Brumbies have confirmed that Stephen Larkham will return to the club as head coach after he departs Munster this summer.

On Wednesday Munster senior coach Stephen Larkham confirmed he will leave the province at the end of this season after three campaigns at the province. The 47-year-old turned down an offer to stay on in Limerick to return Down Under for family reasons.

Larkham is a Brumbies legend. He played 116 times for the club from 1996 to 2007, winning two Super Rugby titles. His coaching career began at the Brumbies in 2011 with the former Australia international elevated to the head coach role within three years.

He departed the Brumbies in 2017 to work full-time for Rugby Australia and headed to Munster in 2019.

Larkham will link up with the Brumbies in July to replace Dan McKellar, who is joining the Wallabies full-time as assistant coach at the end of the season.

"It’s exciting to know I’ll be returning home to the Brumbies and to Canberra with my family after finishing up my time in Ireland," said Larkham

"Playing for the Brumbies as a Canberra local was obviously a special time in my life and the club were very supportive in my transition into coaching so I want to thank Phil (Thomson, CEO) and the Brumbies board for giving me this opportunity to come back and represent the club again as head coach.

"I’ve developed and learnt a lot both as a person and as a coach in these past couple of years, and I’m looking forward to bringing that experience back to the Brumbies to ensure their continued success.

"Moving forward for this season, I’ll be supporting the Brumbies as always from here in Ireland but my only focus now is on finishing off my time with Munster on a high."

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