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The Munster update that will pique the interest of the Springboks
By Liam Heagney
It’s taken an eternity for RG Snyman to get fit but 2019 Springboks World Cup winner is finally poised to play his first match for Munster in 17 months this weekend. Not since an October 2021 game versus Scarlets has the giant lock been available for selection but that has now changed following the latest squad update from the Irish province.
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A statement on Monday read: “On the injury front, RG Snyman returned to training with the squad in recent weeks and is available for selection.”
That development would be huge for a club now coached by Graham Rowntree. ACL injuries meant that Snyman has only ever played four matches for Munster since his arrival there in the summer of 2020 after he remained in Japan following the World Cup to play for Honda Heat.
However, with Munster now set to enter the business end of the 2022/23 season that will feature a round of 16 Heineken Champions Cup match in Durban versus the Sharks on April 1, the return of Snyman is very timely.
That European date is especially important and aside from potentially increasing Munster’s chances of victory, the availability of Snyman also sets up the appetising prospect of him going up against Eben Etzebeth, his old Springboks engine room colleague.
The Springboks have been frustrated by the regular changes they have had to make to their second row in recent years, Etzebeth having a number of different partnerships due to injury and form. For instance, he was respectively paired with Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert and Marvin Orie when starting the Autumn Nations Series against Ireland, France and England.
You can be sure then that this imminent comeback of Snyman to the Munster fold will be closely monitored by Rassie Erasmus and co with the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France now just over six months away for the Springboks.
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Aside from the promising update regarding Snyman, Munster will also welcome back Joey Carbery, Jack Crowley, Gavin Coombes and Roman Salanoa after they weren’t retained by Andy Farrell for this week’s two-day Ireland training camp. Crowley played the last couple of minutes off the Test bench in Rome last Saturday.
