Of course, the Springboks went on from there to secure the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time in succession before welcoming Ireland to their shores for a two-test summer tour in July of this year.

Several months prior to squaring off in that series (which ended with Ireland and South Africa recording one win apiece), it had been confirmed that Snyman was going to join forces with Ryan in Leinster for their 2024/25 campaigns in the United Rugby Championship and the European Champions Cup.

Their five bonus-point victories to date in the former have included interprovincial derby successes over Munster and Connacht with Snyman and Ryan being the starting locks of choice for both games.

“He’s class. The way he goes about his business in the preparation for a game is also something that people can look up to. He goes out of his way to make sure he’s 100% prepped and even the guys around him as well,” Snyman said of Ryan.

Ahead of being named in South Africa’s squad for their forthcoming series of autumn internationals in Europe, Snyman was speaking at a Leinster media briefing in UCD on Monday.

When asked if he found Ryan to be a better player having now trained and played alongside him, he admitted there are some areas of his game he now has a greater respect for.

“That’s a tough question. I guess I’ve just got to see a little bit more of him now, so you find appreciation for a lot more things that you now know that he’s doing. There is a lot more that I can see him doing now. For instance, I would never really have noticed his breakdown work before.

“Obviously you look at defence, you look at attack and you look at lineouts. All of these things when you are playing against teams. His contributions at the breakdown and the way he approaches that is something that is really exciting.”

Despite only making three appearances to date – he is expected to enjoy a fourth outfit against South African opposition in the shape of Emirates Lions at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening – Snyman has already had a significant impact in the colours of Leinster.

He recorded five tries in 10 appearances during the final few months of his time in Munster and has maintained that scoring form in the eastern province by crossing the whitewash against both his former club and Connacht on consecutive weekends.

Aside from his physicality – he stands at 6 feet 9 inches and weighs 117 kg – Snyman has also been noted throughout his career for having an eye-catching offloading game.

This is something that was driven into him from a very young age and while he acknowledges there are risks that come with it, he believes Leinster is the right environment for him to showcase this side of his game.

“It was definitely my Dad who instilled that into my playing style from a young age. When I was growing up, he would always encourage me to ‘don’t let the ball die, just keep it alive, keep giving it to someone else if you feel you can’t go anywhere with it anymore’. That’s probably the biggest influence, throwing the ball around a bit,” Snyman added.

“It’s almost every time you step into a new system, guys are a little bit new to understanding where to be or to expect it, but I thought the guys here just got it straight away. It has always been encouraged, but throughout my career as well, you need to learn when to do it and when not to do it. I think there is a bit of a balance in it as well.”