Dec 06,2024
It's been a difficult start for Thaakir Abrahams at Munster, both on and off the pitch, but the South African is hopeful that his luck is starting to change.
The 25-year-old speedster had been spoken of as one of the final jigsaw pieces Munster needed when he joined from Lyon in the summer; a lightning-quick winger and full-back who could break games from deep, but such has been Munster’s luck with transfers in recent seasons, he’s had little chance to show it.
Abrahams started the season opener against Connacht before picking up an injury a week later in the shock defeat to Zebre, a thigh injury which ultimately kept him out for four more URC games, as well as the exhibition against an All Blacks XV.
While he was on the sidelines, the province fell into a poor run of form, after which head coach Graham Rowntree departed.
It’s been a tough start to life in Limerick, but his return last weekend against the Lions showed just why Munster’s coaches were so excited about his arrival in the summer.
He scored his first Munster try when he gathered a skidding John Ryan pass to dive over the line, while his blistering break down the right touchline assisted Shane Daly for Munster’s second try just after the break.
"It was very frustrating for me. It’s not the way I wanted to start, coming here," he said of his early injury this season.
"It’s part of the game and you just have to deal with it, but I tried to come back a bit stronger, a bit faster, I was working on it."
Behind the scenes the Paarl native was adjusting to a new country and a new environment away from family.
When he moved to Ireland in August, he had to come here without his partner Tasneem and newborn baby Diyaana while they waited back in South Africa to get a passport cleared. They finally arrived in Limerick last week, just in time to see him score his first Munster try.
"Probably a bit more luck, a bit more motivation for me as well! I love having my family here, having support here with me.
"It’s been a long four months waiting for them to come here. They arrived last week, Wednesday. I’m very happy to have them here, I have a newborn, so I haven't seen her for four months, she’s five months now, so I missed quite a bit in that. I’m so happy to have them here now.
"As rugby players we get a lot of challenges and need to adapt quite quickly, but it’s been a good move. The lads have been good, the coaching staff have been good to me. It was a great change for me and I’m very happy to be here," he added.
Interim head coach Ian Costello believes the best is yet to come from their South African signing, who previously played for the Sharks before moving to Lyon in 2023.
And while Costello was quick to highlight his natural talent and speed, he was more impressed with Abrahams’ work rate when he assisted Daly’s try in last Saturday’s win against the Lions.
"He came off the left wing and covered around 70 or 90 metres before he got the ball. That probably captures the type of player he is," Costello said, ahead of Saturday's Investec Champions Cup opener against Stade Francais.
"That’s why we signed him. He’s got genuine x-factor. A really good character as well, with what he’s added to the group.
"We always look at character first in terms of recruitment, but on the pitch you saw what he can do. We’ve done an awful lot of good things over the last few years, but sometimes we can make it hard on ourselves.
"Having someone like Thaakir, who can pick up a bounce pass and finish a try like that. Then his break up the right wing and how he assisted Shane Daly, that’s massive for us. It's that bit of magic, that’s why he’s here.
"You have the bits that everybody can see, but there's a lot of really good unseen bits that underpin where he is at."
