NZ Rugby believe Munster role will benefit Clayton McMillan; expect other national unions will be interested

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan will join Munster on a three-year deal in July. Photo / Photosport

Bay of Plenty. Chiefs. Māori All Blacks. All Blacks XV.

Clayton McMillan is a leader of programmes.

It’s a view Chris Lendrum, New Zealand Rugby‘s general manager of professional rugby and performance, drove home when addressing the Chiefs coach’s impending departure.

McMillan will leave the Chiefs a year earlier than planned as he joins Munster on a three-year deal after the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season. The Irish club agreed to terms with NZR on allowing McMillan to make the move, despite having another year on his current contract.

“That’s all obviously private,” Lendrum said.

“But you can imagine there is a value transaction that has to occur when we are releasing Clayton a year earlier than we planned.

“We had those discussions with Munster and with Clayton and we are where we are today. We’re happy.”

McMillan will make the move after a five-year tenure as Chiefs head coach, turning the team around from an 0-8 finish in Super Rugby Aotearoa in 2020 and taking them to three runners-up finishes in the past four years.

In 2025, they are the early favourites to go one better after a flying start to the season.

However, he had already voiced his interest in seeking opportunities offshore after the conclusion of his contract in 2026.

“We’re not overflowing with high-level opportunities for people to work in fulltime senior head coaching roles, that’s why Clayton’s looking offshore to gain some further experience and we’ll see how that plays out,” Lendrum said.

“I think he’s going to go well but you can never predict anything with 100% certainty.

“I’m sure that at some point he would like to be in the running for the All Blacks head coach role, but you never know when that might come up.

“There’s never an heir apparent for the All Blacks coach. There’s a lot more that goes into it than that.”

The All Blacks head coaching role isn’t likely to be one that is up for discussion any time soon barring an extreme drop in performance, with Scott Robertson taking the reins on a four-year deal which began in late 2023 and will see him lead the side into the next World Cup.

With NZR seeing McMillan as a head coach, his options at home were limited so taking his talents to the Northern Hemisphere will give him an opportunity to further his career.

While the governing body believed McMillan would be back coaching in New Zealand further down the track, Lendrum admitted they expected McMillan to field interest from other national unions.

“It’s part of the nature of the game and the business that we’re in.

“There can only be one person that leads the All Blacks at any one time,” Lendrum said.

“We’re really happy with the person that we’ve got leading the All Blacks right now and there’s no end date on that necessarily.

“Other clubs or national unions probably will take an interest in Clayton at some point and that will be a decision for him to make.”

NZR and the Chiefs will work together on appointing McMillan’s replacement, with McMillan’s contract in Ireland beginning in July.

“This is an opportunity for him to improve further as a leader. He’s still young. We would love to get the benefit of what he’s about to learn at Munster and in Europe coming back to us at some point in the future.

“I think he’s got every intention of coaching in New Zealand again.

“He’s certainly not signalling with this departure today that he’s done here... we look forward to him coming back into our system when the time is right.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.