munster’s URC hammering by the Bulls
THE PLAYERS
There are numerous issues at play in Munster but perhaps the biggest one is that the players aren’t good enough.
Over the last 15 years, the province has relied on a steady stream of solid players who become stalwarts for the province without ever threatening to become Ireland frontliners for Andy Farrell — you could pick a whole team from the likes of Mike Haley, Shane Daly, Seán O’Brien, Rory Scannell, JJ Hanrahan, John Ryan, Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Niall Scannell, Diarmuid Barron, Fineen Wycherley, John Hodnett, Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen and Gavin Coombes.
The teams that win European Cups are packed with frontline internationals — Munster are way off.
Then you have the players who look to be oozing international potential but never seem to kick on — such as Tom Ahern. The 6ft7in Waterford man seems to have all the tools to match a Ryan Baird, Cian Prendergast or Cormac Izuchukwu but it has still to happen as he heads for his late 20s and the talk is that talented players are stagnating down south.
Tom Ahern has all the tools to make it internationally but has not kicked on at Munster
A consistent theme this week has been around how younger players are nurtured in Munster, with one story told of how frustrated one national underage coach was when young players from the province were called up only to be found woefully ill-prepared for the step up, describing their conditioning as ‘a disgrace’.
THE CEO
Ian Flanagan is at the centre of a lot of the disquiet around Munster rugby.
He had a hard act to follow, in the sense of the affection held for his predecessor Garrett Fitzgerald but Flanagan has failed in the key areas he was brought in for. His background in commercial sports marketing seemed ideally suited to the key issue of recruiting sponsors but this has been far below hoped for levels, even when it comes to the open goal of the naming rights for Thomond Park.
Munster CEO Ian Flanagan
The fact he was known to have gone for the FAI CEO job went down very badly as did the handling of the Roger Randle recruitment affair.
It is no secret that McMillan is believed to have been very keen to get his old colleague on board as a fellow coach and the move was pushed through without proper assessment.
It is understood that when a warning came back to Munster from head office, it was too late and contracts had been issued. The subsequent about-turn was a damaging experience for all involved.
Flanagan could help his case and better deal with his doubters if he fronted up to the media more and fielded questions from all angles, but instead he only offers himself up for occasional scrutiny with local media partners.
THE REDEEMER?
Keith Wood remains a huge name in world rugby — one infused with intelligence, gravitas and character.
When told this week of the concerted support for Wood to take over as CEO of his former province, it made complete sense.
During his playing days, Wood was subjected to his share of barbs when he returned to Thomond Park with his English club Harlequins.
Keith Wood celebrates after Munster’s epic 2000 European Cup semi-final win over Toulouse
But Wood was always seen as a man of Garryowen and Munster and is hugely popular among the Munster faithful for his immense contribution when he returned in 1999-2000 to help inspire their unlikely drive to the European Cup final.
Whatever comes out of this review, Munster badly need to find a way out of the dark hole they have dug for themselves — and Keith Wood could be the beacon of light they require so desperately.