Munster head coach Clayton McMillan says this week's news of potential redundancies at the province further highlights their need to qualify for the Investec Champions Cup next season.
The province confirmed yesterday that they will be seeking an unspecified number of voluntary redundancies after falling short of revenue targets.
"Revenue has trended below forecast in the context of a challenging economic environment and this is the next step in aligning our cost base with income in order to establish a sustainable financial position," a statement from the province said.
While Munster’s playing budget won't be affected by the cost-saving manoeuvre, it does put extra pressure on McMillan’s side to secure a top-half finish in the URC this season, which would bring with it a Champions Cup place.
Last year, the province needed back-to-back wins in order to secure a place at the top table of European Rugby, which their Chief Financial Officer Phillip Quinn estimated was worth between €500,000 and €1m.
Munster’s struggles to secure home knockout fixtures has also had a big impact on income, with their last home Champions Cup knockout game coming in 2022, while they have only had two home URC play-off ties in the last four seasons.
And McMillan (below) says he and the team have to play their part in boosting the coffers.
"There's absolutely no doubt that if we win rugby games and we put ourselves in contention to play finals and stuff at home, that that's going to have a significant impact," he said.
"So, we have been working hard and we'll continue to work hard to do what we can to help in that regard.
"But there was also some recognition on the call the other day that there's a few other parts of the business that we can be better at, so as a collective we just need to roll up our sleeves and do what we can to stick in the fight.
"Look, at a human level, it's less than ideal. In no industry do you want to see you get to a point where the organisation needs to consider redundancies, but that news came out a couple of days ago, and there's a bit of work to be done behind the scenes to navigate our way through that process.
"To my understanding, no decisions have been made around any roles at this stage, it's literally that the opportunity is there for some that may see taking that avenue to be a good one for them.
"It's not ideal, but it's a reminder that in rugby, just like any other business, despite everybody's hard work, it's challenging times out there, and clearly we're going through some at the moment."
On the pitch, the province face a crucial game in the battle for the play-offs on Saturday as they take on the Bulls in the second leg of their South African tour.
Last week's 45-0 defeat to Sharks has piled on the pressure for the tourists, although a win in Pretoria would put them right back in the hunt for a home quarter-final, and dent their opponents’ play-off hopes.
"It doesn't seem to be a great place at the moment..." - @MurphyJohne
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Why has Munster's season spiralled so badly after their promising start? 🔴
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McMillan has welcomed Craig Casey and Jack Crowley to his team for Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, while he has held back the likes of Jeremy Loughman, Edwin Edogbo, Gavin Coombes and John Hodnett on his bench, as he looks to get a greater impact from his replacements, particularly at altitude against one of the most powerful forward packs in the league.
"We had a 6-2 split last week as well, we didn't quite get the impact from the bench that we wanted, clearly, but there's no shortage of effort over the 80 minutes," he added.
"We just weren't good enough in the few opportunities that presented to ourselves, and they were particularly good at taking these.
"So, some huge learnings and some tough lessons there for us.
"And with the bench; when you travel, you are limited to a smaller squad than what you have when you have the luxury of playing at home.
"And this week we've gone with the same 6-2 split. There's probably more experience on the bench.
"So we're hoping that the likes of Brian Gleeson will be able to bring that youthful energy, a little bit of explosiveness and some carry that when the going gets really tough at altitude in the sort of second half, later part of the game, experience will count for a lot."
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