CONOR O’SHEA HAS ruled himself out of becoming the new Munster CEO and says his sole focus is on getting Italy ready for the World Cup in Japan.
O’Shea admitted that he was aware of his name being linked in some quarters to the vacant Munster job when he arrived in Ireland this week to set up camp in Limerick ahead of Saturday’s clash with Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
The former Ireland fullback has been in Italy’s top job for the three years and is contracted up until the end of the 2019/2020 season.
But with change being mooted in Italian rugby after the World Cup — with former Springbok Franco Smith being linked with a return to Italy having previously coached Treviso — and Munster searching for a new chief executive following the retirement of Garrett Fitzgerald, Limerick-born O’Shea was linked the job.
On Thursday, however, he dismissed any notion that he would fill the vacancy following the World Cup.
“No, no,” said O’Shea, when asked if he was interested in the job.
I read it when I came over here and just had a bit of a laugh at it. It’s just World Cup, Six Nations and we will see.
O’Shea has retained just three of the starting 15 who almost shocked France in the Six Nations last March for the game at the Aviva Stadium.
And while he fancies Ireland to make a strong bid for glory in Japan under Joe Schmidt, he thinks the IRFU have done a nice bit of business by bringing in attack coach Mike Catt as part of Andy Farrell’s coaching ticket for after the World Cup.
Catt is the current attack coach with Italy and, O’Shea, who also worked alongside him at London Irish, believes the former English World Cup winner will be a fantastic addition for Ireland.
“I brought him to London Irish a long time ago when he was finishing off his playing career,” said O’Shea.
“I brought him there to coach the young fellas even though he ended playing more than we thought he would.
“When you remember him as a player and you think of the style and era he played with and under, Bath and England… The width you bring to a game and the attacking nature: that is what he is going to bring to the Irish backline.
“When you look at our tries scored over the last couple of years, you look at the style and attack we now have… He will be outstanding.
“There is good people over here [in the Irish setup]. I wouldn’t say there are any missing parts but any new coaching team is going to have new blood and the players need that.
“He will settle in good and fast.”
The Italian backline will be marshalled by tomorrow by Carlo Canna but Ian McKinley — who represented his native Ireland at a Junior World Cup a decade ago — is set to win his ninth cap off the bench.
O’Shea, who gave McKinley his international debut two years ago against Fiji, said the 29-year old is an inspirational figure on and off the field after battling back to play at the highest level despite losing the sight in his left eye.
“It is amazing and he is an amazing bloke,” said O’Shea.
When Wayne Smith came over for a week, he came up to me afterwards and said, ‘Wherever you go you, should take him with you because he will be an incredible coach as well.’
“He has got that demeanour and what he has gone through and to get him to where he is, his attention to detail and abilities, Ian is an example with what he has done.
When you hear my Italian, it’s rubbish, it’s the Irish accent in it, but Ian speaks like a local. Everything he does is that little bit special.
Italy find themselves in Pool B at the World Cup alongside New Zealand and South Africa, one of whom are likely to be Ireland’s quarter-final opponents barring a seismic upset in either group.
And whoever they might wind up facing, O’Shea gives Schmidt’s men every chance of going all the way in this year’s tournament.
“I have been speaking to Joe pretty regularly over the summer,” he said.
“The depth that they have is pretty special and it’s something that has been created in Ireland over the last number of years. They are in a really good place.
“You look at who could win the World Cup and you can’t call it, there is no standout team. Any team that goes on a run at the right time could do something. That includes Ireland.”
The42 Rugby Weekly is back as we get ready for next month’s World Cup. Murray, Gavan and Bernard Jackman get us started by looking ahead to this weekend’s opening warm-up game against Italy.
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He would be a great fit for that role given his experience.
@retsnuM: definitely Munsters biggest failure in the professional era has been the academy which previously suffered greatly from nepotism, club bias etc. Seeing the transformation o shea has done to all levels of Italian rugby has been incredible.. a very smart mind with long term ideas just the guy we need at the top of our game.
@yoloboyz: failure? I would suggest only one team in Ireland has produced more internationals then them.
I think it’s important that whoever gets the role is in the mould of o Shea or Garrett Fitz. They need to have a strong rugby background and need to understand the history and how unique munster rugby is and what it represents. I never expected o Shea to be realistically in the frame for it but it would have been perfect having a munster man like him at the helm.
