Reminder of what a beast returning Springbok is
A combination of the pandemic and a longterm knee injury has meant RG Snyman’s last runout for South Africa was in Yokohama against England in the 2019 World Cup final.
Since then, he enjoyed a stint in Japan with Honda Heat before a landmark move to Munster in the summer of 2020. The joy of that move to the Pro14 did not last long, as he ruptured his ACL within seven minutes of his Munster debut against Leinster in August.
The once heralded member of Rassie Erasmus’ ‘Bomb Squad’ faced a race against time to make the British & Irish Lions tour this year, but his hopes were ended by a freak fire-pit accident that required skin graft surgery in July. He therefore missed the win over the Lions and the Springboks’ Rugby Championship campaign, instead waiting to make his return to action this past weekend for Munster against the Sharks in the opening round of the United Rugby Championship. The lock came on with 15 minutes to go at Thomond Park in his side’s 42-17 win.
Well this video shared online recently provides a reminder of what the Springboks have missed and what Munster fans can look forward to over the coming year. The video includes many of Snyman’s galloping runs through the middle of the field which he became famous for, while also making a rugby ball look like a ping-pong ball in his hands.
Take a look:
The Springboks face the All Blacks this Saturday in the final round of the Rugby Championship, which Snyman is obviously not part of. The Boks then go on to play Wales, Scotland and England in November, which Snyman is likely to miss given the length of time he has been out for. In the meantime, he will be focussing on his performances for Munster, who face the Stormers at Thomond Park this Saturday.
