Munster senior management is changing as COO Philip Quinn steps down after 20 years with the club.

In an exclusive from Ruaidhrí O’Connor of the Irish Independent, Quinn has decided to step down after being overlooked for the CEO job, which went to Kiwi Avan Lee earlier this month.

Quinn joined the province in 2006 as Financial Controller, then became Head of Finance and Operations in 2016. He became acting CEO in 2018 after Garrett Fitzgerald’s departure. He was named COO in 2020 and has served in that role since.

Ian Flanagan announced at the start of October that he would be leaving Munster as CEO at the end of October, with New Zealander Avan Lee being named in his place.

Quinn was hoping to be considered for the role. Speaking to the Independent on his departure, he said: ‘I would have liked the opportunity to be considered for the CEO role, but with the new CEO now in place, I believe this is a natural point for me to move on.’

This is yet another big change at Munster’s governance after it was announced that an independent review was being conducted on how the province was being run after several scandals and controversies over the past 12 months.

David Duffy of The Governance Company is expected to present his findings from the review in the next few weeks.

Quinn previously spoke about the club’s financial hardships, with only Tadhg Beirne under an IRFU central contract, and with only 2 players in Andy Farrell’s latest Ireland squad; that number doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon.

On the pitch, Munster will hope to build on their Champions Cup opening-day win over Racing 92 by beating Leinster in Dublin for the second season in a row this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium, with kick-off at 6pm.