Penney backs van den Heever to be Munster hit

Munster head coach Rob Penney will welcome new signing Gerhard van den Heever to the province early next month with the promise the powerful wing will see a lot more ball than he enjoyed during Western Province’s run to the Currie Cup final.

The 24-year-old was a virtual spectator as Western Province lost 33-19 to The Sharks in South Africa’s provincial showpiece on Saturday, a game that marked his final appearance on home soil. Yet the Munster boss believes when van den Heever gets his hands on the ball he can cause all manner of problems for defences.

“When he gets an opportunity he’s bloody dangerous,” Penney said. “They don’t used him as much as we like to think he could be used. Hopefully he is pretty excited about the opportunities that he is going to get here.”