@Jim Demps: how is Munster unique? A history that before the European Cup was playing test matches every few years and then getting beaten out the gate by Ulster in the poorly attended inter pro. All this Munster is “special” stuff is nonsense..they are a professional rugby club with a bottom line who at the end of the day care as much about their fans as any other professional sports team. Also anyone who actually knows anything will tell you that Garrett Fitzgerald held back Munster and is no well thought of
@Jim Demps: He was born there, but does he really have any affinity or insight with Munster that you’re alluding to? He went to school in Terenure, played for Lansdowne & Leinster before going to England and hasn’t been back since. Would be a great appointment for Munster no doubt, but not in the sense of bringing a Munster identity to the role imo.
@Peter McCarthy: there aren’t too many o sheas from Kerry who aren’t still Kerrymen no matter where they are in the world.
@Wheresmyjumper: if you have to ask then you’ll never understand. I know plenty of people who know an awful lot about Munster rugby and there’s not a bad word to be said about him.
@Jim Demps: Understand what exactly? How Munster rugby didn’t really exist till 1998? Or how people over 40 now consider it the most important thing in their lives but what filled their life before 1998? Your point about Fitzgerald just shows how little you know about the inner workings
@Wheresmyjumper:
Interesting “Jumper” tell us some more:: What were they doing before 1998 ::and you say Ulster thumped them all the time :: What was it that got it started “”the Hin Cup”" 1998 but before it was all about Clubs and Internationals:: very interesting “Jumper” tell us some more ??
@Martin Quinn: no one cared about them, only cared when drunken International teams came over for a midweek jolly.
@Jim Demps: He was born in Limerick, not Kerry. I’m not doubting his pride or affiliation with where he’s from. But he’s never been involved in Munster rugby. It was all Leinster from his teenage years until he left the country, so don’t know how he has a particular insight into what makes Munster tick. Think he’d be a great appointment, just not for the reason you say.
@Peter McCarthy: he would be excellent, he’s a proven administrator and we’d be very lucky to get him. All this Munster by Grace of God is only for potholes (see Jim above)
@Peter McCarthy: not sure where he was born but he’s very much a Kerryman. His dad won a few all Ireland’s with Kerry and like I said, I never met a Kerry o Shea who stopped being a kerryman.
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/sport/the-body-was-in-dublin-but-the-heart-was-in-kerry-1.1271738%3fmode=amp
@Wheresmyjumper: didn’t that other account stick? The rebel one or is it banned already?
@Jim Demps: expert on rugby and also an amateur detective…you’ve got it all Jim
@Jim Demps: Riiight. If “begorrah he’s a kerryman” is your criteria then good luck to you :)
@Jim Demps: Have you heard about Munster hiring a new skills coach. Guy I know from back in NZ said they’d hired a guy from Manawatu with a good reputation as a 7′s coach called Michael Pettman. Apparently he’ll be working mainly in development pathways.
@Eddie Hekenui: heard they’d hired someone unknown but hadn’t heard a nation never mind a club. I kinda thought it was going to be Greg McWilliam but that was only a guess.
@Jim Demps: Going on what I heard he’ll mainly be working in the underage pathways so they might still bring in another 1st team guy. The guy I heard it from was a schools coach in the region and said he’s brilliant and a top bloke too. Very good skills coach but also built great systems and structures for the schools/clubs to follow. Improved the quality and quantity of coaches/players in the area.
@Eddie Hekenui: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/michael-pettman-9662642b
Certainly seems to be accurate anyway. What an exciting post for the guy, the opportunity to work with Larkham, Rowntree, Logan, Ferreira etc. He must have something serious going for him if he’s gotten that role.
@Jim Demps: There you go that’s the guy. Always forget to check these lads out on Linkedin. Certainly sounds like an interesting hire and fits the mold of a guy who’ll be a real asset as they look to up skill the coaches in the region. A massive difference I found when I moved to Ireland was the drop off in the quality of technical coaching. There were some very good coaches but also some absolute bluffers particularly at underage levels.
@Eddie Hekenui: absolutely no doubt about that, I could name a handful of guys involved in the underage set up who are absolutely robbing a living off the top of my head. Good to see that it’s being targeted. It’ll be interesting to see if they go and hire a skills coach as well. Munster have done some serious work in hiring off the pitch this off season.
@Jim Demps: Haha I can imagine you do if my experience in Dublin is anything to go by. The fact they went all the way to NZ shows they’re seriously committed to long term development. Yeah they’ve done some serious business off the pitch this summer. Hopefully the coaches bed in now and stay for a few years.