The Munster jinx
Snyman the latest in long line of major signings to have time in Red compromised... going all the way back to an iconic No15
IT was October 2011 and the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand was in full swing. Ireland had defeated the Wallabies – reigning Tri Nations champions at the time – at a heaving Eden Park. The Russians had been dispatched in Rotorua and it was onwards to Dunedin for the Irish press pack for the final pool meeting with the Italians. Top spot in Pool C was at stake and the hype machine back home had kicked into overdrive.
As a young reporter, covering the World Cup for the first time, we decided to take in a short stopover in Wellington en route to the south island. All going well, Ireland would be returning to the capital city the following week for a quarter-final meeting with Wales. The first port of call was the Four Kings bar on Dixon Street in the city centre.
Christian Cullen owned the establishment and it seemed worth a punt to pay the place a visit and see if the former All Black legend was in the vicinity.
Alas, there was no sign of the Paekakariki Express but we inquired after him with the barman, an affable bloke who hailed from Yorkshire. He took the journalist’s number, for a New Zealand burner phone, and said he would pass on the interview request to the boss.
A few days later in the press room of Otago Stadium, a message from an unknown number flashed up on the phone.
‘Hi, this is Christian Cullen…’ The year 2000 was when it all kicked off down in Munster. That maiden charge to the Heineken Cup final – featuring famous victories over Saracens and Toulouse on the way – was only the beginning.
And the province were mixing it with Europe’s elite armed with a squad of predominately homegrown players. There was the odd foreign recruit. None could be described as a marquee signing. John Langford arrived at Munster when Leinster pulled out of a deal. Jason Holland had ventured over to Midleton on a gap year before being plucked from the second division of the All-Ireland League while Mike Mullins, the son of a Limerick labourer who had emigrated to New Zealand, arrived in Limerick from West Hartlepool.
All three made a massive impact in Thomond Park. However, by the end of the 2003 campaign, after two final losses and two semi-final failures, it was clear Munster needed a box-office, topdrawer overseas signing to bridge the gap in class with the bigspending English and French.
Chris Latham very much fitted that description. The wondrously talented Wallabies full-back ticked a lot of boxes. The Queenslander was a force of nature in attack and possessed a howitzer of a right boot but, most importantly, he was rugged in defence and utterly committed.
He seemed a good fit for Munster and Alan Gaffney, the successor to Declan Kidney as head coach, was confident of securing Latham’s services
after coaching him during his club rugby days at Randwick. But the Aussie would do an 11thhour Uturn.
His former coach was none too impressed.
‘We only want players who want to play for us,’ Gaffney said in May 2003.
Munster were left scrambling but there were talks that Cullen might be seeking pastures new after a well-publicised fall-out with All Blacks boss John Mitchell. The province completed the signing of the iconic full-back, a player regarded, then and now, as one of the finest No 15s to have played the game.
Still only 27, Cullen was hailed as a game-changer who would revolutionise Munster’s attacking game and bring them to European glory. He had the stats to back it up as well, with 46 tries in 56 Tests matches for the men in black.
But the Munster faithful never got to see the electric Kiwi as his free-running best. Cullen would endure four difficult years struggling with shoulder and knee injuries, making just 44 appearances across four seasons.
Years later, sitting in his bar on Wellington’s waterfront, Cullen recalled to us how that spell in his career is tinged with regret. ‘Japan may have been easier on my body… I’ll never know, but one thing I do know is that I have lifelong friends in Ireland and they’re a good bunch of people.
‘I was disappointed not to play more for the supporters. I feel bad in that sense, but there was nothing I could do. I think when I wasn’t injured, I did okay.’
In terms of overseas signings, Munster’s luck began to turn after that. Jim Williams arrived in 2001 and made a big impact, Trevor Halstead was central to the maiden European success in 2006 and the Kiwi trio of Rua Tipoki, Lifeimi Mafi and Doug Howlett were the stars of the 2008 repeat.
European glory has proven elusive since and over that period the ‘Cullen curse’ has resurfaced to an extent, when it comes to Munster’s marquee signings.
When RG Snyman limped off the field on the hour mark in last Sunday’s win at the Scarlets, it was the latest setback for the giant Springbok. The former Bulls lock, who had arrived in Limerick to great fanfare along with fellow World Cup winner Damian de Allende. Snyman, lasted just seven minutes into his debut against Leinster in August 2020. When he was finally turning the corner after an exhaustive rehabilitation process for his busted ACL, he suffered serious burns in a fire pit accident at the tail-end of last season.
The Munster medics carefully managed his comeback this season. In his third cameo from the bench, he re-ruptured the same knee. Back to the treatment room for another long stretch of recovery. Snyman is out of contract next summer.
It is the latest in a long line of walking wounded. Tyler Bleyendaal and Joey Carbery were both sourced from outside the organisation to solve a problem at No10. Bleyendaal was blighted by neck injuries and retired, at age 29, in May of last year. Carbery has endured a hellish 18 months and is still trying to rediscover his best form at the moment.
Highly-rated Nick Williams also joined, but injury issues ensured the behemoth No 8 was a shadow of himself at Munster before carving out an impressive career with Aironi, Ulster and Cardiff.
And, there was also Jean de Villiers, the pin-up boy of South African rugby in the late 2000s, who spent one forgettable season at the province before calling it quits. Recent signing Jason Jenkins is currently injured, too.
Talk of jinxes and curses is always to be treated sceptically but there is no question Munster have not been blessed with much fortune when it comes to overseas signings – they may be elite players from different generations and cultures but if RG Snyman met Christian Cullen for a pint in Wellington, they’d have more in common than you would think.
‘i felt bad for supporters but there was nothing i could do’