Bok “Bomb Squad” hit man RG Snyman is out of rugby for six months.
Having sat through the pandemic-enforced lockdown‚ Snyman’s return to the field on debut for Munster lasted just seven minutes on Sunday. What’s worse is that the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury he suffered while playing against Leinster will sideline him until 2021.
This is rubbing salt in the wound for coach Johann van Graan whose team went down 27-25 when the PRO14 tournament resumed at the weekend. On Tuesday, Van Graan got the bleak news of his new signing’s serious injury.
“It has been confirmed that the province’s newest debutant‚ RG Snyman‚ sustained an ACL tear in the opening minutes of Saturday night’s PRO14 encounter against Leinster‚” the club said. “The lock will meet with the specialist next to discuss surgery and management.”
So Snyman will not feature in Bok colours in 2020. He will miss the Rugby Championship, which is supposed to take place in October and November with New Zealand the likely venue.
Snyman was a vital cog in the Boks’ march to Rugby World Cup glory in Japan in 2019. Much of the team’s success was built on the potency of their forward heavy substitutes coming off the bench.
The Bomb Squad‚ as it was called‚ terrorised the opposition in the second half‚ particularly in the knockout matches. Snyman played in all seven of the Springboks’ matches at the tournament‚ starting in two.
The Boks are, however, well stocked in the second row with Eben Etzebeth‚ Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert the men most likely to do duty if the team gets to play in 2020.
However‚ Snyman’s injury is a devastating blow to Munster, who also have former Stormers lock Jean Kleyn and Irish prop Dave Kilcoyne ruled out for undisclosed periods. Kleyn has a neck-ligament injury‚ while Kilcoyne hurt his ankle.
“Dave Kilcoyne and Jean Kleyn have also been ruled out for the immediate future with both players requiring rehabilitation periods for respective ankle and neck ligament injuries,” the club said.
The squad had gathered at the HPC ground to start preparations for the Round 15 PRO14 game against Connacht, with the players and coaches taking part in the next phase of the Irish rugby union’s “routine PCR testing”, a common test for Covid-19.
Munster can secure a place in the semifinals of the competition if they beat countrymen Connacht this weekend. Munster are second in Conference B of the competition‚ five points behind Edinburgh but just two points ahead of Scarlets.
In their final league clash, Scarlets are away to fellow Welsh team the Dragons in a match they are expected to win.
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