It was an upbeat tale of two secondrows at Munster’s media conference, Tadhg Beirne beating the 12-week prognosis following ankle surgery by about a fortnight while RG Snyman provided a few background anecdotes about his two-year rehabilitation from cruciate knee ligament injuries.
“Tadhg trained fully today, is looking really good and is available for the selection for the weekend,” Munster’s defence coach Denis Leamy confirmed, referring to the province’s United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final clash with the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun on Saturday night (7.35pm)
Niall Scannell, Chris Moore and Roman Salanoa have all recovered from their respective injuries, but scrumhalf Paddy Patterson’s season is over having undergone surgery for an ACL tear he picked up in South Africa. Meanwhile, Keith Earls (groin) and Liam O’Connor (neck operation) have entered the rehabilitation process.
Beirne suffered an ankle injury in Ireland’s Six Nations Championship victory over France and missed the remainder of the Grand Slam-winning campaign. His return to fitness is a huge boost to Munster as they chase down a place in a URC semi-final against the winners of Leinster’s clash with the Sharks.
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It does leave Munster head coach Graham Rowntree with an interesting conundrum when it comes to the back five in the pack, with a fit-again Tom Ahern and Edwin Edogbo joining Jean Kleyn, Snyman, Beirne, Fineen Wycherley, captain Peter O’Mahony, Jack O’Donoghue, Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett and Alex Kendellen in looking for a place in the match day 23.
Snyman, who has come through the return to play protocols, filled the frame on the video link, a seamless segue into a passion for photography, something he was able to indulge when rehabilitating the two knee injuries.
“I enjoy my photography, so I got time to do a bit of that,” Snyman said.
“It’s just small things that keep the mind busy as well; keep it ticking over, keep it moving forward, but also occupying a bit of time off-field because you’re obviously not that focused on the game and actually playing.”
Did he focus on any subject matter in particular?
“I was sort of trying to broaden my horizons a bit. I was just taking the camera with me wherever we went and taking photos of anything,” Snyman said.
“I tried to challenge myself then and tried to get a bit of product photography going, things like that.”
A positive person by nature, he admitted that there were a couple of occasions when setbacks tested his mental steel, but he never felt that he would not get back on a rugby pitch.
He was grateful that his team-mates were welcoming and inclusive from the get-go and it was those friendships that made it easier to bear the injury issues in a new country and rugby environment.
“It was really difficult at the start, especially with Covid playing a factor when we first got here,” Snyman recalled.
“It is difficult being away from family and being so far from home, in a new environment.
“You obviously want to do the most you can and impress and do everything you can on the field.
“The guys have really been great, though. They reached out at the start when we first got here, making sure we settled in and got to know everyone around the building and things like that.
“The support system I have here and the friends I’ve made here at Munster, and the support from the guys on the physio team has been unbelievable.
“It’s at times like that that you have to fall back on that support system of yours, and they always kept me positive.”
Rowntree will decide whether Beirne best serves the team in the secondrow – Jean Kleyn would be on a shortlist for Munster’s players of the year – or the backrow at the weekend. Wherever he lines out, Snyman is looking forward to getting a bit of pitch time alongside a player he admires.
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“Our timing hasn’t really worked out that well, we seem to never really get on the field together. Tadhg’s a great guy,” Snyman said.
“I’ve spent some time off-field with him as well and learned a lot from him in the game. I think the way he plays the game is just pure class.
“He’s also got a certain way of doing things where, it just doesn’t matter what situation you put Tadhg in; he never seems to panic. He’s always calm and collected.
“I think the way he plays the game is absolutely brilliant.”
