Larkham and Gallagher react to Munster players’ fire-pit incident

Munster assistant coach Stephen Larkham and fullback Matt Gallagher have reacted to the fire-pit incident that left CJ Stander, Mike Haley, RG Snyman and Damian De Allende with burn injuries earlier this week.

Munster Rugby have reported that Mike Haley and CJ Stander could be okay to feature this Friday against Zebre. However, Snyman and De Allende suffered more severe burns and will be a concern for Springbok Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus ahead of their Lions Tour preperations.

“The guys who needed to see a specialist have seen a specialist and will check in with a specialist again on Friday,” said Larkham at this week’s Munster press conference.

“We’ve heard most of the story and it was fairly scary for the boys. It could have been a lot worse, so there’s a lot of relief amongst the team.

“From the coaches’ perspective, it was just an accident. They’re all grown men, responsible men and it just got away from them. We’re just lucky it hasn’t been worse.

“Some of the boys are still struggling but thankfully they’re not in a lot of pain. But there is some significant damage there and it will take a while. It’s a good lesson for them and it will be a good lesson for anyone who reads up on the story.

“You’ve got to respect things around a fire pit. They’re still reeling but they’ll bounce back soon.”

Matt Gallagher didn’t go into much further detail but revealed that everyone is ‘doing okay’ after coming after what could have been a serious accident.

“Yeah I have spoken to them, they’re all doing okay. Obviously it was a big accident but all the lads are doing okay, yeah”

Munster will not take part in the upcoming Rainbow Cup Final after it was announced this morning that Benetton will represent the Northern Hemisphere against the winner of the South African mini-league. Benetton currently sit top of the table after wins against Connacht, Glasgow and Zebre and have now been awarded a walk-over versus Ospreys following a Covid outbreak in the Welsh side’s camp.