Mossy Lawler: Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy contracts show where Munster want to go
Skills Munster ©inpho/ben The Prendergast Game Coach Brady Attack And Coach Watch Pic: Women’s Mike Lawler Mossy
Mossy Lawler is confident the two-year contract extensions signed by Mike Prendergast, Denis Leamy and himself mean Munster’s selection of their next boss will have to be on the same page as the assistant coaching triumvirate.
It is clear, the candidacy of current attack coach Prendergast is the preferred route for a smooth transition of power following the departure by mutual consent of Graham Rowntree seven weeks ago with Lawler describing his close associate and former team-mate as “world-class” as the skills and assistant attack coach followed him and defence lead Leamy in putting pen to paper on a new deal, announced on Tuesday.
Whether Prendergast gets the call to step up to his head coach role or not, with interviewing prospective candidates not set to begin until the New Year, the commitment by Munster to their three homegrown former players and current assistants at the very least guarantees continuity for a squad desperately in need to of coaching continuity.
“Look, I think the signings of Mike and Denis make a statement in itself on where the club want to go and they're a privilege to work with and very, very good at their jobs,” Lawler told as he looked forward to Friday’s URC trip to derby rivals Ulster.
“So to have those two leading the charge going forward, it’s great for Munster Rugby and I'm just delighted to be part of it.
“The powers that be will decide that in relation to who comes in, but I suppose, one thing that’s aligned is myself and Mike’s thought process on the game and that's why it's so easy for me to come to work in the morning with somebody like Mike.
“Our principles are the same, our thoughts on the game are the same, how we see the game going in the future are the same, so it's really easy to get our points across and give clarity to the boys in relation to our on- and off-field work.
“As I say that decision certainly isn’t in our hands, but when they see the pathway, I suppose, Mike and Dennis have said over the last couple of years, someone will definitely be brought in to complement them.”
Lawler, whose 67-cap Munster career at wing and full-back between 2000 and 2008 helped bring Heineken Cup, Celtic League and Celtic Cup success before a switch to then English giants Wasps, rejoined the province in the summer of 2023 after eight years as Connacht’s attack and skills coach. Re-signing to at least the summer of 2027 was no brainer.
“I'm delighted. It's home. I think as a young kid growing up, we always have the dream of playing with Munster, I had the privilege of doing that and last year, when I got the opportunity to come and coach, it was an opportunity I wasn't going to miss. The fact that I've been asked to sign on again is really pleasing for myself and my family.
“It's nice to be asked early on in your first contract to re-sign so I'm really looking forward to the next two years and what they bring. There’s stability with Mike and Denis.
“I love working with Mike, day to day, he's a world-class attack coach and to be able to help him achieve what we want to achieve on the pitch, it's really exciting going forward.”
For now, though, the Munster coaching ticket led by interim head coach Ian Costello needs a response from a squad of players who were the architects of their own downfall to a large degree in a 16-14 Champions Cup pool defeat at Castres last Friday.
Lawler insisted momentum gained with back-to-back home wins over the Lions in the URC and Stade Francais in their European pool opener would not be derailed by the more recent setback.
“The boys have come in on Monday and realised that it was a missed opportunity. We've reviewed hard and training has been really positive. We had a really good hit out yesterday, our day's reviews and previews have been really, really good and today's training, if that's a sign of the form and what we want to achieve on Friday night, it was very, very positive.
“I think look looking back on the game, calling a spade a spade, 17 penalties, you just can't do it. You won't win any game with that, never mind an away game in Europe against a really good Castres side.
“So we had a couple of hard words to ourselves in team review yesterday and basically what comes out of it is that a lot of it is in our control. So that's what we're looking forward to on Friday night, making sure that we right the wrongs, but we put our game out on the pitch and put our best foot forward.”