Munster need to put tough week in the past, fast
FOR a player who has only made 10 appearances for Munster in three years, RG Snyman has made an awful lot of headlines.
It’s been quite the saga since the giant South African landed at Thomond Park in 2020. Back-to-back ACL injuries, a fire-pit incident, a star turn for the Springboks at the World Cup and yet another injury setback just as he was about to return for Munster duty with a medal around his neck.
There was a collective sigh amongst the fanbase when that happened. Snyman has joined a list of marquee names who were blighted by injury once they landed in Limerick, a list which includes Christian Cullen and Tyler Bleyendaal.
Others like Jean de Villiers and Damian de Allende didn’t quite live up to the hype. Nick Williams arrived as a highly-rated backrower but was quickly farmed out. He would eventually become a brilliant operator with Cardiff Blues. Munster fans have every right to feel they are a bit cursed when it comes to big signings.
Revelations that Snyman is set for a sensational switch to Leinster in the summer will be galling. But Snyman hasn’t really done anything wrong.
Careers can be short and players need to get the best deal. Chat about loyalty is all well and good but tell that to the players who were plying their trade with Wasps, London Irish and Worcester after all three English Premiership clubs went bust.
Snyman had rotten luck with injuries and, understandably, when it was time to sit down and negotiate a new deal, Munster were reticent to offer the 28-year-old a fresh extension. Jean Kleyn was secured instead.
So, Snyman had to seek pastures new. Linking up with Johann van Graan at Bath looked likely at one stage while the Sharks and Stormers were seemingly looking to bring the Bok lock home as well.
But Leinster, it seems, have managed to turn Snyman’s head. No doubt, they had a considerable offer on the table. Snyman is an ambitious character as well, though.
He has two World Cup medals and the lure of joining a European heavyweight as well as working alongside Jacques Nienaber again was seemingly an offer he couldn’t refuse.
It will be tough for Munster fans to swallow. Especially if Snyman puts his injury woes behind him and replicates those ‘Bomb Squad’ displays in a Leinster shirt in the years ahead.
It’s not personal, it’s business. It’s worth remembering that Andrew Conway, Felix Jones, Joey Carbery, Tadhg Beirne, Jeremy Loughman and Roman Salanoa were all products of the Leinster system before they journeyed south down the M7. Eventually, Snyman is going to be making headlines again for what he does on the pitch. It sounds like it’s going to be in a Leinster jersey.
It seems like the right time for Graham Rowntree and this squad to draw a line under the whole thing and move on.
Because the province have been moving in a different direction for a while anyway. The days of relying on Leinster fringe players and imports are a thing of the past.
Munster are finally producing talented homegrown players at a prolific rate, a core of youngsters who spearheaded last season’s charge to the URC title.
Can this group go one better and land a Champions Cup? Last weekend’s dire draw against a secondstring Bayonne suggested that this is a work in progress.
Munster’s pack still lacks a bit of ballast. Some raw power. Snyman was brought in to alleviate such a problem.
Injuries haven’t helped. A sizeable crew of experienced campaigners are still out of action, characters likes Peter O’Mahony, Dave Kilcoyne and Kleyn. The kind of tough customers you need for an assignment like this afternoon at Sandy Park.
Exeter are a tough nut to crack on their home turf. They will fancy a crack at a Munster pack which looks a bit patched together – a pack which has Gavin Coombes at lock and Jack O’Donoghue at No8. Defeat today could spell the end of the province’s European ambitions for another season and would cap off a miserable week all round.
Then again, it’s all set up for one of those classic, backs-to-the-wall displays on the road. Rowntree’s Munster, lest we forget, won the league title on the back of away wins in Scotstoun, the Aviva and Cape Town.
It would be no surprise to see this young, injury-ravaged squad sack Sandy Park and get their Champions Cup campaign back on track.
They certainly have the personnel to do it. Shane Daly, Antoine Frisch and Craig Casey are back to inject some vim and verve into the backs while Diarmuid Barron returns to offer some calm and assurance at hooker. Tadhg Beirne, Tom Ahern and John Hodnett have been in a stellar form while the bench is laced with impact.
And, despite some issues up front, they have been playing superb attacking rugby of late. Plenty to get excited about.
Snyman’s exit may leave a bitter taste but Munster won’t look back in anger.
EXETER CHIEFS: T Wyatt; O Woodburn, H Slade, J Hawkins, B Hammersley; H Skinner, T Cairnes; S Sio, D Frost, E Painter; R Tuima, D Jenkins; L Pearson, J Vermuelen, G Fisilau. Reps: M Norey, N Abuladze, M Street, J Dunne, R Vintcent, S Townsend, O Devoto, R O’Loughlin.
MUNSTER: S Daly; C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell, S O’Brien; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, D Barron, S Archer; G Coombes, T Beirne; T Ahern, J Hodnett, J O’Donoghue. Reps: E Clarke, J Wycherley, O Jager, B Gleeson, A Kendellen, C Murray, R Scannell, B O’Connor.
REFEREE: M Raynal (France).
TV: Kick-off at 1pm, Sandy Park. LIVE on UTV/ TNT Sports from 12.30.