Heaven knows how history might have judged Johann van Graan’s near five-year stint as Munster head coach had it not been for Leinster’s harvesting of trophies. Munster’s winning ratio has dropped since he moved to Bath, whom he has taken from the bottom to the top of the Premiership. But whereas Jack Crowley’s late drop goal won the URC semi-final two seasons ago, van Graan suffered 11 defeats in 13 matches against Leinster, including three League semi-finals and a final.
No opposing coach is better equipped to analyse the men in blue and after Bath fired shots across Leinster’s bow before ultimately succumbing 47-21, van Graan ventured that Leo Cullen’s side are now better equipped to go one step further and win a fourth star after losing the last three finals.
“Leinster are a very good side, you can see why they’ve got 23 of the 36 guys in the Irish national team. Adding Slimani and Jordie and RG to that – a phenomenal team,” said van Graan.
“In my view, Leinster is – in terms of their pipeline – the best in world rugby. What they’ve done with their schools systems getting aligned into their academy. I mean, 23 players going into the Six Nations from this team and you add in some of the best players in the world. Slimani hadn’t played for the French for five-and-a-half years and all of a sudden, he’s back in the French picture.
“I don’t need to say anything more about RG and then Jordie Barrett is one of the best in the world. They are a phenomenal team, they’ve played in the last three finals, they’re unbeaten in the URC, so they can definitely win it.
“I just have to say that last season we went toe-to-toe with Toulouse for 70 minutes and tonight we went toe-to-toe with Leinster for 60 until we conceded that red card,” he said, in reference to prop Beno Obano conceding a harsh second yellow card for conceding successive scrum penalties.
“So, it’s also about us and where we’ve come from. I’ve got the utmost belief in what we’re doing as a club. We welcome days like today because we’ll learn about ourselves.”
Van Graan’s close friendship with Snyman had made Bath favourites to acquire the World Cup-winning lock after he had been released by Munster. Whereupon Leinster stepped in, and van Graan must have had a sinking feeling when Snyman was introduced in the 45th minute before going on to inject his rare offloading ability into Leinster’s attacking game and plunder two tries.
“You all know how highly I rate him as a player, someone I signed at Munster and he’s now at Leinster,” said van Graan. “I thought he was phenomenal.”
Cruelly for Snyman, and unluckily for van Graan, during their time at Munster, Snyman suffered an ACL injury on his debut in 2020 against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium before rupturing the same ligament soon after his return in 2021.
“The two of us go back a long way from when I started coaching him at school,” said van Graan. “He’s got this ability to get the ball away. He’s got incredible hands and a natural feeling for the game, not to speak about his size and his hitting and his poaching and his lineout. But he kind of makes something happen out of nothing. He pulls in three, four, five defenders around him and I thought he was on fire tonight. That’s why I believe he’s one of the best players in the world.
“He got injured when I was at Munster in the first seven minutes here and he re-did his ACL against the Scarlets, but I think people around the world are only starting to see how good he really is now.
“Fair play to Leinster for getting him and how good is it from his side that he’s got form? He’ll make a big difference for the rest of the season for Leinster. I can’t speak highly enough of him really.”
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