Munster head coach Clayton McMillan has defended the Irish province\u2019s decision to appoint former All Blacks flyer Roger Randle as their new attack coach.<\/p>\n
There has been a backlash over Randle\u2019s appointment due to him being accused of raping a woman in Durban in 1997.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Randle<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Since he was linked to the role as Munster<\/a>\u2019s attack coach, details of the incident have resurfaced on social media and although he is set to join McMillan<\/a>\u2018s backroom staff next season, subject to him obtaining a work permit, the decision to appoint him has caused uneasiness at the province.<\/p>\n Three independent members of Munster\u2019s Professional Game Board (PGB), ex-players Billy Holland, Mick O\u2019Driscoll and Killian Keane, have resigned from their positions in objection to Randle\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> outfit\u2019s boss came out to bat for his former colleague.<\/p>\n \u2018I fully respect people will have an opinion\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m well aware of how our supporters and people in the rugby community are feeling about Roger\u2019s appointment,\u201d McMillan told reporters. \u201cI fully respect people will have an opinion, but it\u2019s not an opinion that is shared by me.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known Roger for a long time. I think he\u2019s an outstanding human, well loved by family and people that have worked alongside him for a long period of time.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m aware there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t jump into the minds of other people. I can only speak for the person I know and that I\u2019ve worked alongside.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I said before, this is a person who has had an allegation made against him. It didn\u2019t proceed to a legal process, dropped pretty quickly but the stigma of that has remained with him.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I admire the way that he has, as a rugby player and a coach and a father, dealt with that challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s played all around the world. He\u2019s coached at the elite level for a long period of time in Italy, France, Japan, New Zealand, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games \u2013 played for the All Blacks.\u201d<\/p>\n Ex-All Black\u2019s appointment to Munster coaching staff defended by under-fire province after rape allegation resurfaces<\/a><\/p>\n McMillan admitted that he was part of the decision to add Randle to Munster\u2019s coaching staff but said other people were also involved.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 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\u2019ve worked with him for a long time,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve 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\u2019ve worked with.<\/p>\n \u201cThe job here isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s been a number of people throughout the organisation that would have been canvassed around Roger\u2019s appointment and, in the end, that process determined that Roger was ratified for the job.\u201d<\/p>\n McMillan urged Munster\u2019s supporters to back his decision regarding Randle.<\/p>\n \u201cI would ask people to put their trust in me and other people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2018A man that\u2019s loved by a huge cross-section in New Zealand\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI think if you jumped onto the Chiefs website, for example, and you read the comments about Roger Randle, you\u2019ll see glowing reports of a man that\u2019s loved by a huge cross-section in New Zealand, a family man, an honest man, and one I trust unequivocally.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, I can understand that people will have an opinion, but it\u2019s not one that I share, and I honestly believe that he can come here and help our team and players develop and excel.\u201d<\/p>\n