"I’ve no idea where it came from"- O'Neill quashes consistent links with Munster Rugby role

Throughout the summer of 2018 there were murmurings in certain sectors that Cian O’Neill was poised to take up a role with Munster Rugby and leave his position as Kildare manager. There was no shortage of people ‘in the know’ who were adamant that the Moorefield clubman was on his way out, and when things started to go badly on the pitch there were very few who found it hard to believe that O’Neill would be leaving.

The former UL lecturer was linked with a strength and conditioning role at the Irish provincial side, with rumours circulating as early as April and rumbling on until just last month regarding O’Neill’s future.

“Nothing at all,” said O’Neill when asked if there had been any discussion with Munster Rugby.

“I would be friendly with a lot [of people], we’d do a lot of research with the IRFU, and I was in UL for 17 years. That’s as far as it extends. There was never any contact, nothing of the sort, and I’ve no idea where it came from to be honest.

O'Neill, who revealed that Tom Cribbin and Karl O'Dwyer will be replacing Ronan Sweeney and Enda Murphy in his management team for next year, stated that he didn't know up until very recently whether or not he would be returning to manage Kildare this year.

“My own situation was that, obviously, three years up and down that road is a long time – it takes its toll, no more than what you’ve seen happen with the two guys. It’s not easy, and at that time I was pretty sure that if we stayed together that would have been enough for me to stay on. If the players – and that’s the most important thing – were happy for me and for us to stay on, and I think that was the first conversation.”