IT’S NOT THAT long ago that Thaakir Abrahams and his wife, Tasneem, were enjoying the hustle and bustle of big-city life in Lyon.
The South African natives are not naturally city folk but they came to love being able to walk out of their apartment onto a street full of restaurants and cafés during Abrahams’ single season playing in the Top 14.
Life now in the lovely village of Castleconnell, a short drive from Limerick, is different.
It suits the outdoorsy Abrahams, who have a 16-month-old daughter, Diyaana. A second baby girl is on the way very soon.
Thaakir’s job with Munster is keeping him busy – he starts on the wing against Leinster today in Croke Park – but his phone is on loud all the time, while Tasneem has Munster team manager Martyn Vercoe’s number just in case her husband is out on the pitch when the time comes.
“It’s the last few weeks now, so my wife is ready any moment now,” says Abrahams.
“It’s an exciting time for us, and our firstborn is obviously keeping us busy. We don’t know yet how she’s going to be because at the moment, she’s giving her mother’s tummy kisses and, you know, quite cuddly, but we don’t know because it’s another girl!”
A few years ago, the Abrahams couldn’t have imagined having an Irish-born daughter but they are enjoying life here after a challenging start to Thaakir’s time with Munster.
He had to move to Munster when Diyaana was only a month old. Leaving his wife and daughter behind in Lyon was hard. They subsequently went home to South Africa in order to get a passport for Diyaana, meaning Thaakir had four long months on his own in Ireland before they could join him.
Getting to grips with his new team meant Abrahams had plenty of distractions in Limerick and he got a brilliant welcome, with lots of his Munster team-mates messaging him even before he had arrived in Ireland.
But Abrahams says he felt a lot of guilt during that time. And even when he was reunited with his daughter, it was tough.
“When she got here, she obviously didn’t didn’t recognise me,” says 26-year-old Abrahams.
Tasneem, Thaakir, and Diyaana Abrahams. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“So every time I held her, she would look at me and start crying. So it was… it wasn’t frustrating but sad in a way.
“That was the first two weeks, but now she’s just stuck to me the whole time! Every morning when I have to leave, it’s a bit of crying at home, but she gets over it.”
Diyaana loves going to playschool in the mornings and she’s always on the move at home. There are horses on the land where the Abrahams rent their house in Castleconnell and they try to get out and about around County Limerick as much as possible.
Remarkably, one of Tasneem’s old school friends had been living in Limerick for around six years before they arrived, so that helped with the settling-in period. Tasneem is also somehow fitting in her study for a Masters degree in Law, so it’s all go. Her mother will be over to stay with them soon after the impending second arrival.
This happy story off the pitch has helped Abrahams to show more of his class on it for Munster.
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Last season, his first with Munster, was “up and down.” Amid that tough initial period in 2024, he suffered a hamstring injury in just his second game. He returned in November but was then dealt another big blow as a shoulder injury in December ruled him out for nearly four months.
Yet Abrahams finished the season superbly, showing his thrilling footwork and speed, mainly from fullback. His stunning linebreak against La Rochelle to set up a try for Craig Casey was among the highlights.
These skills were first honed on Willow Avenue in the South African town of Paarl. It’s a place of around 300,000 people in the winelands close to Cape Town.
His family all loved rugby. Abrahams’ father played for Vineyards RFC, as did plenty of other relatives, and he had an uncle on his mother’s side who was part of the Springboks set-up during the apartheid years, meaning he couldn’t win a cap.
Abrahams’ family lived in the New Orleans area of Paarl, with his grandmother in the nearby Charleston Hill, and there were lots of cousins dotted around close by.
So they used to gather for endless games of touch rugby on Willow Avenue, a quiet cul-de-sac.
“Touch was a big thing for us, playing in the streets,” says Abrahams.
“With the cousins, friends, neighbours, everyone’s in the street just playing touch rugby, so that was big for us growing up. It was just a rugby ball every time, everywhere.
