It's fair to say that RG Snyman has hit the ground running since coming to Leinster.
The two-time World Cup winning Springbok has been heavily involved for Leo Cullen's side this season and he created another highlight play last week when his rampaging run led to Sam Prendergast running in for his second try in Leinster's 35-12 win over Bristol Bears in the Champions Cup.
RG Snyman has featured in 7 matches for Leinster this season, starting in 4 of them. However, since returning from the Autumn Nation Series with South Africa, Snyman is yet to start in Leinster's last three matches.
His move from Munster was met with a lot of controversy at the time as Munster were forced to let go of the Springbok due to IRFU restrictions on non-Irish players. It also caught the ire of some fans because it is felt that Leinster didn't need Snyman as they have two International-quality locks in James Ryan and Joe McCarthy and Snyman's arrival could take a hit to their playing time.
However, there's been speculation that the IRFU has blocked Leo Cullen from starting Snyman over McCarthy and Ryan when both are available in the Champions Cup. That theory adds up as Snyman is still yet to start over the two Ireland Internationals this season, having come off the bench behind the pair last week in Bristol and he's been named on the bench again ahead of Clermont's trip to the Aviva this weekend.
When asked about the potential IRFU restrictions for RG Snyman, Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen kept his cards very close to his chest.
That’s a very private question, I don’t know if I’d be able to answer that in this forum.
There would always be conversations that would go on in the background, but it’s not something I’d be willing to share publicly here.
Cullen also explained that Snyman has performed a similar role off the bench before and that Ryan and McCarthy are two top quality locks in their own right.
We’ve got a couple of good ones starting and RG does that role pretty well for South Africa, so I think we’re all happy.
While RG Snyman's signing may look like an example of Leinster's greed for talent, the Springbok should have a hugely positive impact on the team on and off the pitch. Having a play of Snyman's experience should rub off on Leinster's young players.
Hopefully time will tell if the move has been worth all the talk about it.
