A few weeks ago, Munster interim coach Ian Costello proclaimed him as one of the “great leaders” in his squad. Because New Zealand-born Alex Nankivell, the centre with game, has emerged as one of the province’s driving forces.
Accolades of leadership within the Munster squad stick easily with players such as Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, so Nankivell’s elevation is a measure of how the 28-year-old has contributed over the course of the couple of seasons that he has been in Ireland.
“It was nice [to hear] firstly,” he says. “To be honest, I wouldn’t have ever looked at myself like that. I kind of feel like I’m part of the cogs but I’ll challenge people and keep people accountable. I have a different experience coming from a different place that plays a different style of rugby, so I feel like I can be helpful at times, just challenging ideas and getting people to think outside of the box.
How can the provinces break France’s dominance?
“I’ve thought about leadership obviously and how I can influence people but probably not to that extent. It’s something that I’ve got to think about as I’m ageing a wee bit now and a few of those big guys are leaving. We need people that are going to step up and drive standards and be leaders and show the younger guys how to be a professional, so it’s something since that conversation that I’ve been thinking about in the background.”
Nankivell is also one of the players who has first-hand knowledge of Clayton McMillan, who was appointed as the province’s new head coach on a three-year contract. The New Zealander will take up his role in July on completion of the 2025 Super Rugby season, where he coaches the Chiefs.
Nankivell spent five seasons with the Chiefs after making his debut in 2017. He was also selected for the Maori All Blacks during his tenure at the club.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” says Nankivell. “When I found out he was in the shortlist to get the job, I was quite excited by that fact. He’s a great man. He’s quite a reserved guy, he’ll kind of do his work in the background but he’s really good at managing people, managing players and getting everyone really aligned.
“Also at the Chiefs, the cool thing I found with him as a player is he wants to empower you to be the best you can be. Every player has got different strengths and he really wants to bring them out and let you express yourself, so that will be huge for us.
“Also, his standards. He challenges people. He will challenge players, coaches and staff around what we’re doing in the building and how we can be better and how we can make this team better, so I’m really excited for that, and I think he will fit in really well. I think his values and who he is as a man will align with Munster and the people that are in this club.”
Nankivell believes Clayton is the right fit for the kind of culture Munster try to instil into players, an aspect of their game they will look for this weekend in a challenging United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the Sharks in Durban.
A former police officer in Rotorua and a Bay of Plenty number eight, McMillan is also of Maori descent and has a strong reputation for commitment. On a week off from the Chiefs, he arrived over to Limerick in March for a flying visit during which he met the Munster squad for the first time.
“He’s massive on culture, massive on the environment that we have,” says Nankivell. “To him, the environment will drive our performance. It will drive our standards at training and our performances at training and ultimately how we perform in the games, so I’m sure he’ll look to create a real connection around us as a team and the Munster community around the place, which will be cool, to get out in the province, meet the people, meet the supporters.
“I think in preseason there will be a little bit of that stuff, so he’ll be huge for our culture. I know the lads said they were amazed that he came over in his week off to do that, so it shows where he wants to be in terms of his preparation when he turns up to the place. It’s pretty impressive.”
Munster kick-off against Sharks on Saturday in Kings Park at 5.30pm.
