Springbok second row RG Snyman has been branded the ‘worst transfer in Irish rugby history’ after he once again missed out on a crucial Munster match.

Snyman was originally supposed to start, but he was unable to overcome an undisclosed bug that had been circulating at Munster. As a result, he was not involved in Munster’s 24-14 loss to Northampton Saints in yesterday’s Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 at Franklin’s Gardens.

After years of pounding on the door, Munster has found itself kicked out of the competition once more. This competition has become ingrained in the very fabric of the province since Munster hoisted it back in 2006 and 2008.

Fans will have had to swallow a bitter pill once more when Snyman is absent. Snyman is unquestionably one of the most dangerous players in the game when healthy, but his time at Munster has been severely limited by injuries that have nearly comically affected him.

Snyman has only made seven appearances for the team in four seasons, which is a far cry from the expectations fans had when the World Cup winner arrived. His income over the course of four seasons comes to an astounding €285,714 per game, if stories about it are to be believed. In terms of minutes spent on the field, he has been paid €4,629 every second.

With only one appearance in the Champions Cup, he hasn’t really made an impact. He hasn’t even started a game at Thomond Park or in the engine room with Tadhg Beirne.

Snyman has made eleven appearances for the South African national team in the same period, despite these failures at the club level, indicating an increasingly problematic discrepancy between his Test and club-level contributions. By happenstance, he recovered in time for the Boks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign.