Tyler Bleyendaal will captain Munster this weekend for their trip to Bloemfontein to play the Cheetahs.
Bleyendaal returned from a neck injury to play 30 minutes for the Munster A’s in the Celtic Cup defeat to Leinster earlier this month but he has not featured for the first team since their 21-10 win over Glasgow back in February.
With nine players away on international duty and a further 14 players out injured Munster will take a 27-man squad to South Africa and van Graan commented that it’s great to have a quality player like Bleyendaal back in their ranks.
“It’s brilliant to have him back,” van Graan said.
“He played 30 minutes for the A team against Leinster a few weeks ago and we have been monitoring him the whole time, he is itching to go.
“He will start this weekend and he will also be the captain, something he has done before for Munster. It’s great to have him back in a leadership role and it’s great to have a quality player back who has been out for a really long time.”
Sam Arnold and John Ryan were also added to the squad after talks with Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt but van Graan did not guarantee that either player would start against the Cheetahs.
“Joe requested for them to have more gametime,” added van Graan.
“They might start or they might come from the bench but with an inexperienced squad it’s great to have two international players who will go into Irish camp after this trip.
“Sammy still has to go through the return to play protocols (head injury v Glasgow) but we’re looking forward to having him back and I think John Ryan has been playing really well the last three weeks.
“Not only with his scrummaging but also with his off the ball work has also been very good so it’s great to have him here.”
