Chiefs assistant coach Roger Randle will no longer be joining Munster Rugby as an attack coach, the team has confirmed.<\/p>\n
It comes amid an outcry linked to a 1997 accusation of rape while Randle was on tour in South Africa with the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n
The charges were dropped and Randle consistently denied the accusation. <\/p>\n
Munster Rugby said Randle and the club had mutually agreed to not proceed with the appointment.<\/p>\n
Randle said he was deeply saddened that “unfounded allegations from nearly 30 years ago”, and allegations he had “always denied” overshadowed what was a “wonderful opportunity to contribute to Munster Rugby”.<\/p>\n
“I want to state clearly that these claims are false, and I maintain my complete and unwavering innocence, as I always have.”<\/p>\n
He said the renewed public attention around the allegations had created circumstances where proceeding with the role was “no longer the right outcome for our family”.<\/p>\n
“This is something that we accept with genuine sadness and disappointment.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy priority now is supporting my family and moving forward, while continuing to stand by the truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to sincerely thank Clayton (McMillan), the wider Munster Rugby organisation and its supporters, and I wish them every success in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Munster Ruby general manager Ian Costello said it was a difficult conclusion to reach.<\/p>\n
“But after recent discussions, it became clear that this was the best course of action for Roger, his family and Munster Rugby.”<\/p>\n
Munster Rugby head coach McMillan acknowledged Randle’s “professionalism” throughout the process and the way he had engaged in “what have been difficult discussions for everyone”.<\/p>\n
“I am personally disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to work together at Munster. I know Roger well, he\u2019s an outstanding person and coach, and I believe he would have brought a real quality to the programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy priority and immediate focus is supporting the players and staff, who have shown resolute focus during a challenging period, to deliver the strongest possible finish to the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chiefs Rugby Club chairman Errol Brain said the club was saddened by the news of its “long-standing and highly regarded coaches” deciding to turn down the offer.<\/p>\n
“Roger has been a part of the Chiefs coaching staff since 2018 and played 59 games for the club from 1998 to 2003,” Brain said.<\/p>\n
“He is regarded as a man of mana, integrity, and honesty.<\/p>\n
“Roger remains a valued member of the Chiefs coaching staff.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chiefs assistant coach Roger Randle will no longer be joining Munster Rugby as an attack coach, the team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,97379,213],"class_list":["post-406560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sport-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}