Mike Prendergast’s coaching philosophy will become clearer as the upcoming season evolves but for now it is in the aspirational phase of development. He knows what he wants within the overall confines of team patterns and is currently imparting that to the playing group.
Returning to a province he graced as a scrumhalf after nine years coaching in France with Grenoble, Oyonnax, Stade Francais and Racing 92, he will be an integral contributor to the new coaching regime under Graham Rowntree.
His pedigree as a backs’ coach underlines the importance of persuading the Limerick native to return home as part of Rowntree’s new look coaching cadre that includes Andi Kyriacou and Denis Leamy. Munster’s first sighting under new management took place last weekend when they lost 28-19 to Gloucester at Musgrave Park, a venue to which they return on Friday where they face London Irish (7.30).
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Gloucester’s physical dominance in the collisions gave them a decisive edge in the first half while Munster’s ‘second half’ team, which included eye-catching performances from teenagers Ruadhán Quinn and Edwin Edogbo, and the excellent Paddy Patterson, adapted better to the demands of the challenge. It was reflected on the scoreboard.
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Prendergast explained that Rowntree is happy to allow his assistant coaches to influence team strategy and patterns. “I suppose the good thing with Graham (Rowntree) is he’s a head coach who trusts his assistants to coach and do their job, which is very pleasing from an assistant coaching point of view.
“I suppose you have a vision of you how want to play, not just me, but also with Graham and the coaching staff. We have had good calibration there and we are quite aligned in what we do. That’s one thing with my coaching style, you have your own philosophy, but players come up with good ideas and (have) good views on the game.
“I suppose with my own experience of coaching abroad with a number of different clubs, I’ve built my own philosophy in terms of how I view the game, but that doesn’t mean one fits all. I’ve looked at certain aspects of our attack, what I feel will work for us. There are certain parts of it we might hold in reserve.
“We are building how we want to layer our attack, but at the start, we have a framework there — just get really getting good at our decision-making and our skill-levels, which have impressed me as well.”
Prendergast was asked about a report in the Sunday Independent that an Emerging Ireland squad of about 30 players will head for South Africa later this month to play three matches against Cheetahs, Pumas and Griquas, returning in the second week in October.
The travelling party under the senior Ireland coaching team would be selected with a view to assessing promising young and fringe national squad players. The suggestion is that the provinces will be able to call upon the frontline Ireland players from the New Zealand tour in the summer United Rugby Championship matches while the Emerging Irish squad is in South Africa.
He accepted that the provinces might have to rejig plans. “I don’t think it has been fully confirmed about the tour. If it does, absolutely we will look and we will plan and adapt.
“That’s one of the reasons we brought big numbers in at the start because certain things will happen during the year and we have to be prepared, both for the long and medium term and even (with regards) to the short-term. Obviously, Andy (Farrell) and the IRFU have their plan. They’re trying to add layers towards the World Cup and that’s understandable. We will adapt to it, absolutely we will.”
One of the lessons that Prendergast absorbed from his time in France is the importance of working with players to tease out a game plan, drawing down from the experiences of different nationalities to challenge and improve the group.
An extension of that process is the leadership qualities that senior players bring in helping to drive the culture and ethos and ultimately set standards for the younger players. Munster’s Ireland squad members are back in training, but it’ll be several weeks before they are fully integrated and ready to play.
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Prendergast said: “It’s huge for those young boys to be training with them. There is a lot of good rugby nous, the senior players are really good at helping the younger boys and feeding good information to them. They are good examples, like Peter (O’Mahony), Conor (Murray) and Tadhg (Beirne), Joey (Carbery), and Craig (Casey) who are willing to pass on information.
“The willingness to learn is very good. A lot of that (comes) from Ian Costello who is doing a good job with the academy. He’s had good experience in terms of (working) in different environments and he has come back (to Munster) and put a big stamp on how the academy wants to operate.”
Friday night’s game against Declan Kidney’s London Irish will be another chance to benchmark that progress, for coaches and players.
