RG Snyman makes his long-awaited return from injury for Munster in the United Rugby Championship this weekend.

The lock has endured a horrid run of injuries since he arrived at the Irish province but will look to put that behind him and stake his claim for a place in the Springbok World Cup squad.

Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the rugby pitch, Planet Rugby has compiled five things to know about the popular second-rower.

His full name and nickname

Although Munster and Springbok teamsheets will reflect the name RG Snyman, his full name is Rudolph Gerhardus Snyman. The commentators are certainly happier with the far snappier RG.

As for his nickname, Snyman is widely known as ‘The Viking’ among fans and teammates, in reference to his long hair and beard.

Youth levels

Snyman’s talents were apparent early on as he represented the Blue Bulls youth teams from U13 level.

He continued to be selected throughout his schooling career, representing the Pretoria-based side at the renowned Grant Khomo and Craven Week tournaments.

He attended the famed Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) in Pretoria, the school that produced fellow Springboks Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Wynand Olivier and Nico Janse van Rensburg. Cricketers AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis attended the same school, as did Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman and Ireland lock Quinn Roux.

Representing South Africa

He first represented South Africa as a schoolboy in 2013, featuring for the SA Schools team. Two years later, he would play for the U20s.

That U20s team in 2015 would finish third overall in the U20 World Championship, and the South African side included fellow 2019 World Cup winners Warrick Gelant and Thomas du Toit.

Snyman made his Super Rugby debut for the Bulls in 2015 but would have to wait until 2018 to make his Springbok debut. In Rassie Erasmus’ second match in charge of the side, Snyman packed down in the second-row alongside Franco Mostert in the 42-39 win over England at Ellis Park.

To date, he has 23 Test caps, including eight starts. He was a leading figure in the Springboks’ ‘Bomb Squad’ during their successful 2019 Rugby World Cup campaign and scored his first try for his country during the tournament, in the 49-3 pool stage win over Italy. He also claimed the man of the match award in the 66-7 victory over Canada.

Stint in Japan

Snyman had two stints in Japan before joining Munster. He first joined Honda Heat in 2017 during the Super Rugby off-season but returned after the 2019 World Cup.

He played 19 times for the side scoring seven tries, including this try from a kick-off against the Kubota Spears that went viral.

A popular figure in Japan, Snyman also went viral on social media after posting this picture with teammate Shogo Nezuka.

Injury struggles at Munster

Snyman has played just four matches for Munster since joining the side from Honda Heat in 2020.

He sustained a knee injury on his debut, which ruled him out until 2021, and then suffered an injury setback when he underwent skin graft surgery in July 2021 after a firepit accident in Ireland, along with his Springbok colleague Damian de Allende. The pair sustained burns to their legs, hands and face in a bizarre incident.

The lock consequently missed the British and Irish Lions series after being named in the initial squad.

Snyman returned during the 2021/22 season to make three appearances and score his first try for the side. In October 2021, he sustained another serious knee injury and has been on the road to recovery.

Munster have taken a pragmatic approach to get Snyman back out onto the pitch this time around, and hopefully, that results in the second-rower returning to his best.

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The article RG Snyman: Five things to know about Munster’s Rugby World Cup winning Springbok lock appeared first on Planetrugby.com.