Abrahams scores for the Sharks against Leinster in 2022. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s a smallish road, so like you put five or six guys against each other and you’re just trying to find space.”
Abrahams’ remarkable footwork makes sense given that background, although he wasn’t able to properly playing rugby until he was around nine years old due to a visual impairment.
“I had played rugby but I had glasses, so obviously for the games I had to take them off.
“I was just all over the place. It was hard catching the ball, but you’re only six or seven so you’re just running around.”
Getting contact lenses when he was nine was a game-changer. He made a name for himself when he went to school at Paarl Boys High, which has produced Springboks like Frans Malherbe, Corné Krige, and Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Paarl Boys High and the nearby Paarl Gimnasium have one of the biggest schoolboy rivalries in the world, with the annual Paarl derby known to draw crowds of more than 20,000 people.
“It gets busy,” says Abrahams with a smile. But he had to work hard to get to the point where he was featuring for Paarl Boys’ first team. 5ft 9ins Abrahams had to show great perseverance during his youth.
“It was hard for me because I’m always the smallest guy on the team,” he says.
“In school, in the beginning, they didn’t really see me playing that big a role. So I was in the B team and never got chosen but, as the years went on, I grew in my game, and that’s when I started playing in the A teams. I guess from around 16 or 17, I showed a bit more.
“But it was always a struggle. You have to show that you can do it. You just have to be on top of your game the whole time.”
When he did make the top grade, those huge school games certainly prepared him for the pro game. His younger brother, Umair, plays rugby at Paarl Boys High now.
Abrahams grew up in Western Province and Stormers territory, but he was “open-minded” about what might happen after school and his chance came with the Sharks in Durban.
Abrahams breaks against La Rochelle last season. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
It meant moving more than 1,500km across South Africa at the age of 18, but it helped that a crop of young players Abrahams knew from home were in the same boat. Among them was Boeta Chamberlain, now with Newcastle, who had played with Abrahams in Paarl Boys High.
Abrahams had lots to learn but, having starred for the South Africa U20 team in 2019, opportunities on the pitch weren’t as plentiful as he would have liked with the Sharks in the three seasons that followed, although he did get to play against the British and Irish Lions twice in 2021.
Experienced wings like Makazole Mapimpi and Werner Kok were ahead of him and though Abrahams showed his class on several occasions, including a brace of tries against Leinster in 2022, he was happy to accept an offer from Lyon in the summer of 2023.
Though he has left South African soil, Abrahams still harbours ambitions of playing for the Springboks. There is plenty of recent evidence that Rassie Erasmus is watching South African players dotted around the world.
“I’m just focused on being the best player that I can,” says Abrahams. “If the opportunity comes, I’d obviously grab it with both hands, and it’s just being prepared when the opportunity comes.
“At the moment, for me, it’s just about producing the best rugby I can.”
His single season in France was enjoyable, even if the language barrier was challenging. Abrahams scored seven tries in nine starts at fullback and on the wing, but a few injury issues along the way hindered him.
Munster came calling last year and it felt like the right next step for his career. His first-ever URC game for the Sharks was away to the Irish province at Thomond Park in 2021, when he played against lots of guys who are now his team-mates.
He remembers being “blown away” by the stadium and says that Munster remain a big name around the rugby world, including in South Africa. Abrahams felt it was an opportunity too good to turn down.
And he’s happy he decided to come to Ireland. He believes his game has improved a huge deal in the last 16 months or so, particularly his scanning for space and his tactical awareness.
Abrahams starts against Leinster today. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
For their part, Munster are delighted with what Abrahams has brought. He has obvious x-factor in attack and they’ve had him working hard on his defence.
Abrahams won Munster’s internal man-of-the-match award for his defensive performance in their gritty win over Cardiff recently, and now they just want to get the ball into his hands as often as possible.
Abrahams has finally cracked a few of the tougher accents in the Munster changing room and with his family content, he feels like he’s in the right place.
Having joined on a two-year contract in 2024, Abrahams is open to the idea of extending his deal beyond the end of this season.
