Alex Nankivell wasn't quite sure what former policeman Clayton McMillan wanted when he received a random text message up on his phone.
"Hey bro, are you free for a call?" wrote Nankivell's old coach at Chiefs towards the end of January when McMillan's move to Munster was in the works.
"When you get to meet him, he can be quite an intimating fella so when you get those sort of messages you a bit like, s**t, what does he want? Am I in trouble?" said the New Zealander, who moved to Munster in 2023 after six seasons with the Super Rugby team, with a smile.
"I thought that maybe something I had done at the Chiefs had maybe crept back up on me or something like that."
But McMillan, who will finish a four-year stint as head coach with the Waikato outfit this summer, wasn't chasing an old lead on one of Nankivell's off-field escapades.
He wanted to get the lie of the land at the 28-year-old's new haunt.
After being confirmed as the incoming boss, McMillan even came over to Limerick for a week to see for himself.
"We had a call back then - this is when he was shortlisted - and he was just asking about the place and he was being really honest around would he be a good fit with the people that we have here and I said, 'yeah 100%, he'd be awesome,'" explained the Munster centre ahead of tomorrow's BKT URC quarter-final against Sharks in Durban (5.30pm).
"And then we got to - myself and [prop] John Ryan - being Chiefs men, we got to catch up with him when he came over and he was just asking questions about it, talking about things so he get a good grasp on where we were at and a few ideas that he could potentially implement.
"It’s a pretty cool sign. I know the lads said they were amazed that he came over in his week off to do that so it shows where he wants to be in terms of his preparation when he turns up to the place.
"It’s pretty impressive."
McMillan (above) will arrive in summer, taking over from interim head coach Ian Costello, who oversaw a mixed season for the province.
They finished sixth in the URC table and bowed out of Europe at the quarter-final stage to eventual champions Bordeaux Begles.
Nankivell, who has scored seven tries in 33 appearances, believes his old boss is the right man to get Munster back on track.
"When I found it he was in the shortlist to get the job, I was quite excited by that fact," he added.
"He’s a great man. He’s quite a reserved guy, he’ll kind of do his work in the background but he’s really good at managing people, managing players and getting everyone really aligned.
"Also at the Chiefs, the cool thing I found with him as a player is he wants to empower you to be the best you can be.
"Every player has got different strengths and whatnot and he really wants to bring them out and let you express yourself so that will be huge for us.
"Also, his standards. He challenges people.
"He will challenge players, coaches and staff around what we’re doing in the building and how we can be better and how we can make this team better so I’m really excited for that and I think he will fit in really well.
"I think his values and who he is as a man will align really well with Munster and the people that are in this club so it’s going to be cool.
"He’s massive on culture, massive on the environment that we have.
"To him, the environment will drive our performance.
"It will drive our standards at training and our performances at training and ultimately how we perform in the games so I’m sure he’ll look to create a real connection around us as a team and the Munster community around the place, which will be cool to get out in the province, meet the people, meet the supporters.
"I think in pre-season there will be a little bit of that stuff so he’ll be huge for our culture."
John Plumtree's Sharks stand in the way of a third successive semi-final appearance for the visitors.
They finished third in the regular season and beat Munster comfortably last October, the 41-24 defeat signalling the end of Graham Rowntree's tenure.
Nankivell feels how they deal with and implement their own transition ball will be crucial against a side boasting Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Aphelele Fassi and Jordan Hendrikse among others.
For their part, Munster's Diarmuid Kilgallen, Calvin Nash and Thaakir Abrahams are forming a dynamic back-three combo.
"Transition is going to be huge for us so, our ability, our speed to connect those moments are massive but they have a load of world class players, a lot of Springboks but a lot of opportunities," said the Kiwi.
"If we work hard in our transition, when we are transitioning in attack and we feel we can put them under pressure around their speed to set and try and play around them.
"Hopefully they will snowball during the game and things will present themselves later in the game. So, working hard, getting into position quick and being ambitious to take opportunities when they present themselves."
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