Clayton McMillan confirms Munster in pursuit of ‘world-class tighthead prop’
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Tighthead.
Head coach Clayton McMillan has confirmed that Munster are in the market for a world-class tighthead prop.
The province have struggled with their front-row stocks this season, with Oli Jager battling concussion problems, and Roman Salanoa still sidelined.
Michael Ala’alatoa was brought in on a short-term deal, and McMillan has hinted that he may try to convince him to stay on, with John Ryan set to retire at the end of the season.
Jack Aungier will join from Connacht ahead of next season, but with the departure of Thaakir Abrahams freeing up a NIQ spot, McMillan says they will look to fill that gap with a tighthead, but may have to wait until after the World Cup for a world-class one to become available.
“We haven’t made any secret of the fact that we would love a tighthead prop,” McMillan said.
“It’s a bit like the coaching situation – it’s not just any old tighthead prop, it’s a world-class tighthead prop.
“Now, I don’t know how often you speak to agents or how much interest you take in the player transfer market, but there aren’t many world-class tighthead props running around – free – saying, ‘hey, I’m available’.
“But there might be post-World Cup. So we’ll keep looking and searching in that space to find that person. But in the meantime, we’ve had Mike Ala’alatoa, who I think has been a godsend for us.”
Meanwhile, McMillan also confirmed that Oli Jager will be given as much time as he needs to decide on his future as he continues to suffer from concussion problems.
“Oli’s actually bounced back pretty well. But I think, you know, everyone can appreciate that, given his history, it’s the right thing to do to just take his time to consider what the next step is, you know?
“And that could be retirement, or it just could be an extended break from the game to give himself the best chance of coming back.
“And that’s a decision for Oli to make. And only Oli. He’s under absolutely no pressure from us to make that decision. We all want to see all of our players come off the field healthy.”
