Munster’s interim head coach Ian Costello says the province are yet to start the process of recruiting a replacement for Graham Rowntree, who left his role as head coach on Tuesday.

The province parted company with the Englishman earlier this week, just six games into the season, with a statement saying his departure was by “mutual agreement”.

Costello has been placed in temporary charge and he, along with the Munster’s professional games committee and the IRFU, will be involved in the process to hire a new head coach.

However, that process is yet to begin, with their attention currently set on this Saturday’s meeting with an All Blacks XV at Thomond Park.

“We’ve hit pause on that. That process will start in due course. We’ll take our time,” Costello (below) told.

“We just had so much to deal with the last couple of days and we wanted to make sure to manage that the best way we could, to manage staff, players, and we focused on that.

“In parallel with that, we had to prepare for the weekend.

“The key will be the right person, the right fit, and at the moment we’re lucky enough that there is some quality staff there, coaches and support staff.

“Stability and consistency will be key going forward. That’s our main focus, and we’ll look at the rest after the game on Saturday. We’ll literally start those conversations on Saturday.”

In the days since Rowntree’s departure several names have been linked with the role.

It has been reported by Rugbypass that the province’s attack coach Mike Prendergast is on course to be appointed, while others have called for Munster to headhunt their former full-back and assistant Felix Jones, who is still on the payroll at the RFU until the summer.

“I’m not trying to deflect, we’ve given it no thought,” Costello added, when asked specifically about Jones.

“We have so much to focus on at the moment. Felix is a great guy, a great coach, I know him really well, but we haven’t even considered that.

“Any links to any coach at the moment are complete rumour. I’m not trying to deflect.

“That process will start once we get through Saturday. I think we’ll have a lot more information then.

“All we can tell you for sure is there will be an awful lot of interest. People are quick to send in CVs, but we have given it no consideration.”

While Costello said there is no list of candidates, he did remove himself from filling the vacancy on a permanent basis, insisting he was happier in his role of head of rugby operations.

“No, and I’m very comfortable with that,” he said, when asked if he could take the head coach job permanently.

“We’re going to start the process around looking at the next head coach. We’ll take our time, we’ll make sure we find the right person, the right fit. My role is structured very much around long-term strategic positioning, the clubs, succession planning, depth charts, and it’s very heavily linked to performance management.

“I’m really enjoying it, and it’s one that suits me, and is one that is important for the club as well, and it’s evolved very nicely.

“I’m very comfortable and I’ve said this to the lads internally. That won’t change, and from the outset we’ll start that process until we find the right fit.”

When asked about what led to Rowntree’s departure, Costello said he could not comment any further beyond Tuesday’s statement, “out of respect for the process and respect for Graham”.

But Costello did pay tribute to the former head coach, who delivered a long-awaited URC title to the province in 2023.

Rowntree spent five years at Munster, with two of those as head coach

“He won a trophy, we finished top of the league last year and he was coach of the year.

“I think it’s fair to say that he’s one of the most recognisable of any province. He lived the true values of Munster constantly, and I think he was a guy that was loved by the supporters, loved by the community and had huge connection to the province.

“On a personal level I couldn’t say enough positive [things] about Graham. He’s been really good to me, he’s been really good to the club and I think that’s why there has been such a reaction to the news this week.

“I think it’s not something you expect. It’s a big deal, a major transition in terms of your head coach and something we’ve had to work on across the last couple of days.

“That’s what we’re trying to do now with a really big occasion at the weekend.

“It’s been a tough couple of days, and we’ve managed it as well as we possibly can, and probably tried to turn the page in terms of moving on to a game this weekend,” he added.