Munster have promoted their academy chief Ian Costello to a newly-created role of 'Head of Rugby Operations'.
The Kerry native, who has been academy and pathway manager since 2021, will move into what the province describe as an "all-encompassing" role, which will see him working alongside head coach Graham Rowntree on the recruitment and retention of players, as well as overseeing succession planning and elite player development.
The role would appear to match up similarly with that of Guy Easterby, who holds the same job title at Leinster.
"I'm delighted to have someone of Cossie’s calibre [Ian Costello] taking on this role," Rowntree said of the appointment.
"We work very closely as it is through his academy role, and from my own personal point of view it has been a really positive working relationship. Ian and his academy team play a key role in everything we are trying to achieve each week.
"It’s great to have a dedicated resource to driving long-term succession planning and coordinate recruitment operations, and I believe it will be of huge benefit to not only me and our coaching team, but to Munster Rugby."
Costello began his coaching career at Munster where he was involved with the province's U20 and 'A' teams, before becoming an assistant to Anthony Foley in 2014.
After working as head coach of English Championship side Nottingham, he spent three years working as defence coach under Dai Young at Wasps, before returning to lead Munster's academy in 2021.
And he gained significant praise in December 2021 when he took temporary charge of the side for their Champions Cup opener against Wasps, after the senior coaches and majority of the squad had been forced into isolation following their Covid-affected trip to South Africa.
Commenting on the appointment, Munster Rugby CEO Ian Flanagan said, "We are delighted that Ian will step into this newly created role.
"This has been a work in progress in the background for some time as we look to align our resource support with the IRFU and other provinces.
"When Ian returned to the province as academy manager he was identified as the ideal candidate for this role when incorporating his previous coaching experience, managerial skill-set, and strategic abilities for aligning and developing our player pathway."
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