THERE HAVE BEEN more ‘comebacks’ than he would have wanted in his spell with Munster but every time that RG Snyman makes his return in the red jersey, the sheer quality is blatantly obvious.
This is one of the best rugby players we’re talking about. Sure, he might not start for the Springboks but he has been crucial to their back-to-back World Cup successes, offering totemic impact as part of their Bomb Squad.
You probably don’t need reminding of his travails with Munster. Since joining in 2020, Snyman has played just 13 times for the province due to injuries. Only seven of those appearances have been in the starting XV.
Remarkably, he has never started a game for Munster at Thomond Park. That was supposed to finally happen last weekend, with Snyman named to start the URC clash against Cardiff in Limerick, but he had to pull out with a virus.
Snyman was missed. Badly. He had racked up three consecutive starts for the province in recent months after recovering from the shoulder/chest issue he returned from last year’s World Cup with.
Snyman’s impact was clear in wins over Scarlets, Zebre, and the Ospreys. Offloading, powerful carrying, more bite in the tackle, lineout and maul and scrum work.
He finished Munster’s fourth try against the Ospreys with relative ease from five metres out.
The offload he throws below is characteristically creative.
The effort below comes in the build-up to Snyman’s own try.
Against Zebre, there was a try-assisting offload from Snyman that showed his ingenuity.
Watch as he dummies an offload to sell the Zebre fullback into shifting wider, holds the ball in his fingertips, then instead offloads off the ground for Ruadhan Quinn to score.
The opposition is relatively weak, of course, but Snyman still brings a unique combination of physical and technical skill.
His work in the set-piece is high-quality and he has even learned to call lineouts during his time with Munster, but that stuff is a little more replaceable when he’s missing.
No one can replicate what Snyman brings to the Munster attack.
He was missed against Cardiff, particularly that ability to get Munster over the gainline through his physical carrying or jaw-dropping offloads. The 6ft 9ins behemoth takes some stopping and Munster’s is a squad light on heavyweight ball-carriers.
The growing hope is that Snyman will be back for this Sunday’s Champions Cup knock-out clash with Northampton. Munster are on the road in the Round of 16 and Snyman’s availability could be game-changing.
“He’s an outrageously gifted rugby player, isn’t he?” said Munster defence coach Denis Leamy yesterday.
“He’s experienced, he’s a double World Cup winner. When he speaks, guys listen and he’s a very impressive person, a very impressive man and just his physicality and his ability on the ball, really gives you something.
“He’s a very, very good player. So, fingers crossed he makes it through the next few days.”
Snyman has always come across as one of the quieter players in the Munster squad, so it was interesting to hear Leamy mention his ability to speak impressively.
“I tell you, he speaks exactly the right amount,” said the former Munster back row.
“He doesn’t over speak, which is a skill in itself and he’s very good. He’s very measured and he knows the right time to interject and give his opinion, and when he does it’s always good stuff.”
Munster had named Snyman as part of an impressive back five of the forward pack last weekend along with captain Tadhg Beirne, blindside Peter O’Mahony, openside John Hodnett, and number eight Gavin Coombes.
If Snyman is ready, you’d imagine Munster will go with that selection again, meaning Tom Ahern would be in a bench impact role – something which is sure to be important in Northampton.
Snyman knows this is the final chapter of his time with Munster. His move to Leinster is now looming. Word from within Munster camp is that he is determined to finish with a bang before he makes the inter-provincial move.
Snyman knows that Munster showed great faith to give him another two-year contract in 2022 despite the lock having played just four times in his first two seasons.
He remains a popular figure within the Munster squad, even if there was some surprise about him signing for Leinster, and team-mates have appreciated his good humour and energy even during his long spells on the sidelines. The Munster coaching staff have also been happy to see Snyman working closely with other locks in the squad.
But the province signed him and re-contracted him to help them win trophies.
Snyman played his part in the URC run-in last season and now they need an even bigger impact from the high-profile, high-cost Springbok lock.
A huge performance this weekend in Northampton would be fitting after all of the frustration of the past four seasons.
