Bernard Jackman believes Munster have landed a “good operator” with the appointment of Jared Payne as their new attack coach for next season.
The former Ulster and Ireland back has signed a two-year deal to link up with Clayton McMillan’s coaching ticket, after three seasons with the Scarlets, and will fil the void left by Mike Prendergast who is expected to join Bath.
It’s the second coaching vacancy filed by the province in the last week, after Ulster’s departing forwards coach Jimmy Duffy was confirmed for the same role at Munster, with Alex Codling departing for Toulon.
Munster had previously signed Roger Randle as their attack coach, before backtracking on that controversial appointment two weeks later.
And considering how late in the season they have had to go to the market, Jackman believes Munster have done very well for themselves with both appointments.
“I think Munster are falling on their feet here a little bit, because these are two coaches that typically wouldn’t be available [this later in the season],” Jackman said on the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
“And they’ve nailed them now, which is great. I think it’s been a tough couple of months for Munster fans, players, but definitely seeing those two guys walk into the building would give you hope that there’s better days ahead.”
Payne, who retired from playing in 2018, made 78 appearances for Ulster and 20 for Ireland before transitioning to coaching, and served as defence coach at the northern province until 2022 when he joined Clermont Auvergne, but departed for the Scarlets after one season in France.
“I don’t know much about him as an attack coach,” Jackman added of Payne.
“But I know from players who played with him in Ulster and Ireland and then obviously coached by him in Ulster, he’s a good operator. Very, very impressive communicator and messaging.
“Obviously he’d already made a good impression for himself in Ulster and his experiences in the Top14 and even in the URC with Scarlets where it’s a pretty turbulent environment in Welsh rugby, so it wouldn’t be easy, I wouldn’t be judging him on that. They wouldn’t have the squad depth that the Irish province would have, even though we obviously think Munster need to get a few players in the door.
“But I think he’s a good get. I think he understands Irish rugby, he understands the Irish mindset, and he’s had that experience now of being in the northern hemisphere. I think there’s always a challenge when you get someone from the southern hemisphere for them to adapt to the northern hemisphere style of play.
“Given how late it is in the day, given what happened beforehand, a really strong personality as well. He’ll impress the players with his quality as a coach.”
Jackman also believes Munster will be counting their blessings that Duffy (above) was available for work so soon after losing Codling.
The former Connacht forwards coach has been at Ulster for the last two seasons, but announced in March that he would be departing at the end of this campaign in order to move back home to Galway, which is a commutable distance from Munster’s Limerick base.
“I played with Jimmy in Connacht. He had a medical issue, he had to retire early, and he got into coaching when he was in his early 20s,” Jackman said.
“He coached in the Connacht academy, obviously he was involved with the Irish U20s, he coached Connacht’s senior team as a forwards coach, and then went to Western Force and Ulster.
“His family are in Galway, the commute from Belfast was too tough, there was never any issue there. He was very well got in Ulster, just family reasons [for leaving]. And from Limerick, I think it’s a lot easier to do it.”
With Duffy’s brief also set to cover the Munster scrum, the appointments appear to lock in McMillan’s coaching ticket for next season.
And while getting the right people in to the roles would have been Munster’s first priority, Jackman says getting their house in order early in the summer will be vital.
Munster head coach Clayton McMillan
“You come in first day of pre-season, for those lads who aren’t on tour and everything’s in place.
“You can get cracking. And also, even for [defence coach] Denis Leamy, to have another set of eyes in Jared Payne, who’s obviously coached defence for five, six years, that’s a big help. Denis Leamy’s still a young coach.
“And just knowing the personalities of Jimmy and Jared, they’re really good characters. They’ll be a great help to Clayton, I think, who obviously needs that support as well.
“It’s about getting the right mix in your coaching box.
“It’s mad because I think Jared told Scarlett quite early he was going to move on [this season].
“It’s so rare to have someone of his ability available in mid-May, when I’m sure this conversation started. So Munster have fallen on their feet, I think, and that’s great,” Jackman said.
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