Van Graan prepared for fight to keep O’Mahony
Farrell drafted in as Munster search for defence coach
NEW Munster coach Johann van Graan has vowed to do everything he can to retain the services of Peter O’Mahony.
The South African gave his first press conference since taking over from Rassie Erasmus yesterday and faced questions about the prospect of losing his captain, who has rejected an IRFU contract and is in negotiations with clubs in France and England.
Negotiations between O’Mahony’s agent Conor Ridge and union performance director David Nucifora are ongoing as they look to reach an agreement that will keep the flanker in Ireland for the next three years.
They currently do not see eye to eye and Van Graan (right) is hoping to play a role in ensuring the skipper remains at Thomond Park and does not follow Simon Zebo and Donnacha Ryan abroad.
“I haven’t spoken to Pete one on one yet, he’s currently contracted to the IRFU until the end of the season,” he said.
“He’s been offered a contract extension with some added benefits and I believe it’s in the interest of Munster Rugby and of the IRFU to keep him at Munster and in Ireland.
“Luckily, that’s hopefully not a done deal (that he’s leaving).
“He stands for so much more, he’s a Munster man through and through and I’m looking forward to having that discussion.
“All the clubs in the world are concerned about losing players to England and France. “Special players win big games, win trophies. He’s our club captain and if I could in anyway help to keep him with Munster and within Ireland until the World Cup and then after that I’ll do everything in my power.
“I’m in my first week, there are communication lines in place. I’m in contact with (Munster chief executive) Garrett Fitzgerald and (IRFU performance director) David Nucifora, I’m speaking to Joe Schmidt a lot.” Schmidt would also be loathe to lose O’Mahony.
Although he stated last month that there was no official policy on picking players based overseas, he has so far only selected Johnny Sexton when he was based in Paris during his time in charge.
Zebo and Ryan were cut loose as soon as their departures were confirmed, while Marty Moore and Ian Madigan have been in international exile since they left Leinster.
For Van Graan, the chance of losing an influential member of his dressing-room is just one of the challenges facing him as he gets used to his surrounds at Thomond Park.
He is on the lookout for a defence coach to replace Jacques Nienaber who left with Erasmus earlier this month and says the province are close to securing a new face on a callow coaching ticket.
Ireland assistant Andy Farrell is spending two days with the squad this week to help prepare their defence.
“That’s one of our big focus points,” Van Graan said.
“There’s one or two names as possibilities but I want to make sure that I get the right person here that will fit in with the way Munster do things.
“We’re thankful for Joe, we’ve been in contact all along, Andy is here for today and tomorrow.
“The good thing is there was 14 players in the Irish squad. He and Jacques also worked together pretty closely. He is here for a helping hand.
“Felix has done brilliantly over the past two weeks but we are exploring some names. Hopefully sooner than later we’ll have someone.
“In terms of consultants, I wouldn’t like to elaborate on that now but there will definitely be people coming in and out for short bursts. There are some pretty amazing people here in Limerick that I’d also like to get involved at some stage.” JOHANN VAN GRAAN knows there are sceptics who wonder about his credentials.
He was never a senior professional having swapped his playing career for a dream of coaching aged 21 and until now he has largely lived in the shadows, assisting others as a unit coach.
Legendary Australia winger David Campese has questioned whether his appointment was a ‘jobs for the boys’ scenario, others have wondered at a rookie taking over from the vastly-experienced Rassie Erasmus.
Such is the profile of his new job. That is what he wanted, however. Although his name was not widely known, his reputation in coaching circles has grown to the extent that Bath made an approach last year. The South African rugby union blocked that move, but when Munster came in looking for him to replace Erasmus he couldn’t resist.
After a decade and a half assisting others, it was time to take the chance on his own.
So, yesterday morning he gathered the wider Munster squad and staff together and sold his vision. An hour or so later, he stood before the cameras as the province’s supremo for the first time.
OVERSEAS
Although he is the coach, whereas Erasmus was the director of rugby, his remit is the same. The scope of the role was immediately apparent as he fielded questions on the overseas interest in Peter O’Mahony, additions to his current coaching ticket, the current injury crisis, his ambitions, inexperience, philosophy and the Springboks’ recent record over the course of 40 minutes or more.
