New Munster head coach all but confirmed

Munster look to be close to appointing their next boss after bookies suspended the market following a flurry of bets on Clayton McMillan, the head coach of Super Rugby outfit the Chiefs.

The United Rugby Championship outfit have been looking for a new boss since sacking British and Irish Lions and England prop Graham Rowntree in October, but the search now appears to be over.

They have been linked with promoting attack coach Mike Prendergast to the top job, former England and Leinster senior coach Stuart Lancaster, and former Munster player Felix Jones, who is a free agent after leaving his job with England.

“I was disappointed by the lies told about me. One of them started in England about my departure for Munster, which is totally false. I lost all the respect I had for the people on the podcast who said that,” said Lancaster.

But Irish bookies Fitzwilliam Sports believe that it's a done deal for McMillan, who was in charge of a New Zealand XV when they played Munster at Thomond Park at the end of last year.

Munster CEO Ian Flanagan issued a statement last month defending the province's decision to take its time to find a new boss. It appears that the approach has paid off.

“The process is going to take as long as it takes to find the right candidate. We’re not going to tie ourselves to a definitive timeline. This is an absolutely vital decision for Munster Rugby, and it’s important that we get it right.”

Perth-born McMillan grew up in Rotorua, where he worked as a policeman and played for the Bay of Plenty as a No.8 between 1995 and 2003 before going into coaching.

He coached the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand Barbarians, and Maori All Blacks before taking over the Hamilton Waikato-based Chiefs four years ago, but his next stop looks like it will be the two-time former European champions.