Rejuvenated RG Snyman's well-timed return
Bok man mountain back to scale new heights

He is a man mountain on a mission.
RG Snyman's 2.06m frame is no longer in the foothills of despair as he prepares to make his return to Test rugby, possibly as early as next month's Rugby Championship clash against the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld.
His last Test was as a much-celebrated member of the Boks' Bomb Squad in the RWC final in Yokohama four years ago.
It is from those dizzying heights however that his career suffered a precipitous fall.
Injuries, some suffered off the field, curtailed his time in the Bok squad.
Since he last played for South Africa the world has turned upside down, and Snyman might feel he has been suspended in time.
What the 28-year-old has gone through over the past four years would have chipped away at Chuck Norris's psyche.
Snyman was barely on first name terms with his club teammates when a cruciate knee ligament injury saw him consigned to the sidelines on debut. He suffered burns in a fire pit as incidents with teammates before re-rupturing the troublesome ACL which condemned him to a further 16-month hiatus. Snyman's time on the sidelines ended when he returned for Munster against Scarlets in March.
Doing the business
His presence in a Munster team growing in confidence at the business end of the United Rugby Championship brought a new dimension and helped set them apart en route to the trophy.
The URC silverware has now been backed up by a return to the Green and Gold.
With Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus seated to his right at the team's hotel in Pretoria on Wednesday, Snyman glowed while addressing the media.
Snyman admitted it was “very tough” being absent from the Springboks in a period in which they played 26 Tests.
“It was also the thing that drove me to get back and get myself to a place where I can be back here. It's great to be back. I've been here in between all the injuries. To be able to train with the squad fully fit is something different. It's something special for me to be here. I've learnt through this time not to take it for granted.
“That is something that goes through your head,” the lock admitted when asked whether he feared his Bok career might be over while he was in the rugby infirmary.
“It is not your right to be here but a privilege,” he was keen to remind. “It isn't easy to be here. The nice thing about having been here before is that you know what it took to get here. I know if I work and play hard enough then hopefully I will get the chance to play.”
Perfect timing
The timing of his return to the Bok ranks has proved fortuitous. Bok strongman Eben Etzebeth's shoulder injury will rule him out until the middle stages of the RC but in Snyman and potentially club teammate Jean Kleyn, the Boks now have cover.
Snyman appears ready to pick up where he left off. He cut a towering figure in the line-out and proved a destructive force with and without the ball as a member of the Bomb Squad four years ago. After all, he is returning to a set-up in which the faces and the system is all too familiar.
“The most important thing about this squad is we understand our role. We work towards that and we work well together. We strengthen each other. The competition between us is actually great. I think it brings the best out of us. That will only allow us to be better.”
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