He won't be staying at Munster for a long time, but Dian Bleuler has definitely come to Thomond Park for a good time.
The South African’s name would have been frantically Googled when Munster confirmed his arrival on a short-term loan deal in late November.
Since arriving, the 25-year-old has started five of the province’s six games and given stability to a setpiece that had been decimated through injury, while playing with the freedom of a man who knows this move is an open shot to kickstart his career.
His latest outing against Saracens on Saturday was his best in red. Rock solid at the scrum, he chopped Sarries’ big ball-carriers low on defence, before popping up with the opening try of the game on 59 minutes, which was the breakthrough Munster needed to nudge their heads in front.
Had it not been for a Tadhg Beirne masterclass, Bleuler may well have been player of the match.
It’s likely Saturday’s win against Saracens was Bleuler’s final outing at Thomond Park. While he will be involved in next week’s final Pool 3 game away to the Northampton, he’s set to return to South Africa in the coming weeks where he will be needed by the Sharks as they rest some of their Springboks during the Six Nations window.
"He is here for a set period and there isn’t any scope to extend beyond that. That is the agreement that we went in with at the start," said Munster interim head coach Ian Costello, when asked if there was any way of extending the loosehead’s contract.
Bleuler (above) and Young Munster’s Conor Bartley were both recruited on short-term deals in November while the province were in the midst of a loosehead injury crisis, with Jeremy Loughman, Josh Wycherley, Dave Kilcoyne and Mark Donnelly all sidelined.
It’s hoped that injury list will shorten in the spring, while Munster are also set to add to their depth in that position next season, with a deal to sign Leinster’s Michael Milne likely to be confirmed soon.
He said: "The IRFU through David Humphreys were unbelievable accommodating at the start in terms of facilitating that process [to sign Bleuler] but we always knew there was an end date which we will share with everybody in the next week.
"He will be here next week. He will be playing against Northampton."
Saturday’s 17-12 win against Saracens leaves Munster well placed ahead of the final round, second in Pool 3 and one point behind leaders Northampton, who they visit on 18 January.
While they qualified for the Round of 16 with only one win from four last year, they’re yet to confirm their status in the knockouts this season having won two of three games.
Saturday’s surprise bonus-point win for Stade Francais against the Saints has thrown petrol on the fire.
If Stade can pull off a bonus-point win away to the already eliminated Bulls next week, then Munster might need to come away from Northampton with a losing bonus-point to make sure of their place in the next round, depending on how the meeting of Saracens and Castres goes.
While they will need that losing bonus-point to make absolutely sure of their place in the Round of 16, Costello’s side know that a win should be enough for home advantage which will be crucial to their hopes of advancing into the quarters or beyond.
"I was surprised to hear Northampton were beaten and only picked up a point [against Stade Francais] so we’re a point off the top. I suppose it puts it in our hands to a certain degree," Costello added.
"We’ve got to assume Saracens will get five [against Castres], I think that would be likely for their last game, at home. So we’ve got to go, first of all, go and try and win the game at Northampton and then there’s a good chance that gives us a home Round of 16, or it will. So if we top the group the seeding can be important as well.
"We’ve been prepping really well, there’s been real tightness, real connection and alignment and the character, fight and work rate stuff has been there as a really solid foundation and there was bit more accuracy tonight.
"We have to carry that through into Northampton. They are lethal. I think if you watch Northampton they can score anywhere at any time and they can change a scoreboard so quickly.
"I don’t think it will be 6-3 at Northampton. I don’t think there will be a lack of tries so the team that wins will have to score a few tries as well."
FT: Munster 17-12 Saracens
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) January 11, 2025
Jack Crowley delighted to give fans a dramatic win at Thomond Park
📺 Watch on @RTE1 and @RTEPlayer from 17.30
📻 Listen on @RTERadio1
📱 Live updates and stories on @RTESport Online and the @RTENews app pic.twitter.com/vAxBKuZKJM
Munster and Northampton are no strangers to each other in recent seasons. Munster won twice when the sides met in the 2022/23 pool stage, before the Saints gained revenge last year, beating Munster in the pool stage at Thomond Park before eliminating them in the last 16.
And Costello is hoping some inside information could help them over the line next week.
He said: "Northampton is a whole different threat altogether. They have unbelievable speed, probably the best passing team that I’ve seen and they’re just starting to hit a bit of form.
"We have had some good battles over there. We will take a lot of confidence from keeping them [Saracens] scoreless but we have to be realistic and know that it is a whole different threat. Chris Boyd [former Northampton Saints director of rugby] is here to give us a few tips as well."