“I love the place and the missus loves the place. It’s a good set-up, you can’t complain.
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'It was hard because I'm always the smallest guy on the team'
IT’S NOT THAT long ago that Thaakir Abrahams and his wife, Tasneem, were enjoying the hustle and bustle of big-city life in Lyon.
The South African natives are not naturally city folk but they came to love being able to walk out of their apartment onto a street full of restaurants and cafés during Abrahams’ single season playing in the Top 14.
Life now in the lovely village of Castleconnell, a short drive from Limerick, is different.
It suits the outdoorsy Abrahams, who have a 16-month-old daughter, Diyaana. A second baby girl is on the way very soon.
Thaakir’s job with Munster is keeping him busy – he starts on the wing against Leinster today in Croke Park – but his phone is on loud all the time, while Tasneem has Munster team manager Martyn Vercoe’s number just in case her husband is out on the pitch when the time comes.
“It’s the last few weeks now, so my wife is ready any moment now,” says Abrahams.
“It’s an exciting time for us, and our firstborn is obviously keeping us busy. We don’t know yet how she’s going to be because at the moment, she’s giving her mother’s tummy kisses and, you know, quite cuddly, but we don’t know because it’s another girl!”
A few years ago, the Abrahams couldn’t have imagined having an Irish-born daughter but they are enjoying life here after a challenging start to Thaakir’s time with Munster.
He had to move to Munster when Diyaana was only a month old. Leaving his wife and daughter behind in Lyon was hard. They subsequently went home to South Africa in order to get a passport for Diyaana, meaning Thaakir had four long months on his own in Ireland before they could join him.
Getting to grips with his new team meant Abrahams had plenty of distractions in Limerick and he got a brilliant welcome, with lots of his Munster team-mates messaging him even before he had arrived in Ireland.
But Abrahams says he felt a lot of guilt during that time. And even when he was reunited with his daughter, it was tough.
“When she got here, she obviously didn’t didn’t recognise me,” says 26-year-old Abrahams.
“So every time I held her, she would look at me and start crying. So it was… it wasn’t frustrating but sad in a way.
“That was the first two weeks, but now she’s just stuck to me the whole time! Every morning when I have to leave, it’s a bit of crying at home, but she gets over it.”
Diyaana loves going to playschool in the mornings and she’s always on the move at home. There are horses on the land where the Abrahams rent their house in Castleconnell and they try to get out and about around County Limerick as much as possible.
Remarkably, one of Tasneem’s old school friends had been living in Limerick for around six years before they arrived, so that helped with the settling-in period. Tasneem is also somehow fitting in her study for a Masters degree in Law, so it’s all go. Her mother will be over to stay with them soon after the impending second arrival.
This happy story off the pitch has helped Abrahams to show more of his class on it for Munster.
Last season, his first with Munster, was “up and down.” Amid that tough initial period in 2024, he suffered a hamstring injury in just his second game. He returned in November but was then dealt another big blow as a shoulder injury in December ruled him out for nearly four months.
Yet Abrahams finished the season superbly, showing his thrilling footwork and speed, mainly from fullback. His stunning linebreak against La Rochelle to set up a try for Craig Casey was among the highlights.
These skills were first honed on Willow Avenue in the South African town of Paarl. It’s a place of around 300,000 people in the winelands close to Cape Town.
His family all loved rugby. Abrahams’ father played for Vineyards RFC, as did plenty of other relatives, and he had an uncle on his mother’s side who was part of the Springboks set-up during the apartheid years, meaning he couldn’t win a cap.
Abrahams’ family lived in the New Orleans area of Paarl, with his grandmother in the nearby Charleston Hill, and there were lots of cousins dotted around close by.
So they used to gather for endless games of touch rugby on Willow Avenue, a quiet cul-de-sac.
“Touch was a big thing for us, playing in the streets,” says Abrahams.
“With the cousins, friends, neighbours, everyone’s in the street just playing touch rugby, so that was big for us growing up. It was just a rugby ball every time, everywhere.
