Stephen Larkham says the next six months will decide whether or not he and Johann van Graan have been a success at Munster.
The province are looking for a new head coach and senior coach next season, after both Van Graan and Larkham announced they would leave their roles this summer, with the former joining Premiership side Bath and the latter returning to Australia and his former club Brumbies.
While Van Graan has been in charge since 2017, Larkham arrived in the summer of 2019 to work as attack coach, before later being moved into the broader senior coach role.
And while there has been huge frustration that both coaches are set to depart just as the early signs of their gameplan were beginning to show, the 1999 World Cup winner says they will continue to work on that plan between now and the end of June.
"There are always regrets along the way that you didn't do something particularly when you haven’t had successful weekends," Larkham said, as Munster began preparations for this Saturday's United Rugby Championship meeting with Connacht in Galway.
"There are regrets there that you didn’t do things differently.
"But I reiterate the point that this isn’t the end. It isn’t finished. There is still six months to go. There’s a long campaign ahead of us still and I’m very focused on getting growth, improvement and results for the players to be sure.
"It's definitely still ongoing. Nothing has changed there.
"Since I spoke two months ago around the improvements we make and still want to make, nothing has changed in that regard. We’ve had the Bulls, Lions and Leinster postponed so there were three opportunities to improve our game which were set aside unfortunately.
"But on behalf of myself and Johann, we’re very much focused on having a successful season here before we do anything else."
News of Larkham's decision to turn down a new contract and return to Australia broke in late November as Munster were preparing for their URC game against the Bulls in Pretoria, with Larkham's announcement followed by that of Van Graan three weeks later.
His decision to leave and return to Australia and his former club Brumbies came as a surprise, with the former out-half having earlier spoken of his desire to stay in Limerick.
Larkham later revealed he opted against a new Munster deal for family reasons, reiterating yesterday that it was the right time for his family to return to Canberra, adding that he struggled to break the news to the Munster players.
"It's the stage of my family as well and the ages of the girls," he confirmed.
"It was very difficult, it was emotional telling the boys. Everything was pretty rushed over in South Africa and I had to tell the boys at the end of training before we broke the news.
"It was emotional in the huddle, it was very difficult to get the words out.
"As I’ve said before, the environment is great here. The coaching set-up, the coaches, the staff, the facilities, the players. Everything is top notch. It’s going to be hard to replicate that going forward.
"So leaving all of that is difficult but I know I have done it for the right reason now. It’s still a very tough decision, it was back and forth and I struggled with it. And even ow there are pros and cons to it."
Larkham's future job at the Brumbies will be his second time coaching his boyhood team, having previously been head coach from 2014 to 2017 before he made his role in Michael Cheika's Wallaby backroom team full-time.
The 47-year-old says his three seasons at Munster ensure he will be returning to Australia a more rounded coach than when he arrived in 2019.
"Even working with the backroom staff, S&C, guys and girls, nutritionists, receptionists, you're learning constantly all the time.
"And from a rugby perspective, there are a lot of learnings I’ll take from the other coaches in how they get the best from players. That’s the challenge, to motivate players individually and then on a team level, making sure everyone is aligned.
"There have been so many examples of that over the last two years that I can take with me."
