Jason Jenkins: Leinster move, Munster frustrations and his Springbok World Cup hopes

If Jason Jenkins ever felt sorry for himself during his season at Munster, he didn't have to look far to snap out of it.

It was one thing after another for the South African during his season at Munster; six weeks with a shoulder injury was followed by another six weeks with a thigh injury, and after finally making his debut in December 2021, it was quickly followed by another three months on the sidelines.

As frustrating as that time was, watching his best friend RG Snyman struggle through a second ACL rehab put any of his own pain into perspective.

"We'd sit together on the weekends and watch all the games and I’ll feel bad if I complain so I’d rather just stay quiet because he’s been through hell in the last two years, in terms of his knee and off-field things," Jenkins says of Snyman, who he's been friends with since their early days coming through the ranks at the Bulls.

"He’s really had a tough time. I’m really hoping to see him back on the field soon and just to see him crack on. He’s an incredible player, I think Munster will really benefit as soon as he’s back on the field.

"It’s frustrating for him, he wanted to go there and make an impact and he just hasn’t been able to do that."

Snyman still has some chapters to write in his Munster story, but it irks Jenkins that the province's fans never really got to see his own full potential.

By the time he was up and running in the final third of the season, his future move to Leinster had already been confirmed, while the coach that signed him - Johann van Graan - was also heading for the exit door. He played nine times in that final block of games, but only two of those were starts, as Munster's season fizzled out in the quarter-finals of both the URC and Europe.

"Initially