Graham Rowntree would not be drawn on the future of outhalf Joey Carbery but RG Snyman’s move to Leinster from next season came as a huge surprise to the Munster coach.
Rowntree sat down with the South African Rugby World Cup winner last month to tell him there was no place in the Munster squad for him next season, the club choosing Jean Kleyn, who signed a new two-year contract extension, as their preferred secondrow.
Rowntree knew that the injury-hit Snyman was leaving, as it was his job to break the news, but the former Leicester and England frontrow did not know a trip up the M7 to rivals Leinster was the preferred destination.
“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, a huge surprise,” said Rowntree. “Obviously, I wasn’t fully aware of where he was going. I knew there was chat of him going to Bath to see my old mate and his former coach Johann [van Graan]. There was chat of him going back to South Africa, but I was surprised, yeah.
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“It’s a business, this, isn’t it? I sat down with him in the first week of November, and said there wasn’t a contract for him, unfortunately. Within a couple of weeks this news is upon us that he’s gone to Leinster. There we go, we deal with it, we row on.”
It was a “Sophie’s Choice” moment for Munster. Kleyn’s five Ireland caps and long residency allowed him to be recognised as an Irish-qualified player. That changed when he was called up by the Springboks late in the summer and made his debut for them before the World Cup began in France.
Snyman is registered as an NIQ (non-Irish qualified) player and because of the IRFU system, which strives to keep pathways clear for emerging Irish talent, the province would not have been allowed to retain both secondrows.
Rowntree added that he is unconcerned about the rest of the season nor the focus of the 28-year-old from Potchefstroom, who underwent surgery after winning the World Cup. Snyman had previously suffered two ACL injuries, which have kept him sidelined for long periods, since he joined Munster in 2020. Munster face Leinster on St Stephen’s Day in Thomond Park.
“I have no doubt in his commitment to us to the end of the season,” said the Munster coach. “I’ve already seen that in the last couple of days in particular. I’ve no doubt about that commitment. It is what it is. I’m not frustrated, no.
“We can’t determine where he goes. I’m the bloke sitting in front of him saying there wasn’t anything for him. We can’t determine where he goes. It’s not like we’ve been outbid by Leinster. We had nothing for him. That’s business. I’m quite able to move on, I have more things consuming my mind at the moment that this. There we go.”
Rowntree added that there was no mystery to Peter O’Mahony’s injury but that he would not be making an appearance against Leinster on Tuesday. He also explained that the flanker did not have a setback but that it was taken longer than anticipated for his shoulder/arm to mend, at least enough to allow him compete.
“It’s not quite ready, it’s quite simple. There’s no conspiracy theory here. He’s had a sore shoulder, we tried to bring him in last week, he wasn’t quite ready. We tried this week, and it’s looking like it’s not going to be ready for this week either.
“That’s the nature of injuries. He’s a warrior is Peter. He can take pain, he’s played with pain for us before, but the very functional limb, his shoulder, we can’t mess around with it. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s unlikely we’ll see him on next Tuesday, the St Stephen’s Day game.”
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