Munster captain Peter O'Mahony says their World Cup winning signings RG Snyman and Damien de Allende are ready to hit the ground running when they face Leinster in the Guinness PRO14 this weekend.
Reds' head-coach Johann van Graan confirmed this afternoon that the Springboks duo are available to face the reigning champions at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.
Munster are aiming to win their remaining two fixtures in the regular section of the competition in order to top their Conference and be assured of a semi-final at the Aviva next month.
De Allende has shaken off a slight groin injury in recent weeks and is expected to join Chris Farrell in midfield while Snyman could start in the pack along O'Mahony, who feels they've brought a good attitude to Limerick.
"With all the guys we've signed, they've come from successful backgrounds. Roman Salanoa at Leinster, the two guys coming off World Cup wins, there's huge positives from signing guys like that.
"The reason we've signed them is because they want to have an impact and they've got to go and do that now.
"They've got to go and play well alongside the rest of us, as we try and get Munster rugby winning."
Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
O'Mahony admits that the long-layoff will probably mean that both teams will be a bit rusty but he's relishing getting back out on the pitch this weekend.
"It's been a long time, it's been January since I last played for Munster and it's great to be back.
"It's been a long and uncertain road, sport in general was a long way down the list in terms of priority (during the pandemic).
"But as a player you're not used to uncertainty, you're used to a schedule and routine and everyone was thrown out of that.
The Ireland flanker added that Munster have been working on adapting to the new interpretations of the rules at the breakdown which will come into play in the PRO14 from this weekend.
"They're going to reward good pictures from the poach and it certainly looks to be a little bit quicker," O'Mahony said of what he's made of the changes while watching Super Rugby and Gallagher Premiership matches.
"There's two sides to it obviously, you need to be at the breakdown very quickly to win the ball and there's opportunities there if a player gets isolated.
"You need to show a good picture and show that you're trying to lift the ball. It's something we've addressed and worked on in the last few weeks. "
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