CAPE TOWN - The four Munster players involved in a weekend fire pit incident, including Springboks Damian de Allende and RG Snyman, have sustained “significant damage”, and the duo are in doubt for the upcoming British and Irish Lions series.
That was the view of Munster senior coach Stephen Larkham, the renowned former Wallaby flyhalf, following the club statement on Monday that revealed De Allende, Snyman, CJ Stander and Mike Haley were the players who suffered burns as a result of petrol being thrown on the fire.
De Allende and Snyman are due to join the Bok squad soon in South Africa, but will miss Friday’s Rainbow Cup match against Zebre – with Snyman also still busy with his rehabilitation from a long-term knee injury.
“It’s been tough and some of the boys are still struggling, but thankfully, they’re not in a lot of pain,” Larkham told Irish media this week.
“But there is some significant damage there, and it will take a while. It’s a good lesson for them, and it will be a good lesson for anyone who reads up on the story. You’ve got to respect things around a fire pit. They’re still reeling at the moment, but they’ll bounce back soon enough.
“We’ve heard most of the story, and it was fairly scary for the boys. It could have been a lot worse so there’s a lot of relief amongst the team at the moment.
“From the coaches’ perspective, it was just an accident. They’re all grown men, responsible men and it just got away from them. We’re just lucky it hasn’t been worse.”
Larkham said De Allende and Snyman will see a specialist again on Friday, but was not sure whether they will be fit to play against Georgia and the Lions.
Bok coach Jacques Nienaber is expected to provide an update at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s too early to say at this stage, from my perspective,” Larkham said. “At this stage, we’ll be handing them over to the Springboks at some stage over the next month or so depending on how their rehab is going, particularly for RG, where he’s in a rehab programme anyway.”
@ashfakmohamed
IOL Sport