Sharks star Siya Kolisi can't wait to reunite with his close friend RG Snyman on Saturday - and has praised Champions Cup opponents Munster for their support for the unfortunate Springbok.
Snyman, who will see action at some stage at Kings Park in Durban against his countrymen, having featured in recent weeks after his recovering from a second ACL injury while with Munster.
Kolisi, South Africa's World Cup winning captain. believes the giant lock's comeback will provide inspiration for others in tough positions.
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“It’s never nice to see a player go through an injury period, especially a long one like he has," he said. "For him to stay in the fight, because a lot of people can give up and just not work but he stayed in it.
"And it shows as well, how special of a team Munster are as a club, as a union, to stick with him and keep on looking after him.
“That’s the values you want in a club, that’s going to be with you through the toughest of times and him staying there and fighting through it.
“For us it’s an inspiration to keep on going and working hard until he got to that moment and I don’t care who he plays for, it doesn’t matter who he is, as long as a player is like that I really get inspired by that and I’ve been rooting for him.
“Obviously I want him to do well because he’s a very good friend of mine. I really enjoy playing with him and it’s not always nice to play against him and I don’t want him to play too well but I’m glad that he’s on the pitch and is playing.
“I hope that it inspires a lot of guys who get injuries to know that it is possible to get them up and with the backing of your club, it’s huge that Munster could back him like that.
"So I’m really happy for him and the club to have him back - and obviously the country, South Africa, is happy to have him back too.”
Meanwhile, Kolisi believes Leinster and Ireland are a different proposition without Johnny Sexton.
The 31-year-old has seen plenty of what Ireland can offer after the sides met in Dublin last October, with Ireland emerging triumphant with Sexton driving them on - and the sides are also pencilled in to meet in their third World Cup finals group game later this year.
“Obviously he has been amazing this year," said the Springbok. "He has been really amazing. He is a great leader for the Irish team and for Leinster as well.
“One thing that I like about him is that he just shows age means nothing with the way that he has played this year.
“I love when people defy all the odds, maybe someone didn’t back him and said he was too old, but the way that he is playing at the moment, it makes a huge difference when he is not in that Irish side.
“But I know for a fact that the guys that are playing behind him will take their opportunities. And it’s an opportunity to see (other guys) because you never know what might happen at the World Cup.
“So, it’s a great opportunity for the coaches to look at other players. They will see who has the authority to take that position.
“Maybe they already have a second-choice, but they are looking at the third and fourth-choice going forward.
“It’s unlucky, but hopefully he can get back soon. Obviously they will be very conservative, making sure that he is ready for the World Cup.”
While working with former Munster coach Felix Jones as part of the South Africa set-up, Kolisi is now doing the same at club level with former Leinster academy boss Noel McNamara - who is in the Sharks backroom team as the attack and backs coach.
“He’s good, really good. I’ve really enjoyed working with him," said the flanker.
“I think the Irish generally play a different style of rugby to us, so he is trying to make us see a different way to play rugby.
“He’s always getting used to passing the ball. We are generally a team that will have one pass and then take it up, so he is trying to bring variety in our group.
“He’s also an amazing human being. We meet almost every morning for coffee. I’ve gotten very close to him, so it’s going to be tough to not work with him next year. He’s a very good man and a great coach as well.”
"He's similar to Felix, but different at the same time. They do similar things but it’s obviously through different levels.
“It’s always good to see the way that other countries see rugby. Sometimes it’s different to us and we can always learn and be better at a few things.
"They don’t try to take away the things we are good at, they just try to add a little bit more skill in whatever.”
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