Munster head coach Clayton McMillan says he stands over the decision to hire Roger Randle but admits there are lessons to be learned about how the organisation dealt with the appointment.
Randle, a former All Blacks international, will join the club next season as the attack coach.
He has previously worked with fellow Kiwi McMillan, who is in his first season in charge.
In 1997, Randle was accused of raping a woman while in Durban, South Africa with his former club Hurricanes.
The New Zealander was initially charged with rape, but the case did not proceed as the complainant dropped the charges. Randle has always denied the allegation against him.
In a statement, Munster Rugby insisted that "due diligence" was followed before Randle's hiring.
It emerged last week that three former Munster players, Billy Holland, Mick O'Driscoll and Killian Keane, resigned from the Professional Games Committee, while the Irish Independent reported that some members of the club’s Commercial Advisory Group also resigned.
Captain Tadhg Beirne did not want to speak about the matter when he was asked about it earlier this week, preferring instead to focus on the rugby.
This issue follows on from the news that Munster Rugby was seeking a number of redundancies in the organisation alongside the team's exit from the Challenge Cup and their battle to finish in the top eight and secure Champions Cup rugby next season.
"I'm sure everyone will go away and reflect on the last couple of weeks and how we can be better as an organisation, how I can be better," McMillan told RTÉ Sport in on online call after naming his side to take on Ulster on Saturday.
"But right now we're still in a bit of a race to make the top eight, and all of our focus is going towards putting in a performance against Ulster. That's all we can really do."
Munster recorded a much-needed bonus-point win at Benetton Treviso last weekend and McMillan was asked if the background issues could have an effect on performance.
"Well, it's difficult to shut out the outside noise," he said.
"There's no denying that, but you have to do that.
"The thing that we can control is how we prepare and focus on what's directly in front of us. I know that sounds pretty cliché, but the staff and the coaching group and playing group, I think, have done an exceptional job of doing that."
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Speaking last Thursday, McMillan outlined his reasons for bringing the former Maori All Blacks, New Zealand Barbarians, the Japan Sevens and Chiefs coach on board.
"I would ask people to put their trust in me and other people," he said.
"I think if you jumped onto the Chiefs website, for example, and you read the comments about Roger Randle, you'll see glowing reports of a man that's loved by a huge cross-section in New Zealand, a family man, an honest man, and one that I trust unequivocally."
He said today: "I stand by the comments that I said last week, yeah."
Munster are sixth in the table, one point behind an Ulster side that shipped a 29-21 loss at home to Leinster last weekend.
"They're Ulster, they'll be wearing a red and white jersey, and when you talk about confidence, they're a team that's full of confidence," said the 51-year-old former policeman of Richie Murphy's side.
"We've seen their coach come out and talk about them being the number one ranked team in Ireland, and at the moment we're the worst team in the world so there isn't too much problem for us to get motivated for the game."
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