NOT until November 30 will Munster players pull on their jerseys for competitive action again (URC, against Emirate Lions at Thomond Park).
The coming four weeks are going to be interesting for the club, both on and off the field, with naming a replacement for Graham Rowntree the priority.
At a recent press meeting, interim boss Ian Costello revealed that the club had already received CVs from far and near to replace the head coach, so we can assume that Munster Rugby will have many options to choose from.
The obvious selection is already on their doorstep and Mike Prendergast, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has all the qualifications having soldiered through the local ranks of AIL with Young Munster and the professional scene as both a player and coach with Munster Rugby.
Add in playing action with Bourgoin and Gloucester as well as coaching appointments with Grenoble and Stade Francais, all of which will add weight to the current attack coach’s suitability for the job.
The Prendergast name in Limerick sport has been well documented. It has a long lineage back to Frank Prendergast who played with Garryowen in their Markets Field days and later represented Limerick City as a TD, Vincent Prendergast, a star goalkeeper with Limerick AFC, and Ralph Prendergast who played a key role in Limerick’s famous defeat of Clare in the Munster Senior Hurling Final in 1955.
Munster’s performance against The All Blacks XV has to be admired, and considering their situation, the side were within a whisker of repeating the landmark result of 1978.
The 26,267 attendance certainly got exceptional value for their money and with six Academy players tasting action at this high level over the duration of the 80 minutes, there is a bright future waiting to explode pretty soon.
