Munster head coach Clayton McMillan has defended the Irish province’s decision to appoint former All Blacks flyer Roger Randle as their new attack coach.
There has been a backlash over Randle’s appointment due to him being accused of raping a woman in Durban in 1997.
The alleged incident occurred while he was a player with the Hurricanes during their visit to the South African city for a Super Rugby match against the Sharks.
Randle, who currently serves as an assistant coach with Super Rugby Pacific side the Chiefs, has always maintained his innocence and the case against him was eventually dropped when the woman withdrew the charge, although she stood by her allegation.
Since he was linked to the role as Munster’s attack coach, details of the incident have resurfaced on social media and although he is set to join McMillan‘s backroom staff next season, subject to him obtaining a work permit, the decision to appoint him has caused uneasiness at the province.
Three independent members of Munster’s Professional Game Board (PGB), ex-players Billy Holland, Mick O’Driscoll and Killian Keane, have resigned from their positions in objection to Randle’s appointment.
There has also been a social media storm regarding the matter with some Munster supporters revealing they would not be renewing their season tickets and/or protesting Randle’s appointment.
Prior to moving to Munster, McMillan worked as the head coach at the Chiefs, with Randle serving as one of his assistants, and the United Rugby Championship outfit’s boss came out to bat for his former colleague.
‘I fully respect people will have an opinion’
“I’m well aware of how our supporters and people in the rugby community are feeling about Roger’s appointment,” McMillan told reporters. “I fully respect people will have an opinion, but it’s not an opinion that is shared by me.
“I’ve known Roger for a long time. I think he’s an outstanding human, well loved by family and people that have worked alongside him for a long period of time.
“I’m aware there’s some former players on the PGB that resigned as a result of this decision and like our supporters, I respect that they all have their reasons for why they did that.
“I can’t jump into the minds of other people. I can only speak for the person I know and that I’ve worked alongside.
“As I said before, this is a person who has had an allegation made against him. It didn’t proceed to a legal process, dropped pretty quickly but the stigma of that has remained with him.
“But I admire the way that he has, as a rugby player and a coach and a father, dealt with that challenge.
“He’s played all around the world. He’s coached at the elite level for a long period of time in Italy, France, Japan, New Zealand, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games – played for the All Blacks.”
McMillan admitted that he was part of the decision to add Randle to Munster’s coaching staff but said other people were also involved.
“In terms of candidates, as I think I alluded to a couple of weeks ago, there were a number of people that expressed interest, but Roger stood out for me naturally because I know him as a person and I’ve worked with him for a long time,” he explained.
“We’ve got our challenges here and what I feel I need is somebody that can come and add value, as I said, alongside Mossy (Lawler) in a shared attack role, but also somebody that I’ve worked with.
“The job here isn’t an easy one and, you know, as we all do in life, we lean to people who we trust and have worked with before to navigate through situations just like this.
“I think there’s been a number of people throughout the organisation that would have been canvassed around Roger’s appointment and, in the end, that process determined that Roger was ratified for the job.”
McMillan urged Munster’s supporters to back his decision regarding Randle.
“I would ask people to put their trust in me and other people,” he said.
‘A man that’s loved by a huge cross-section in New Zealand’
“I think if you jumped onto the Chiefs website, for example, and you read the comments about Roger Randle, you’ll see glowing reports of a man that’s loved by a huge cross-section in New Zealand, a family man, an honest man, and one I trust unequivocally.
“Again, I can understand that people will have an opinion, but it’s not one that I share, and I honestly believe that he can come here and help our team and players develop and excel.”
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He revealed that he has contacted Randle to chat about possible obstacles with his job when he joins Munster.
“I have been in touch with him, I feel a huge sense of responsibility in terms of making sure he’s looked after and that he comes here and it’s an environment where he feels like he’s welcome,” said McMillan.
“Clearly there’s some challenges and Roger is aware of those challenges, but it says a lot about him that he is still excited about the opportunity.
“The challenge for any coach or player coming into the environment is that you have to earn the trust and respect of people, but it helps when people have an open mind and he comes in without his hands tied.”
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