“It’s a smallish road, so like you put five or six guys against each other and you’re just trying to find space.”
Abrahams’ remarkable footwork makes sense given that background, although he wasn’t able to properly playing rugby until he was around nine years old due to a visual impairment.
“I had played rugby but I had glasses, so obviously for the games I had to take them off.
“I was just all over the place. It was hard catching the ball, but you’re only six or seven so you’re just running around.”
Getting contact lenses when he was nine was a game-changer. He made a name for himself when he went to school at Paarl Boys High, which has produced Springboks like Frans Malherbe, Corné Krige, and Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Paarl Boys High and the nearby Paarl Gimnasium have one of the biggest schoolboy rivalries in the world, with the annual Paarl derby known to draw crowds of more than 20,000 people.
“It gets busy,” says Abrahams with a smile. But he had to work hard to get to the point where he was featuring for Paarl Boys’ first team. 5ft 9ins Abrahams had to show great perseverance during his youth.
“It was hard for me because I’m always the smallest guy on the team,” he says.
“In school, in the beginning, they didn’t really see me playing that big a role. So I was in the B team and never got chosen but, as the years went on, I grew in my game, and that’s when I started playing in the A teams. I guess from around 16 or 17, I showed a bit more.
“But it was always a struggle. You have to show that you can do it. You just have to be on top of your game the whole time.”
When he did make the top grade, those huge school games certainly prepared him for the pro game. His younger brother, Umair, plays rugby at Paarl Boys High now.
Abrahams grew up in Western Province and Stormers territory, but he was “open-minded” about what might happen after school and his chance came with the Sharks in Durban.
It meant moving more than 1,500km across South Africa at the age of 18, but it helped that a crop of young players Abrahams knew from home were in the same boat. Among them was Boeta Chamberlain, now with Newcastle, who had played with Abrahams in Paarl Boys High.
Abrahams had lots to learn but, having starred for the South Africa U20 team in 2019, opportunities on the pitch weren’t as plentiful as he would have liked with the Sharks in the three seasons that followed, although he did get to play against the British and Irish Lions twice in 2021.
Experienced wings like Makazole Mapimpi and Werner Kok were ahead of him and though Abrahams showed his class on several occasions, including a brace of tries against Leinster in 2022, he was happy to accept an offer from Lyon in the summer of 2023.
Though he has left South African soil, Abrahams still harbours ambitions of playing for the Springboks. There is plenty of recent evidence that Rassie Erasmus is watching South African players dotted around the world.
“I’m just focused on being the best player that I can,” says Abrahams. “If the opportunity comes, I’d obviously grab it with both hands, and it’s just being prepared when the opportunity comes.
“At the moment, for me, it’s just about producing the best rugby I can.”
His single season in France was enjoyable, even if the language barrier was challenging. Abrahams scored seven tries in nine starts at fullback and on the wing, but a few injury issues along the way hindered him.
Munster came calling last year and it felt like the right next step for his career. His first-ever URC game for the Sharks was away to the Irish province at Thomond Park in 2021, when he played against lots of guys who are now his team-mates.
He remembers being “blown away” by the stadium and says that Munster remain a big name around the rugby world, including in South Africa. Abrahams felt it was an opportunity too good to turn down.
And he’s happy he decided to come to Ireland. He believes his game has improved a huge deal in the last 16 months or so, particularly his scanning for space and his tactical awareness.
For their part, Munster are delighted with what Abrahams has brought. He has obvious x-factor in attack and they’ve had him working hard on his defence.
Abrahams won Munster’s internal man-of-the-match award for his defensive performance in their gritty win over Cardiff recently, and now they just want to get the ball into his hands as often as possible.
Abrahams has finally cracked a few of the tougher accents in the Munster changing room and with his family content, he feels like he’s in the right place.
Having joined on a two-year contract in 2024, Abrahams is open to the idea of extending his deal beyond the end of this season.
“I love the place and the missus loves the place. It’s a good set-up, you can’t complain.
“For us, it’s a good place to be.”
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