Gavin Coombes

Quiet off the park, demonstrative on it. This is Munster's latest monster

- Alan Dymock

FEED HIM ball close to the opposition line and it feels like Gavin Coombes racks up more scores than Hans Zimmer. He had ten tries in the league last season and led the United Rugby Championship for overall carries last term, with 126 to his name.

In Munster's frankly ridiculous run to a URC title last season - a run that saw them play their last five matches on the road, including the final in Cape Town - Coombes didn't just stand up and fight, he battled on the hoof. And yet for all the action the dynamic back-five forward brings, there's a stilled, contemplative nature to him.

"Gav's quite a quiet, reserved character around the building," says forwards coach Andi Kyriacou. "He is very good on the field in terms of the contact or the collision. His carrying is phenomenal. But what's grown through last year as well is that he knows when to speak. He says the right things at the right time as well.