You could understand where Graham Rowntree was coming from when he suggested it was “a bit crude” to look at Munster’s Springbok lock dilemma as a simple choice between Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman.
However, the Munster head coach has been around long enough to know that professional sport is a ruthless business, so when it came down to it, Rowntree and the powers that be had to do what was best for the province.
Pound-for-pound, Snyman is one of the best locks in the world, but his latest injury-enforced spell out until March is another unwanted reminder of how his lack of fitness has been a major issue during his time in Limerick.
In his four seasons with Munster, Snyman has only managed to play 10 games, compared to Kleyn having started in 24 of the province’s 26 competitive matches last season.
Kleyn’s switch from Ireland to his native South Africa meant Munster were always going to lose one of their second-rows at the end of the current season, but it was imperative both of them were not headed out the exit door.
With Kleyn linked with a big-money move to France, Munster have done well to keep the 30-year-old, who was named player of the year for last season, in Limerick.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge to keep both of them,” Rowntree admitted. “We thought it was going to initially be a challenge to keep Kleyn when he decided to play for the Boks. Luckily, we’ve got two world-class locks for the rest of the season when RG does come back but, no, it has ended up as it is.
“There are many implications, there is a budget implication, NIQ (non-Irish qualified) implication, and we have some great young locks coming through and the IRFU quite rightly want us to bring them through.
“There’s a lot gone into the melting pot and it has turned out like it has. I wish RG all the best wherever he goes. He’s been a brilliant acquisition for us, just a good fella.
“He’s in the leadership group, he has been good around the group. He had some dark days, a double ACL injury, he was desperately wanting to help the club.
“I remember saying to him for weeks before he came off the bench against Scarlets last February that we were going to play Enter Sandman by Metallica. He is a big Metallica fan, obviously. Didn’t transpire in the end, but I said it to him for weeks that this would be a target for him.”
As for tying down Kleyn to a new two-year contract, there was a sense of relief at getting that deal over the line.
“You see how many minutes he plays for us,” Rowntree said. “Dependable, he does all the gritty work, unseen work in terms of clearing out, carrying, maul, scrum. I’m delighted.
“He’s a big character around the group as well, so delighted to get that done.”
Munster will aim to bounce back from last weekend’s 21-16 defeat to Leinster at the Aviva when they take on Glasgow at Musgrave Park on Friday night ahead of the start of the Champions Cup next week.
“We tend to play there a lot on a Friday night,” Rowntree added. “I like the atmosphere down there. We will travel down there, meet a few hours beforehand in a hotel, The Maryborough in Cork. Get some preparation done, some meetings, and we will all travel to the game.
“Obviously, we play a lot on 4G and we have got a 4G facility here that we can train on if we want. We are used to it now. I actually really like the atmosphere down there.”
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