Jason Jenkins admits the circumstances of his move away from Leinster is "bittersweet", with best mate RG Snyman set to take his place in the squad.
South African Jenkins joined Leinster in the summer of 2022 after an injury-hit season with Munster .
And next season, double World Cup-winning Springbok Snyman is to follow the same path, making the switch to Munster's rivals after playing just 12 times to date since his arrival in 2020.
The 29-year-old suffered two serious knee injuries, which curtailed his playing time.
Jean Kleyn’s call-up to the South Africa squad for the World Cup made him non-Ireland qualified and was part of the reason behind Snyman’s transfer from the Reds.
The knock-on effect is that Jenkins will up sticks and head home to play with the Sharks next season and he hopes he can add to his solitary international cap for his home country.
"It’s a bit bittersweet, definitely," said Jenkins, who was a team-mate of Synman at the Bulls for a number of seasons.
"I have loved my time at Leinster, it has been good. Myself and RG are best mates and he spoke to me a lot during the process and with his decision-making.
"He obviously had one or two options and I’m so excited for him.
"Because I know exactly what the environment is like. I’m so excited for him to be able to experience that here.
"I couldn’t be happier for him. If there is one man that deserves a break, it is him. I’m very happy for him.
"I didn’t really have any need to give any advice either to Leinster or RG about each other because it is pretty self-evident.
"Jacques [Nienaber, senior coach and former Springboks boss] knows him extremely well.
"Leinster will know what they will get out of him as a player. For him, I just told him how incredible the squad is.
"The quality of players here speaks for itself. And even how welcoming the lads are. It’s always tough coming into a new environment for any player.
"I just remember from day one here how welcoming everyone was, even though I was coming here for Munster.
"The guys were so welcoming and made me feel part of the squad immediately. So, I told him he need not be stressed about anything like that. I’m sure he will be very happy here."
There’s heavy lifting to be done before next season, however, and after losing the last two Champions Cup finals by less than a score twice to La Rochelle, Jenkins says the squad have had a shift in mindset under Nienaber.
"Bringing in Jacques has made a massive difference regarding the mindset and also bringing something new to us defensively and the way we do things," said the 28-year-old as Leinster prepare to face Zebre Parma away on Saturday in the BKT URC.
"It’s very exciting. There’s always time for change and improvement and that’s what Leinster have always done well over the years.
"They are always finding a different way of doing things, even when they are successful. And there is definitely a shift in mindset and it is exciting to see.
"There are obviously still a couple of things we are working on and we have been really working hard on that in these block of games. It’s just nailing the final bit and pulling it through."
Between coaches and players there are plenty of Ireland-South Africa connections ready to spice up the country’s two-Test summer series.
Jenkins (above) says he hopes he can work his way into Rassie Erasmus’ plans. His cap came in a friendly against Wales in 2018.
"That’s going to be incredibly exciting," he says of the summer showdown between the World Cup and Six Nations champions, the top two ranked sides.
"I will hope that I can be there, you never know.
"Even if I’m not, I’ll be supporting all the boys. It’s awesome to now be mates with most of the boys in the Irish squad.
"And it’s always fun to see the boys play at that stage. And I think it will be a nice challenge for them over in Loftus and Durban. So I’m definitely looking forward to that."
