Six Kiwis are running clubs in Europe this season, and Munster is one of them

If you have ever wondered where New Zealand rugby coaching actually goes, the answer this season is: Limerick, Gloucester, Treviso, Newport, Durban and Bristol.

The Gallagher Premiership and the United Rugby Championship both kick off on Friday 25 September, and when they do, six clubs will be run by New Zealanders.

The coaches

| Coach | Club | Competition | |---|---|---| | Clayton McMillan | Munster (head coach) | URC | | Jared Payne | Munster (attack coach) | URC | | Chris Boyd | Gloucester (technical director) | Premiership | | Wayne Pivac | Benetton | URC | | Filo Tiatia | Dragons | URC | | John Plumtree | Sharks | URC | | Pat Lam | Bristol Bears | Premiership |

Munster is the one to watch. McMillan took the job and then completed his staff in June with Jared Payne as attack coach on a two-year deal. Payne was born in Tauranga, played 20 Tests for Ireland, then coached at Ulster, Clermont and Scarlets. Jimmy Duffy came in as forwards coach.

Munster's first hit-out is away at La Rochelle on Friday 28 August, then they open the URC season at home to Glasgow Warriors at Thomond Park on Saturday 26 September, 5.30pm. If you have never watched a game at Thomond Park, start with that one.

Pat Lam at Bristol is the long-serving one. Samoan international, raised in Auckland, and he has been remaking that club for years.

The players going north

| Player | From | To | |---|---|---| | Hoskins Sotutu | Blues | Newcastle Red Bulls (3 years) | | Pouri Rakete-Stones | Hurricanes | Newcastle Red Bulls | | Dallas McLeod | Crusaders | Exeter Chiefs | | Cullen Grace | Crusaders | Scarlets | | Halen King | Chiefs | Gloucester (short-term) | | Callum McCabe | Chiefs | Gloucester (short-term) | | Sam Moli | Moana Pasifika | Leicester Tigers | | Ruby Tui | | Ealing Trailfinders |

Sotutu is the one with a wrinkle attached. He signed a three-year Newcastle deal announced in December 2025, and he became eligible to switch international allegiance in 2026. He qualifies for England through his mother and Fiji through his father. He has not been reported as committing to anyone, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. But it is worth knowing.

Rakete-Stones joins him at Newcastle, who have signed 23 senior players in a single summer under Dan McFarland. That is not a typo. Twenty-three.

Ruby Tui signing for Ealing Trailfinders is lovely news for anyone who watched the 2021 World Cup final. Her coach Barney Maddison called her "an enormous asset," which is one way of putting it.

When it all starts

| Competition | Round one | |---|---| | Pro D2 (France, second tier) | Thursday 27 August | | Top 14 | Saturday 5 September | | Gallagher Premiership | Friday 25 September | | United Rugby Championship | Friday 25 September |

URC round one includes Munster v Glasgow at Thomond Park, Lions v Leinster at Ellis Park, Sharks v Ospreys in Durban, Connacht v Stormers, Ulster v Edinburgh and Scarlets v Cardiff.

The Premiership opens with Harlequins v Bath on the Friday and Northampton v Newcastle the same night. Northampton are the reigning champions.

One reason this matters here

Every one of those coaches learned the game in New Zealand, on the same fields your kids play on. Boyd coached in Wellington. Plumtree coached the Hurricanes. Tiatia played 100-odd games of Super Rugby before he ever picked up a whiteboard marker.

When people say New Zealand's biggest rugby export is not players, it is coaching, this is the season sheet they are talking about.