MUNSTER ARE SET to sign South African wing/fullback Thaakir Abrahams from Lyon ahead of next season.
As first reported by Lyon-based publication Le Progrès, Abrahams is set to join the Irish province after being granted a release from the last year of his deal with the Top 14 club.
24-year-old Abrahams will add pace and x-factor to Munster’s back three options, which have been reduced in recent times by the retirements of Keith Earls and Andrew Conway, with Simon Zebo also set to hang his boots up at the end of the current season.
Abrahams is a former South Africa U20 international who broke into senior professional rugby with the Natal provincial side and then the Sharks in the URC.
He is a diminutive player at 5ft 9ins but is in the Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse mould thanks to his evasion skills and searing pace.
He came through the famed Paarl Boys’ High School, which has helped to produce Springboks such as Frans Malherbe, Thomas du Toit, and Evan Roos.
Abrahams played against the British and Irish Lions during their 2021 tour of South Africa, while he had a strong 2022/23 season with the Sharks as he scored five tries – two of them against Leinster – in eight URC appearances and featured in the Champions Cup three times.
He moved to Lyon last year and while he hasn’t had a dream season with the French club, playing only eight times in the Top 14, Abrahams has impressed in the Champions Cup, scoring five tries in four pool games – including a brace against Connacht in January.
The South African flyer is now set to move on to Munster, who had been searching for a new signing in the back three and were granted approval by the IRFU to bring in a non-Irish-qualified player.
Abrahams has played most of his professional rugby on the left wing but moved to fullback for Natal in last year’s Currie Cup and has had six starts in the number 15 shirt for Lyon this season.
Munster are also bringing in Connacht wing Diarmuid Kilgallen to boost their back three depth this summer, with that addition having already been officially confirmed.
Shane Daly and Calvin Nash are the current starting wings, while Mike Haley has been a stalwart at fullback in recent years. There are high hopes for 21-year-old wing/fullback Pa Campbell, while wing Liam Coombes is another pacy option.
Seán O’Brien has featured extensively on the wing this season but could play in midfield more often next season as Antoine Frisch gets set to leave for Toulon.
Academy back three players Ben O’Connor and Shay McCarthy have also featured for the Munster senior team this season and will hope to continue their development in 2024/25.
