Bernard Jackman has branded Munster's new governance review as "a load of nonsense" and a "box-ticking" exercise, as the province deal with the fallout from the Roger Randle saga.
Munster Rugby confirmed on Tuesday that they were commissioning an independent review with consultancy firm The Governance Group, which they say will "assess the organisation’s governance, leadership, culture and communications structures and to provide recommendations back to the Board".
Their announcement comes just two weeks after they performed a U-turn on their decision to hire Roger Randle as their new attack coach, with his initial appointment sparking backlash from supporters, as well as resignations from Munster’s Professional Games Board and Commercial Advisory Group.
Last week, head coach Clayton McMillan said changes would be necessary at the province to assure him he is the right man to lead Munster forward, while the New Zealander welcomed the governance review announcement yesterday.
Speaking on this week's RTÉ Rugby podcast, Jackman was sceptical around what meaningful change the review would actually deliver.
"I think it's a load of nonsense. I think it's a joke," the former Ireland international said.
Bernard Jackman and Johne Murphy discuss Munster's governance review on this week's RTÉ Rugby Podcast 🎙️
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 13, 2026
'It's a joke... It's just a box-ticking exercise' - Jackman 🗣️
'Stand up take accountability' - Murphy 🗣️
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"I've been on the other side of reviews and I've seen World Cup reviews, which kick down to touch.
"'We're so disappointed we lost in a quarter-final. We're going to do a review.’ And what do we ever see? It's just a flex as far as I'm concerned.
"It costs a lot of money. And I haven't seen massive changes in Irish rugby on the basis of these reviews either."
As well as the recent controversy around the Randle appointment, Munster are also looking to make redundancies to their staff numbers as they look to improve their financial situation, which Jackman believes only adds to the frustration.
"When you're struggling financially, this review is not going to be done for free. It's going to cost money," he added.
"I think if I was a Munster member of staff and I'd been asked to look at redundancy or I'm facing compulsory redundancy, which we're led to believe is in the conversation, I'd be outraged that some of the money that could be going to keeping people in jobs, or developing Munster Rugby, or paying for underage pathways, is being wasted on a review that's going to kick the thing down the line for a while."
Jackman also believes the IRFU should also be taking a share of the blame for allowing the situation to develop the way it has.
"The IRFU, and let's put them in the spotlight here, if they don't know what good governance looks like in the provinces, what have you been doing for the last 28 years, 29 years of professional rugby? I just couldn't believe it.
"It's been a tough time for them [Munster], but I thought it's another example of corporate lack of reality with what's important now, lack of accountability. I'd be furious if I'm a Munster fan because it's not rocket science here.
"Munster know what good looks like. All the Irish provinces know what governance looks like.
"We're not a start-up, you know. This is just a box-ticking exercise as far as I'm concerned.
"In five minutes you can find out what happened here. If you ask the right questions, you can find out what happened here. There wasn't a million people involved in this decision, the Roger Randle thing.
"They're obviously saying they’re looking at the governance in the future, but it's been the Roger Randle thing that's brought this to light and the fallout from that," he said.
Former Munster winger Johne Murphy joined Jackman on this week’s podcast.
And with the 20-year anniversary of the province’s first Champions Cup title approaching in just over a week, he believes the recent off-field issues are an indictment on the long-term complacency he has seen.
"I think it's damning to be honest," he said.
"This has been going on for ages. It’s not long ago that Munster were the biggest rugby brand in the world for how many years? And they rested on their laurels. It's been going on for years and years."
Murphy, who played just under 100 times for the province between 2010 and 2015, is not convinced the report will lead to greater "accountability" at the top of Munster Rugby.
"It [the report] either gets done really quickly and the findings have come out and it's published and ‘this is what's going to happen’, and ‘these people move on’, and ‘this is the change that's needed’, or it's people putting a in placeholder to go, ‘Oh, well, the review people are going to do this and we'll look at it later on’.
"They're trying to look after their own jobs. Stand up, take accountability, be responsible for your actions.
"This all should have been done last week. It's just absolutely ridiculous."
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