Munster’s acting chief executive: ‘We know we’re not the best club in the world but we believe we can get there’

There it is. Right there on the pages of the glossy red publication.

Munster’s acting chief executive: ‘We know we’re not the best club in the world but we believe we can get there’

There it is. Right there on the pages of the glossy red publication.

There have been Strategic Plans produced by Munster Rugby before but not one as ambitious as this, for writ large on its pages is a statement of intent that should have players, coaches, staff, sponsors, and supporters bristling with excitement and anticipation.

“Our vision transcends Ireland, Europe, and the sport of rugby, and purposely so. Munster wants to be THE BEST CLUB IN THE WORLD.”

No half measures there.

The best club in the world.

As Philip Quinn, Munster’s acting chief executive, sits across the table at the province’s offices on Cork’s Tramore Road, in the shadow of Musgrave Park’s South Terrace, and sets out the Strategic Plan for 2018-2021, it may appear fanciful, quixotic, even for a club that last lifted a trophy in 2011 and is now a decade removed from its second and most recent European triumph.

Yet as bold and ballsy as it sounds, this is not a plan for world domination. It is not a demand for ruthless, win at all costs success. Nor is it about marble halls, fat cat owners, or Forbes ratings. How could it be?

This is not the Lakers or the Yankees, Real Madrid, or Manchester United. For goodness sake, right now, it’s not even Leinster.

Yet Munster’s vision is reasonable and, yes, attainable.

Quinn, Munster’s Head of Finance & Operations, is minding the shop as CEO Garrett Fitzgerald recuperates from major surgery.

As he outlines the vision, he emphasises that its central tenet of success through togetherness, encapsulated in the mantra: “We Rise By Lifting Each Other”, which adorns the cover of the plan, is straight out of the Fitzgerald playbook.

“Garrett will always say we are a people-based organisation, it’s all about our people,” Quinn told the Irish Examiner.

“Strategic plans are critical for every business and we’re no different, even as a club, and especially given we’re so diverse.

“We have so many different strands to the business, to try and get something on paper which everyone knows they’re playing a part and get everyone pointing in the one direction. That’s the purpose of this document.”

After several seasons of struggle, followed by two years of upheaval triggered by the trauma of the sudden passing of head coach Anthony Foley and continued by the premature departure of director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, Munster felt the need to regroup and take the next steps forward, to get behind the on-field changes now being steered through by new head coach Johann van Graan.

They brought in a UK-based sports consultancy company called Inside Track to undertake an organisational review and then, a year ago, asked the firm to help them to formalise their strategic plan for the next three years.

Munster also turned to a new Dublin sports marketing agency, Ringers Creative, who took the temperature of the organisation and gauged outside perceptions of the province. They told the Munster management they needed to be more vocal in expressing their objectives.

“When we had set our original vision numerous years back, it was to be the best rugby club in Europe, built on our unique ethos.

“What we stated to the (Ringers) lads was ‘revisit that, let’s see is that what everyone still buys into and is that what we should be’.

“They came back and, this was three Leinster people, so they’d no connection with Munster, they said, ‘I don’t think you realise what you have here at Munster and I don’t think you shout loud enough. You’re hiding your light under a bushel.

“‘Yes, you have your aims. You know exactly what you’re trying to do but you’re not telling everyone and you really need to be more expressive around it’.”

Munster were advised to think big, to aim to be the best club in the world.

“To be honest, when that was first put on the table to us, it was very daunting,” Quinn admitted. “The best club in the world? Everyone thinks of your Barcelonas, even your Celtics and the models they have and we’re saying, is that where we want to go?

“But when you look at what our supporters’ club expectations are, what we have of ourselves, we felt, yes, we need to do this justice, and what’s gone before us; the history of Munster, not only 2006 and 2008 but going back to 78 and everything.

“It’s been such a fantastic journey we’ve had over the years and yes, if we look back to 2006 and 2008, some people have said we were the best rugby club at that stage.

“This is probably going a stage further, saying we’re the best club in the world but when we say best club in the world we’re talking about the best for our players, the best for our people, for our volunteers, for families, for communities.

“We’re under no illusion. We’re not going to win every trophy every single year but the aim is that this is the best club. Our ownership model is different, we’re run by the clubs of Munster. We are a product of the clubs, all the volunteers, all the work they do every Saturday, Sunday, that’s what feeds into Munster and it’s trying to make the most of that and have a more inclusive model, integrating within our communities that bit more.”

Such ambition is often frowned upon and immediately makes those who vocalise it a hostage to fortune. When Shane Logan became Ulster’s chief executive in 2010 he publicised his long-term plan to transform the northern province into a top side in “Ireland, Europe, and indeed the world”. He was duly haunted by those words last season as Ulster became a club in turmoil, Logan announcing his intention to step down last June.

Munster are aware of the potential pitfalls.

“We feel we need to aim higher and what came out of that was to be the best club in the world. We have no doubt when we’re putting that out there, the feedback we’ll get: ‘who do Munster think they are?’ But it’s a stated aim,” Quinn said.

“We’re not going to be there in 2021. It’s a journey, similar to our journey for silverware. We know we need to win silverware but that’s where we want to get to long-term. And if we move the bar any lower we feel we’re doing ourselves and what’s gone before us an injustice, a disservice.”

So how do they become the best club in the world, the one that everyone wants to play and work for, to support and enjoy the greatest facilities?

Naturally it all starts on the pitch and losing to Leinster with frustrating regularity is not part of the strategy as Quinn concedes.

“It’s a journey. We’re a long way off it at the moment. We know we’re not the best club in the world but we believe we can get there and it’s going to take an awful lot of hard work, we’re going to need to tailor our thinking at times and we always push ourselves as an organisation.

“I think we’re our own worst critic at times. We would be very hard on ourselves. We’d be very disappointed about the last couple of seasons, more optimistic about what we’ve achieved in that time but still terribly disappointed. There’s nobody harder on ourselves.

“We know where we want to get to, we need to match Leinster, we need to beat Leinster. Simple as that. But there’s other clubs and Ulster will be looking at the exact same thing and targeting Leinster, other clubs in the PRO14. Look at the Scarlets and the success they’ve had, Glasgow, the level of competition is going up constantly and you need to keep evolving. Garrett always says if you don’t change you’re going nowhere because everyone else is. We would have been the benchmark back in 2006, 2008. Did we take our eyes off the road? I don’t believe so. It’s just that others reinvented themselves and managed to go slightly ahead of us.

“It’s a massive challenge and we have to be the best rugby club in Ireland first. We believe we can get there. We believe the gap is closing but that needs to be seen in results on the pitch.

“The weight of expectation on our shoulders at all times, it is tough, especially on our coaching staff but they’re an excellent coaching staff. Johann has come in, he’s been a breath of fresh air and really engaged with Munster. He’s living our values on a day to day basis and that translates right across the board.

“Hopefully we’ll see that translate into results as the season goes on.”

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