Flannery has nothing but high praise for Ryan.

Donnacha Ryan will play his last game for Munster this Saturday in the Guinness Pro12 Final.

Speaking ahead of Ryan’s last game on this week’s episode of SportsJOE’s rugby podcast, the Hard Yards, Munster forwards coach Jerry Flannery explained exactly what the second row has done for the province this season.

“From my point of view, after Axel passed, and I ended up doing more of the forwards work and coaching the lineout, so I worked a lot with Donnacha during the season. He has massive experience and he is always looking to pass that on to the players,” said Flannery, who went on to describe Ryan’s farewell speech to his team-mates.

“We had a send off for some of the players leaving Munster and Donnacha spoke in front of the group and I am always cognizant of keeping the lines running through Munster, keeping the tradition and it being passed on. Donnacha has always been really, really good for that. He spoke to the group and he spoke really, really powerfully,” said the Tipperary man’s former team-mate.

“Every year you go through this thing where players move on or they’re retiring and the younger guys in the group never think that it is going to happen to them but I think after that, a lot of the younger players who would have heard Donnacha talk about his relationship with Munster Rugby and what it meant to him, they definitely would feel more privileged to play and be in a club like Munster and to play rugby for a living.

“That is what Donnacha does – it is not just the technical stuff, he actually passes on that sense of responsibility. That is as important as any technical stuff you can pass on.”

Ryan will play for Racing 92 next season after signing a two year contract with the french club and is seen as a big loss to Munster.

Let’s hope he can end his time with Munster on a high note with a Pro12 winners medal in his pocket. One thing is for sure, his effort and commitment to Munster over the years certainly deserves it.