Rugby

RG Snyman: A world-class lock with X-factor who is worth the gamble for Leinster

Don’t be surprised if Jacques Nienaber’s next acquisition is a South African tighthead

RG Snyman: moving from Munster to Leinster. Photograph: Steve Haag Sports/Thinus Maritz/Inpho

Gerry Thornley's face
Gerry Thornley
Tue Dec 19 2023 - 20:14

The speedy confirmation of RG Snyman’s arrival at Leinster – after last week’s revelation that the two-time Rugby World Cup winner will be linking up with Jacques Nienaber next season after being released by Munster – brings a swift end to any ongoing speculation about this dramatic development. It is also a statement signing by the province in their ongoing hunt to win silverware.

Admittedly, the news will not assuage the disgruntlement among some Munster supporters regarding Snyman’s switch to their arch rivals since this was revealed in The Irish Times last week. It may also accentuate a slightly uncomfortable focus on the 28-year-old whenever he does resume playing for Munster once he recovers from the shoulder injury which has sidelined him since the World Cup.

Nevertheless, Munster could hardly keep two non-Irish qualified, World Cup-winning locks given the presence of Tadhg Beirne, Tom Ahern and Edwin Edogbo. Not unreasonably, bearing in mind Jean Kleyn’s injury profile and volume of game time compared to the injury bedevilled but more expensive Snyman, they opted to retain the former.

Kleyn has played 137 games for Munster over eight seasons, including 61 starts in 65 appearances over the last three seasons which have amounted to almost 4,000 minutes, compared to Snyman’s 10 appearances, among them three starts, and a total of 268 minutes. Kleyn has been a regular 80-minute man and bulwark of the Munster pack, and at 30 has plenty more rugby left in him, albeit with cruel irony, injury has restricted him to just an hour for his province so far this season.

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The Irish Times understands that Snyman has signed a one-year contract with game-related related financial clauses at a more plausible €400,000 or so, rather than the reported €500,000, which makes it less of a gamble than portrayed, if still not an inexpensive one. But it demonstrates Nienaber’s immediate influence at Leinster, and in turn the province’s heightened appeal to a Springbok such as Snyman.

[ Gerry Thornley: Nienaber’s influence all over Leinster’s interest in RG Snyman ]

With their other former Munster/South African lock, Jason Jenkins, being released at the end of this season, Leinster had been given permission by the departing IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora to sign a replacement overseas’ lock.

Nucifora may not have envisaged that lock being Snyman, but from Leinster’s perspective, rugby is a professional sport, and they are competing against Top 14 clubs emboldened by private benefactors, and also from South Africa, England and their Celtic rivals.

South Africa and Munster's Jean Kleyn. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Leinster have had two trophyless seasons and that coveted fifth European star has eluded them since 2018. A common theme to the losses in the semi-finals three seasons ago and the subsequent two finals against La Rochelle – as well as Saracens’ defeat of them in the rearranged, pandemic-affected quarter-final of four seasons ago – has been the presence of their bete noire, their kryptonite, big bad Will Skelton.

But locks of Skelton’s sheer stature and bruising physicality, or Emmanuel Meafou of Toulouse, are a rare breed. Nor is there a surfeit of world-class locks around and available at the moment. True, James Ryan’s injury in last May’s final was arguably the key turning point in the game, and Joe McCarthy is coming of age this season.

This was evident in the recent win over La Rochelle which, coupled with the brutally tough World Cup pool win over the Springboks, gave the lie to the theory that Leinster and Ireland can’t match it with the bigger, physical sides.

Who knows, maybe Snyman will be joining the newly-crowned Champions Cup winners next summer? But whether that is the case or not, Snyman is a rare, world-class lock with genuine X-factor who if fit can help transform games, either from the start or, more often lately, off the bench. And Leinster have one of the few squads around who can risk such a gamble.

What’s more, when Leinster won the Champions Cup in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2018, Rocky Elsom, Nathan Hines, Brad Thorn and Scott Fardy were key contributors, and they started each of those finals. And no one complained.

Snyman’s signing is not part of some trade-off for Leinster releasing, say, Andrew Goodman onto the Irish coaching ticket when Mike Catt moves on at the end of the season, or in lieu of any Leinster player moving elsewhere. Rather, it is a one-off piece of business.

Nor is Nienaber’s influence on the make-up of Leinster’s squad next season likely to end with the signing of Snyman, for the province have still to recruit a replacement for the Clermont-bound Michael Ala’alatoa.

To put it another way, don’t be surprised if Leinster’s next acquisition is a South African tighthead.

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