RG Snyman's presence could yet be the point of difference for Munster
NOT SO SECRET WEAPON: Munster trio RG Snyman, Calvin Nash and Craig Casey. Pic: Morgan Treacy, Inpho
It was a long time coming but finally having RG Snyman fit and able to add his unique skill set to Munster’s URC title bid could well be worth the wait for the defending champions.
Time is running out with the double World Cup-winning South Africa lock set to leave Munster after four hugely frustrating seasons and join Leinster this summer, the men in red losing one of their prize assets at the peak of his powers due to IRFU player pathway guidelines that do not allow more than one Non-Irish Qualified player in the same position.
Once former naturalised Irishman Jean Kleyn resumed his South African nationality and joined Snyman on the Springboks World Cup roster last summer, one of the second rows would have to leave and Munster were forced to make a decision.
Snyman’s terrible injury profile, that has restricted him to just 16 appearances for the side he joined in the summer of 2020, made it a straightforward one and the longer-serving Kleyn signed a new deal.
Yet now Snyman is finally injury-free, Munster are determined to make the most of one of their crown jewels in the remaining games of the campaign.
A try-scoring start last time out in last Saturday’s bonus-point win at home to Connacht emphasised how impactful a fit and firing Snyman can be, but on Tuesday, as forwards coach Andi Kyriacou looked forward to the penultimate round of regular-season league action at Edinburgh this Friday night, he outlined how the Springbok is just as influential off the pitch.
That only highlights the patience Munster showed in Snyman to shepherd the 6ft 10in lock through two serious knee injuries and his more recent doses of misfortune in the form of chest/shoulder surgery and a debilitating bout of pneumonia.
The hope is that it will be rewarded in a successful URC title defence in next month’s play-offs.
"Yeah absolutely,” agreed Kyriacou, “he's a good man as well.
“He's a great bloke to have in the environment, in the building, he doesn't just offer value on the grass, what he does off the field with team-mates and around the place culturally is excellent.
"I honestly can't speak highly enough of him, he's just a great bloke and a great player and I'm glad he's fit and he's available!”
That Munster are blessed, even with Kleyn sidelined until next season, with two world-class second rows in Snyman and Tadhg Beirne is not lost on the Munster assistant.
“They’re hugely competitive in terms of what they are trying to achieve within the team.
“Obviously RG has fitted into more of that ‘4’ lock role that you would have seen Jean Kleyn occupy in previous seasons.
“He is not just a big man who carries hard and things like that, his skill-set, his knowledge in and around the lineout, how able he is to manipulate things in mauls and mauls defence is pretty special.
“Then his overall game, you are seeing more and more of his offloading game, and the big thing we are seeing big strides in is his defensive performances.
“He’s not just making shots on people, he is up and he is creating a lot of chaos in the tackle zone.
“Then you’ve got Tadhg, who is equally as physical but just such an incredibly smart player. He provides a lot of calm in and around the set-piece.
“We are just incredibly lucky that we got those two guys available to us currently.”
The confidence coursing through the second row is spreading through a team in flying form, third in the table, a point behind second-placed Leinster and with last Saturday’s Thomond Park hammering of Connacht extending a winning run to seven games in the URC.
Their seven-try 47-12 demolition underpinned by free-flowing rugby epitomised the feelgood factor within the squad and its comfort with a an exciting Munster gameplan devised by attack coach Mike Prendergast.
“Look, the lads are confident at the moment,” Kyriacou said. “The way they are playing the game, we don’t just allow lads to do whatever they want – they have to operate within the framework that Mike has put out there from an attack side of things.
“But they are just more and more confident on the ball. This is going deep into year two now and you can just see the lads are more and more comfortable playing in this shape and this system.
“With that familiarity with each other as well comes confidence. They make good decisions on the ball.
“RG has got phenomenal skills on the ball, absolutely, but I think the lads are just able to make decisions in the moment because they are playing with confidence.”
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