O’Mahony is in awe of Snyman

“I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s an incredible specimen.”

That is how Munster captain Peter O’Mahony described Springbok lock RG Snyman (above), who recently joined the Irish club along with Bok centre Damian de Allende. O’Mahony told the Irish Examiner he had seen the impact that overseas signings had on Irish teams, and he believed the arrival of Snyman and De Allende could have a positive effect.

The duo were set to strengthen South African ties with Munster, previously coached by SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, and are currently under the guidance of former Bok assistant coach Johann van Graan.

“It’s great to have signed guys of that calibre,” O’Mahony said.

“You go through the (Irish) provinces which have won the European Cup and the Pro14, and they have had world-class signings in nearly every one of them.”

The 25-year-old Snyman, who has 23 Bok caps, and De Allende, who boasts 47 caps, had stints with Honda Heat and Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan after last year’s World Cup triumph.

“They’re the kind of signings – obviously they’re well paid – that are worth every cent and they make a big difference through their play, their commitment to the club, their accessibility,” O’Mahony added.

The Ireland flanker cited the influence that previous imports such as Doug Howlett, Trevor Halstead and Rua Tipoki had in helping turn Munster into Heineken Cup winners a dozen years ago.

“They are calibre player that you sign to win trophies with. It’s very encouraging to be signing players in that league,” O’Mahony said.

The 2.07m, 117kg Snyman had already made big waves, even though he and De Allende had to enter self-isolation after their arrival at Munster.

“I haven’t come across Damian. He is in a different group. RG is in my group and he is an incredible specimen altogether,” O’Mahony said. Though the Munster skipper hadn’t played yet with Snyman, he had seen footage of him in action.