Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson is optimistic the province will be in a position to name a successor to Declan Kidney as coach by mid-May. The closing date for applications is May 9th, but Leinster are pursuing an aggressive trawl of the world rugby in an attempt to find an appropriately qualified coach, writes John O'Sullivan.
"We have invited applications for the post on our website, but at the same time are pursuing other avenues through agents and our own contacts in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. While we would hope anyone who's interested in the position would apply for the job, that's not always the case and we have our own ideas on that issue."
Dawson confirmed there is a concrete figure in terms of the salary that's available to the successful applicant, but did suggest there might be scope to tweak things if the right man became available. "There is a little bit of flexibility and at this stage we want to be positive about the task in hand."
Given Leinster bought out Kidney's contract with the Gwent Dragons to secure him as a coach it's not unreasonable to assume they would do so again if required, so a coach currently in employment could still be a target for Leinster. Dawson admitted: "We'll do whatever we have to (in pursuit of the right man). This is a situation that we'd like to resolve as quickly as possible.
"The players return for pre-season training in late June, but we'd hope to have someone in place by the middle of next month. In terms of the players and contracts all the decisions made prior to Declan's (Kidney) departure stand. At this point in time we have 26 or 27 players contracted for next season and have three or four left to fill.
"We want to be able to give the new coach some flexibility in the recruiting, so we'll wait until after we make a coaching appointment to complete the squad. We're conscious of the fact that we have a talented group of players, including six Lions, and they deserve to have a top-quality coach. A lack of continuity has been hugely disruptive and we want to guarantee stability.
"We'll be offering the successful applicant a three-year contract."
There's likely to be a strong interest in the Leinster position from both hemispheres and it'll be interesting to note the shortlist.
Kidney's departure to Munster means that former Ireland coach Gerry Murphy will assume overall control of Leinster ahead of their Celtic Cup quarter-final against Glasgow at Lansdowne Road on Friday week (7.30).
Murphy coached the backs during Kidney's tenure. He will be assisted by Roly Meates and Bobby Byrne until the end of the season.
If Leinster can manage to edge past Glasgow's challenge as they did (at Hughenden) in their final Celtic League outing then they would set up a potentially lucrative clash with Munster, should the latter account for Edinburgh. A Leinster-Munster clash would be staged at Lansdowne Road as would the final of the Celtic Cup if there was an Irish participant.
Tickets for Leinster's Celtic Cup quarter-final are on sale on the province' s website, www.leinsterrugby.ie and from the usual outlets. West Stand Lower (A&F): €30; East Stand Lower (unreserved): €25 East Terrace: €15 Family (East Stand Lower, two adult/two children): €60. The ticket outlets are Leinster Rugby Store (Donnybrook), Spar (Bath Avenue, Donnybrook, Vernon Avenue), Elvery's (Dawson St and Suffolk St) and Active Sports (Blackrock).
