Munster head coach Clayton McMillan says he hasn't given any thought to the vacant New Zealand job, after Scott Robertson’s shock sacking this week.
The All Blacks stunned the rugby world on Wednesday when they dismissed Robertson as head coach less than two years out from the 2027 World Cup.
The former Crusaders boss was let go after he appeared to lose the dressing room, with reports that star back row Ardie Savea could have quit Test rugby if the New Zealand Rugby Union didn't take action.
McMillan had been seen as a potential future All Blacks coach prior to taking the Munster job last summer.
The 51-year-old enjoyed a successful period in charge of the Chiefs, bringing them to three consecutive Super Rugby finals, while he had also been part of the wider New Zealand international set-up as head coach of the development side 'All Blacks XV’, with whom he coached against Munster at Thomond Park in 2024.
And while his name has been included among the potential candidates for arguably the biggest job in rugby, the New Zealander was tight-lipped when asked if he would be interested in the job, either as head coach or assistant to someone else.
"To be perfectly honest, with all respect, I haven't even given any thought to the question," McMillan, who is under contract at Munster until 2028, told RTÉ Sport.
Munster previously lost a head coach to Test rugby when Rassie Erasmus departed after just one year in charge to take over South Africa in 2017, winning back-to-back World Cup titles with the Springboks in 2019 and 2023.
And while the New Zealander said he was surprised to hear of Robertson’s departure, his thoughts haven’t wavered from Munster’s must-win Investec Champions Cup game this Saturday.
"My first initial thoughts were that it was a bit of a surprise," he added of the All Blacks news.
"It's not normally the New Zealand way to make such a big decision, but it's one that's been made, and my initial thoughts are actually just with Scott and his family.
"Nobody likes to see players or coaches have to go through that. So my thoughts are with him.
"We play Castres at Thomond Park, we need a win, and really, that's where all my attention is going."
McMillan has made three changes to his side for Saturday’s showdown with their old enemy Castres, with the head coach knowing a defeat would see them miss out on the Champions Cup knockouts for the first time since 2020.
They have been given a major boost with Craig Casey (above) shaking off a shoulder injury to start at scrum-half.
The Ireland international appeared to be a major doubt when he suffered the knock in last week’s defeat to Toulon, but has been cleared to play after the injury wasn’t as bad as first feared.
"It didn't look great after the game. He had his arm in a sling, it was obviously quite a bit of pain, but all the tests that he's done have indicated that it's not a huge amount of damage there.
"It's just going to be a little bit sore and something that he'll tolerate, and won't impact on his ability to play so it’s huge for us.
"Every team probably has three or four players that are the heartbeat of the team, both on and off the field.
"They have a lot of value through their leadership, their ability to make other people look and feel good. And he's definitely one of those players for us.
"He was pretty confident himself after the game, ‘I'll be there on Saturday, Donk [McMillan’s nickname]’, so I'm happy that he's proved himself right," he added.
Saturday’s game will be a record 20th meeting of these sides in the competition, with Castres 16-14 winners when these teams met in France last season.
Munster lead the head-to-head stakes 13-5, with one draw between the teams, but crucially they have won all eight Thomond Park encounters.
"There’s a really healthy rivalry. Again, it’s something that we talked about during the week. Out of all of those 20-odd games, there’s never been an easy one.
"In actual fact, both teams have the ability to drag each other into a real war, and that’s exactly what we're expecting tomorrow from them.
"You know, with French teams, they’ve got a powerful setpiece, a lot of flair, and given this is effectively a one-off game to push your way through to the next level of Champions Cup, I imagine they’ll be like us wanting to throw everything at it," the Munster coach added.
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen to live commentary of Munster v Castres in the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday from 5.30pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
