Marnus van der Merwe is back to full fitness and available for Munster's final warm-up match ahead of their URC season opener against Glasgow Warriors at Thomond Park on Saturday. The hooker arrived in Ireland carrying a calf injury sustained late in his second season at the Scarlets, but has proven his fitness in an internal training game.
The news carries Springbok significance given the hooker depth issues South Africa navigated during the recent series against New Zealand. With van der Merwe unavailable, the Boks turned to Deon Fourie as back-up to Malcolm Marx — Fourie making history as the oldest Springbok international when he took the field in the second Test in Cape Town, surpassing Victor Matfield's record. Fourie's performances across the series were strong enough to ensure van der Merwe faces genuine competition for the second hooker berth on his return to fitness.
Van der Merwe's most recent cap came in the 43-10 win over New Zealand in Wellington last November.
Also back in the mix for Munster is centre Alex Nankivell, who missed the pre-season outing against La Rochelle with a knock but featured in last week's training run at Crescent College Comprehensive. Flyhalf JJ Hanrahan (concussion) and hooker Max Clein (neck) remain unavailable.