RG Snyman arrived into Ireland when the sun was splitting the stones, but that seems like a long time ago.
Since arriving in Limerick, and quarantining for two weeks, RG Snyman has got the opportunity to meet his new Munster teammates. Last week saw him finally crack off some tackling pads and July 27 will see pre-season ramp up with contact sessions permitted.
We are just under five weeks – all going well – until Leinster and Munster face off at the Aviva Stadium in an inter-provincial clash that will kick-start rugby here. With both squads expecting to be relatively clear of injuries, it tees up a number of potential fascinating battles. Take the second rows, for example:
MUNSTER – RG Snyman, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne, Billy Holland, Fineen Wycherley
LEINSTER – James Ryan, Scott Fardy, Devin Toner, Ryan Baird, Rory Moloney
Pick any pair from that list of five, on each side, and we are in for a treat. Munster will be without Joey Carbery for those inter-pro games but hope Damien De Allende, Beirne and Keith Earls will all catch up in their pre-season training to be in the selection mix. As for Snyman, he is itching to go:
“I can’t wait to get back out on the field, and especially wearing the red of Munster,” he says. “I’m very excited to be part of this team, and part of this club, and the culture here. The sooner I can get on the field, the better for me. I can’t wait.”
Like Leinster, the Munster senior squad are now in the middle of two weeks of down-time. By the time they get back to it, at their High Performance Centre at University of Limerick, they will have Chris Cloete and CJ Stander at their disposal.
Munster’s JJ Hanrahan, CJ Stander and Mike Haley. (Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile)With a number of younger players making positive impressions before the season went on pause, there is well-founded reason for optimism around Munster. Scrum-half Craig Casey told us:
“Our goal really stays the same – to win the PRO14. I don’t think we’ll be happy with anything other than that… As a team, we’re ready to take a trophy home now. It’s been a while and we are an ambitious group. It hurts that we haven’t won a trophy in a while but it has been coming and we won’t be happy unless we win it this year.”
The province has (below) provided rugby supporters a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what the players go through now, under new Covid-19 safety procedures, when they arrive at the HPC. Munster team manager Niall O’Donovan says:
“All the players want to get back on the field on the 22 of August. All the staff want to get back. It might be playing in an empty stadium at the start but hopefully that may build as the season goes on. That’s the goal and everyone is going the extra mile to make sure that we do play. Like, there’s a lot at stake here for everybody. Livelihoods are at stake and we need to make sure we get it right.”
The full video is worth a watch as it gives you an idea of what the Munster players do each training day in this altered state of affairs.
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