Ian Costello will become Munster's Head of Rugby Operations at the end of the season.
Costello has been working as the province's academy and pathway manager since re-joining the club in 2021, following stints as Nottingham head coach and as Wasps' defence coach.
In December 2021, the Kerryman took charge of Munster's preparations heading into their Champions Cup pool victory at Wasps after players and coaching staff were hit by Covid, with a number unable to return from South Africa for a short period.
This newly created role will see Costello take on further responsibility, including overseeing the long term strategic development of the elite player pathway, succession planning, and providing recruitment support for developing, retaining, and recruiting players in conjunction with the Reds' head coach.
That post is held by Graham Rowntree, who has strongly backed the move.
“I’m delighted to have someone of Cossie’s calibre taking on this role," said Rowntree. “We work very closely as it is through his academy role, and from my own personal point of view it has been a really positive working relationship.
"Ian and his academy team play a key role in everything we are trying to achieve each week.
“It’s great to have a dedicated resource to driving long-term succession planning and coordinate recruitment operations, and I believe it will be of huge benefit to not only me and our coaching team, but to Munster Rugby.”
The province's CEO Ian Flanagan added: “We are delighted that Ian will step into this newly created role. This has been a work in progress in the background for some time as we look to align our resource support with the IRFU and other provinces.
“When Ian returned to the province as Academy Manager he was identified as the ideal candidate for this role when incorporating his previous coaching experience, managerial skill-set, and strategic abilities for aligning and developing our player pathway."
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