When he was done, it was back to preparing for the primary job – Saturday’s meeting with Ospreys at Irish Independent Park.
He hasn’t slept much in recent weeks and it’s no surprise given the breadth of the job he has taken on.
Given the determination on show yesterday, he is keen to make a strong first impression.
“You know if it doesn’t go well people will say: ‘well that’s his first head coach job’,” he conceded.
“I say, ‘you’ve got to start somewhere. For every new beginning in life you have got to fly on your own, I’m embracing it and obviously the people that appointed me saw something in me that they liked and hopefully I can repay that faith. In my eyes it’s not about me, it’s always about the team.”
The “somewhere” he’s starting just happens to be one of European rugby’s strongest brands and the Irish province that draws more eyes than any other.
He awoke to see details of O’Mahony’s contract negotiations splashed across a national newspaper, before reviewing an injury bulletin that left him very short on backline options for the upcoming period.
Taking over mid-season was never going to be easy, but he is delving deep into his midfield depth chart after losing Chris Farrell for up to eight weeks while question marks remain over Tyler Bleyendaal’s neck problem.
After Ospreys this Saturday, his next seven games include Champions Cup clashes with Leicester Tigers back-toback, Castres and Racing 92 as well as derbies against all three provinces.
It will be January 22 before he comes up for any air and by then Munster will know where they truly stand this season.
They are second in Conference A of
I FELT IT WAST HE RIGHT STAGE FOR ME TO MOVE ON ,SPREAD MY WINGS. I HAVE GOT BIG DREAMS BUT THAT BEING SAID I NEED TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN MYSELF
the PRO14 and second to Tigers in a tight European pool.
So, after outlining his ambitions it will be back to hard facts and a tough schedule. It’s a good job he’s embracing the move.
“I believe the only certain thing in life is change,” he said.
“Change is good. I needed another challenge. I’ve been assistant coach now for a very long time.
“Like I said before I had wanted different opportunities a few years back, but I felt it was the right stage for me to move on, spread my wings. I have got big dreams but that being said I need to be part of something bigger than myself.
“Becoming a better coach; becoming a better human being; I believe the reason why I do this is firstly because
I love rugby, and secondly because I’d like to believe that I make a difference in people’s lives.
“It doesn’t matter where in the world you are, you can do both.
“I had two years left on my contract in South Africa, but at the end of last year everybody involved knew that once the right opportunity came it was something that’d I’d want to pursue.
“I’d like to thank SA Rugby for granting me permission to come here. You never know what happens after this. I’d like to coach an international team someday, but that’s a long way into the future.”
Before then, it’s about getting to grips with the day-to-day running of the two-time European champions.
He wants to recruit a defence coach, has already begun plotting his transfer targets for next season and he’s open to talking to as many knowledgeable locals as he can with Paul O’Connell, Doug Howlett and Declan Kidney on his list after engaging the thoughts of Gert Smal and Wian du Preez.
He is open to the idea of hiring an experienced consultant should the need arise.
“I’ve got no ego. I’d like to explore every possible avenue, learn as much as I can as quickly as I can,” he said.
“You’ve got two ears and one mouth in life and for the first two months I’d like to listen as much as I can and kind of take it from there and decide who might be involved as consultants or not.”
Again, when it comes to recruitment, he’ll take advice.
“I’ve had Rassie’s view. I’ve had Felix and Fla’s view,” he said. “After the weekend, I was so impressed with a guy like Sam Arnold that I didn’t know before.
“There are certain positions we’d like to look at. With Simon (Zebo) leaving, full-back is a position we might fill from the inside or the outside.
“I’ve a pretty good idea. I think the strength of Irish rugby at this stage is the working relationship between the IRFU and the provinces and that’s something I’ve bought into and we’ll do our planning accordingly.
“I’d love to have had a pre-season to get to know guys but I’m slap-bang in the middle of going into Europe, Christmas. I see it as an opportunity, a lot of bases to cover.”
It’s a massive challenge for a man embarking on the role for the first time but he appears to be up for it.