Munster defence coach Denis Leamy says the return of RG Snyman from injury is coming at just the right time, as the province head into the business end of the season.
The South African could make his return from almost 17 months on the sidelines in this Friday's BKT United Rugby Championship visit of the Scarlets to Musgrave Park (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), having resumed full training with the province in recent weeks.
The 28-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against the same opposition back in October 2021, just three games into his comeback from an identical injury.
Should he be selected for Friday night's URC game it would be just his fifth Munster appearance since joining in the summer of 2020 after a luckless time at the province.
"Yes he is absolutely available for this weekend," the Munster coach said.
"He has come through the last couple of days really well. Preparations are going very well for Friday night and RG is in good nick and he's up for selection along with the other 55 players that we have available to us at the moment.
"It is exciting to have him back around the place. Obviously he is a world class player, a World Cup winner, just the energy that he has, the experience he has, even in reviews and stuff like that, he really has an awful lot of knowledge that we can draw on.
"He is a very interesting guy to pick his brain. His experiences and his examples would be really good for us going forward. It’s pretty exciting for us to have him back. We will sit down and pick the team in the afternoon but he is available for selection. We will see how that goes."
With the province heading into the business end of both the URC and Champions Cup, Snyman's return is timely, particularly with Tadhg Beirne ruled out until May with an ankle injury.
And Leamy says they're looking well-stocked in the second row, in spite of Beirne's absence.
"The guy [Snyman] is a class act and we are very lucky to have a number of returning second rows, you think of Tom Ahern and Edwin Edogbo coming back as well, getting these guys back really strengthens our squad and allows us to have selection headaches which is always a good thing.
"It is unfortunate to lose Tadhg at such a crucial part of the season but that is the way the game goes, that’s the way the game is and we just have to move on. It’s great to get those boys back and hopefully they can add to us."
Having looked in danger of missing out on the play-off spots before Christmas, a run of six wins in seven games, as well as some favourable results elsewhere, has seen the province shoot up the URC table, with Graham Rowntree's side now just two points back from the top four.
And while Leamy (below) says they have their sights set on a home quarter-final, they aren't taking anything for granted against a Scarlets side who have won their last six games in a row in all competitions.
"Absolutely, but we have to go through the process first as we have done from day one. We approach this week on week, we are very focused on the task in hand, the next battle, the next job and that's the Llanelli Scarlets this week," he added.
"They have been playing very well, very good attacking team, loads of talent in terms of pace and the ability to play. We have to focus and get that job done really, really well on Friday night.
"They've a real habit of winning, just analysing their ability of how they offloads, the speed they play at, their transition game is so strong, so when the ball is turned over or of you kick loosely, their ability through Johnny McNicholl, [Vaea] Fifita, [Sam] Lousi, these guys are exceptional talents.
"They've loads of names, and loads of ability, and their tendency to score a lot of points is definitely evident."
