ALMOST TWO MONTHS ago to the day, a capacity crowd at Musgrave Park frothed with anticipation every time RG Snyman got out of his seat.
The giant Springbok lock was finally back at Munster’s disposal, named among Graham Rowntree’s replacements against the Scarlets having completed a painstaking 18-month rehabilitation on a re-ruptured ACL.
That had been Snyman’s second ACL tear in Munster colours and, consequently, the World Cup-winning lock had played less than an hour’s rugby across four games since his arrival at the southern province in the summer of 2020.
A run of such misfortune would have spelled the end for most athletes but just over an hour into Munster’s eventual 49-42 victory over Scarlets on Leeside, Snyman reiterated to the rugby world that he’s not most athletes, trotting onto the field and resuming his career to a hero’s reception.
“Yeah, it was a special game,” Snyman beams. “I’d been down to a couple of the Cork games while I was injured and it’s such an interesting thing because you sort of sit in the same spot [as the fans]; being on the bench that night, you’re sort of part of the crowd.
“Getting up to do the warm-up and stuff, such a good ovation… And then finally getting onto the field… It’s an absolute pleasure to be back.
“It was actually also great, every time I went for a warm-up, there was some people behind the posts kept asking me am I six-foot-eight. ‘Six-foot-eight? Six-foot-eight?’ I just left it off and eventually they started asking if I was six-foot-nine, and I left it off again. So, it was like every time I got back there to warm up, it was as if I’d grown an inch or two,” Snyman laughs.
The real answer?
“If it’s from me, I’m going to say seven foot!
“Finally getting some good game time”, the Springbok continues, “it’s honestly just been great. It’s maybe a bit of an awkward time in the season to join back in with the team but the guys have been great in accommodating me and getting me up to speed pretty quickly.”
That’s been the way since Snyman suffered an ACL tear just seven minutes into his Munster debut against Leinster in August 2020.
He and his wife Saskia had barely found their bearings in Limerick when the injury gods first conspired against Snyman, condemning him to the physio room for the first year of his Munster career. Snyman admits that he found it “really difficult” to begin with, “especially with Covid playing a factor when we first got here.”
“It is difficult being away from family and being so far from home, in a new environment,” he adds. “The weather is a big one, just to get used to it. When we first got here, guys were like, ‘Listen, the weather’s gonna be a challenge.’ And we got here and it was sort of summer, and we were like, ‘This is unbelievable, it’s fine? What are people complaining about?’
“Then it turned to winter… And I think that’s enough said about that, you know?” Snyman laughs.
“The guys have really been great, though. They reached out at the start when we first got here, making sure we settled in and got to know everyone around the building and things like that. Being away from home was really difficult but the guys here really stepped up.”
The people around him at Munster remained crucial during Snyman’s second, longer stint out with injury, too. “I think I’m a positive person in general,” he says, explaining that he never truly doubted that he would be able to come back from his ACL re-rupture in October 2021.
“Obviously, something like that will get you down at times but I think the friends I’ve made here at Munster, and the support from the guys on the physio team, has been unbelievable.
“It’s at times like that that you have to fall back on that support system of yours, and they always kept me positive.”
Snyman says that a part of the work he did during his final block of training before returning to the field was specifically geared towards ensuring that the injury doesn’t play on his mind, even subconsciously.
He has featured in four of Munster’s last five games, starting two, and has already almost tripled his previously accrued game time for the southern province.
Having missed out on the final regular-season fixture away to the Sharks with a head injury, he’s back in contention to face Glasgow in Saturday’s quarter-final.
He’s also looking forward to potentially linking up with another man whose return to full training this week will prove a huge boost for Munster as they seek to extend their season beyond Scotstoun.
“I must say, I think our timing hasn’t really worked out that well,” Snyman says of his fellow lock Tadhg Beirne. “We seem to never really get on the field together.
“Tadhg’s a great guy. I’ve spent some time off-field with him as well and learned a lot from him in the game. I think the way he plays the game is just pure class.
“He’s also got a certain way of doing things where, it just doesn’t matter what situation you put Tadhg in; he never seems to panic.
“He’s always calm and collected. I think the way he plays the game is absolutely brilliant.”
Roman Salanoa and Niall Scannell are also back in full training for Munster ahead of Saturday, while Keith Earls has undergone an MRI for a groin injury sustained against the Sharks and will miss out. Paddy Patterson, meanwhile, is out longer-term after having surgery on his ACL.
