- Munster assistant Stephen Larkham believes the Springboks can still be hopeful of Damian de Allende and RG Snyman featuring against the British & Irish Lions after being injured in a fire pit accident.
- Both men will consult a specialist again on Friday and are currently still slated to join the national camp later this month.
- Munster management view the incident as an "accident" and a "good lesson" for anyone working with fire.
Munster assistant coach Stephen Larkham believes it is too early to say whether Damian de Allende and RG Snyman will feature for the Springboks in the series against the British & Irish Lions despite the injuries they sustained from the now infamous fire pit accident.
The two World Cup-winning players sustained "superficial" burns to their legs, hands and faces after one of the players threw petrol onto the flames, leading to the canister igniting and exploding.
They required hospital attention and saw a specialist last Sunday, with a follow-up appointment scheduled for Friday.
While De Allende and Snyman definitely won't feature in their Irish club's Rainbow Cup meeting with Zebre, Larkham indicated that, as things stands, the duo will join up with the Springboks later this month.
"It's too early to say at this stage from my perspective (if they'll miss out)," the former Wallaby flyhalf told a media briefing.
"They’ve seen the specialist and will see the specialist again on Friday. At this stage, we'll be handing them over to the Springboks at some stage over the next month or so depending on how their rehab is going, particularly for RG where he's in a rehab programme anyway."
The towering Snyman remains a doubt for the high-profile assignment anyway as he still hasn't fully recovered from a long-term knee injury.
"We want to make sure he's at a sufficient level before we send him over there to the Springboks but basically, where we're sitting right now, their next port of call is going to be with the Springboks," said Larkham.
De Allende had previously told SuperSport.com too that "we should be okay in a few weeks".
He also intimated that the players' biggest challenge currently is to cope psychologically given the nature of the incident.
"It's been tough and some of the boys are still struggling, but thankfully they’re not in a lot of pain. There is some significant damage there and it will take a while.
"It’s a good lesson for them and it will be a good lesson for anyone who reads up on the story. You’ve got to respect things around a fire pit. They're still reeling at the moment, but they'll bounce back soon enough."
Various members of the local rugby fraternity also told Sport24 that they're focusing on providing support for De Allende and Snyman.
Munster management won't be taking too dim a view on the matter, merely reiterating that there's simply "relief" all around that the incident wasn't more serious.
"There's a lot of relief at the moment," said Larkham.
"We've heard most of the story and it was fairly scary for the boys. From the coaches' perspective, it was just an accident. They're all grown men, responsible men and it just got away from them. We're just lucky it hasn't been worse."