'RG said 'coach, I got past 7 minutes' which was brilliant'
The return to the playing field of Springbok lock RG Snyman may have been a footnote in Saturday’s 42-17 United Rugby Championship opening win for Munster over the Cell C Sharks, but for more reasons than one it was massive.
Snyman last appeared for his Irish club in his debut, lasted only seven minutes before coming down hard from a lineout and tore knee ligaments that kept him out for longer than expected.
He was in a race against time to get fit for the Springboks’ test series against the British and Irish Lions, but a freak firepit incident saw him and fellow Bok Damian de Allende sustain serious burns – so much so that he was forced to leave the Bok camp before the series for a skin graft.
And then, when the Boks were due to head to Australia for the Rugby Championship, a family bereavement stopped him from boarding the plane to join his Springboks.
So it is understandable that there was more than just a few smiles when the Springbok World Cup winner finally made it onto the field, giving a glimpse of what Munster fans have been hoping to see. And what the Boks have been missing.
Snyman is no ordinary rugby player. His athleticism and size make him an integral part of the Bok forward pack and the hope is that he can get some good game time for Munster before perhaps joining the Springboks for their November tour.
On Saturday, Munster and former Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan sang his praises and said he hoped Snyman’s return would spark something special in his side. But Van Graan poured cold water on thoughts Snyman may burst back into action in the starting line-up, and indicated the road back to a start may be a bit longer for the big lock.
“When we recruited RG we saw something in him that can make a big difference to our team and specifically to our group,” Van Graan said
“When you look at players you don’t look only at what they can do on the pitch but also off the pitch. In my view he’s a phenomenal rugby player and an incredible human being so we missed those two things last season, the fact that we couldn’t have him.
“And the excitement to have him available for this season. I want to stress again that he’s come through such a lot both on and off the pitch that I’m certainly not going to rush him back into the starting team. We’ll take our time and when he’s ready for that I will pick him.
“We only saw glimpses tonight, the poach and the offload, the carries will come, the hits will come, the lineout steals will come.
“The one thing I didn’t mention is that kick-off he took, his movement on the floor, so I certainly rate him very highly, that’s why I signed him and he’s a massive, massive part of our group going forward.”
Van Graan said Snyman was “excited” at making it through the game and was chomping at the bit to play.
“He was very excited. We said that we won’t put him on the pitch if he’s not ready. He’ll get a lot fitter but his knees are good and he came on and made that poach straight away and in that last try, the way that he got that ball away on the touchline, that offload shows what he can do.
“He’s got a long way to go in terms of building up minutes and we’ll look after him carefully but in terms of him being excited to play, inside (the dressing room) he said ‘coach, I got past seven minutes’ which was brilliant.”
While short-term the Boks may keep an eye on him, both Munster and the Boks want Snyman to be fit long-term. And that in itself would be the prize for both the Irish club and the World Champions.
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
29 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
29 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
29 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
29 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
29 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments