While it's been a joy to watch a fully fit RG Snyman back to his best in Munster colours in recent weeks, it's hard not to think, 'what if?'.
What if it had all gone smoothly for the South African in his four seasons at Munster? What if he'd had a softer landing from that lineout seven minutes into his debut in August 2020?
The list of 'what ifs?' could be as long as the man himself, all 6ft 9in of him, and answering them is better left for an evening down in your local club.
For now, Munster fans are embracing every minute they have left with the double-World Cup winner, who could yet move on to his new adventure at Leinster as a double-URC winner on top of it.
In his six appearances since his return from shoulder/chest surgery, Munster have won all six, and the second row has scored four tries. The two games he missed while laid up with pneumonia saw the province struggle to a win against Cardiff before losing to Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup.
You can join those dots yourself and see just how important the 29-year-old is for this Munster side, even in the limited time he's been able to play, while it's also obvious out on the pitch.
With his size and weight, the Springbok (pictured below) is a natural gainline winner, while his ability to hold the ball above the point of contact and offload into space is a nightmare to defend.
His return has also allowed Munster get the most out of their 80 minutes, with Snyman partnering Tadhg Beirne in the second row, allowing Tom Ahern's athleticism be used off the bench when the opposition are starting to tire.
For a side who already have Jean Kleyn and Edwin Edogbo ruled out for the rest of the season, their options at lock are still quite impressive.
"We are just incredibly lucky that we got those two guys available to us currently," forwards coach Andi Kyriacou says of the Snyman-Beirne partnership.
"They're hugely competitive in terms of what they are trying to achieve within the team. Obviously RG has fitted into more of that '4’ lock role that you would have seen Jean Kleyn occupy in previous seasons.
"He is not just a big man who carries hard and things like that, his skill-set, his knowledge in and around the lineout, how he is able he is to manipulate things in mauls and maul defence is pretty special.
"Then his overall game, you are seeing more and more of his offloading game, and the big thing we are seeing big strides in is his defensive performances
"He’s not just making shots on people, he is up and he is creating a lot of chaos in the tackle zone.
"Then you’ve got Tadhg, who is equally as physical but just such an incredibly smart player. He provides a lot of calm in and around the set-piece."
Snyman's popularity amongst the majority of Munster fans hasn't been changed by his decision to join rivals Leinster next season, with the second row admitting last week that he's been pleasantly surprised with how the news has been taken.
Kyriacou (above) says he's consistently contributed off the pitch, even when he hasn't been able to do so on it.
"He's a good man as well. He's a great bloke to have in the environment, in the building, he doesn't just offer value off the grass, what he does off the field with team-mates and around the place culturally is excellent," he added.
"I honestly can't speak highly enough of him, he's just a great bloke and a great player and I'm glad he's fit and he's available."
Seven wins in a row in the URC have seen Munster surge up to third in the table, locking in a quarter-final spot after last weekend's 47-12 win over Connacht, while they now have two games left to earn as high a seeding as possible for play-offs next month.
Having had to endure an injury crisis early in the season, the province are looking close to full-strength heading into the final stages of the campaign, which has allowed Graham Rowntree mix and match his starting team and bench.
In their tour games in South Africa, as well as the recent win over Connacht, the province have held back Ahern, Oli Jager, Gavin Coombes and Conor Murray on the bench, while Antoine Frisch was also kept among the replacements last weekend.
Kyriacou said: "I think what got shown up through that winter period - it was well documented the amount of injuries we had through that period, especially up front - is the fact that we were in games after 50-55 minutes, 60 minutes, and we just couldn't quite get things done
"As we've moved through, and more and more people are available, we've tried to box a bit clever in terms of how we set up the squad. I think there's growth within our players as well, a maturity is growing there with lads understanding their roles within that 23, and the importance of the impact they bring in those roles coming on the pitch after 50, 60 minutes and finishing games off.
"I think that's been pretty visible, certainly in the last three games."
'There is a real nice balance to their attack' - @bernardjackman and @LenihanDonal are impressed by the variety in Munster’s play #rterugby #AgainstTheHead pic.twitter.com/12FssRbmAk
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 13, 2024
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