RG Snyman has been blown away by the depth of quality in the Leinster set-up and called the potential of Sam Prendergast "crazy".
The giant South Africa lock moved from rivals Munster at the end of last season and has started their last three games, as Leinster extended their lead at the top of the BKT URC table.
Leo Cullen's side, who have reached the last three Champions Cup finals, are renowned for using younger players from their academies across the course of the season.
In the 2023/24 season, they used 57 players, while they hit 60 or more in the four seasons prior to that.
With his feet firmly under the blue table, the 29-year-old was asked what stood out as the biggest difference between Leinster and Munster and singled out the 21-year-old out-half, who, as expected, was included in the Ireland squad named yesterday.
"I look at guys like Sam, the things they can do with the ball in training and stuff, it's crazy.
"You just look at these guys and probably think they’re going to play big rugby one day.
"The guys ahead of them, or the older guys here, are playing so well as well.
"They have such a big pool of talent here that it’s actually unbelievable."
In addition to the Webb Ellis victories in 2019 and 2023, Snyman arrived to Dublin with a URC winners medal from 2023 and spoke about sharing his experiences with his new team-mates.
"Yeah, I must say and it also works the other way around because I get to learn from guys that also play the game a little bit differently and see the game a little bit differently," said Snyman, who’s back in the Springboks squad for their autumn games after missing the Rugby Championship with a foot injury.
"So I learn a lot from it as well but I must say the guys are very willing to learn and to adapt to new ideas and to adopt certain things and just conversations throughout the day about mindset on certain things.
"It's been really interesting to see the guys' approach to the game and I've been enjoying it."
One thing the former Bulls player hasn’t shared with his team-mates yet is his 'party piece’.
He previously revealed that he has a habit of ripping his and his team-mates' shirts on nights out, and that the "list is a bit long" of Munster players who got the Incredible Hulk-style treatment
"I don't know, if we go out for a couple of pints I'll show you," he said with a smile.
"No, the guys have been asking me about it but I think maybe that was just a phase or something like that 'cos it hasn't happened here yet.
"Maybe it will one day, we'll see."
"The Lions bring a a whole different excitement when they go out onto the field and they look to play the game in a very exciting way with ball in hand and some great attack from them," said Snyman of Saturday’s visitors, who beat Zebre 10-9 in Parma last weekend.
"With that comes a big setpiece from their side as well.
"I think the start of their season this year has been very good for them so it's an exciting game to look forward to.
"It's a familiar opponent and some familiar faces in that side and I think it's going to be an exciting game with the way that we like to play and the way that they like to play."
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