Stephen Larkham says that Munster are "in the heat" of securing new signings - but are poised to lose Jason Jenkins to Leinster.
With Damian de Allende set to play his club rugby in Japan next season, the Reds could be about to lose another South African with Leinster linked with tighthead lock Jenkins, who has only played once for the province since his summer arrival.
On de Allende's Japan link, Larkham commented: "Look, it would be understandable. Players move around all the time.
"Yeah, disappointing. He’s been great for us. He’s been great within the squad, within the organisation and then obviously his performances on the field have been tremendous as well.
"So yeah, he would be a loss, no doubt.”
Larkham is one of several senior coaches also departing in the summer but, following confirmation that double cruciate victim RG Snyman has extended his stay, the Aussie is excited about the possibility of more big names coming to the province.
"We certainly haven’t secured our full roster for next year and that’s a process that is always going throughout the 12 months of the year," Larkham said.
"There’s always contract negotiations and top-ups and those discussions happening, so it’s no different at the moment.
"We’re kind of in the heat of it at the moment, just trying to get a number of guys signed. So we’ll have to wait and see.”
He hailed Snyman's decision to stay in Limerick as "exciting", adding: “It’s expected that he will make a full recovery.
“There’s always a concern with players and signing big contracts.
"Look at some of the big players around the world who sign big contracts and then get injured, it’s part and parcel of the game.
"There’s a tremendous team around him building him back up, so we’ve got full confidence in that process.”
As for Sunday''s home clash with Wasps, Munster know that a resounding victory could put them in the top four in terms of seeding and in a strong position to push on for European glory for the first time since 2008.
“Yeah, we’ve spoken about that," said Larkham of the possibility of securing a top seeding and a home quarter-final and semi-final if the Reds were to progress that far.
"That’s definitely a goal for us going into this game.
"I guess if you look at it from a Wasps perspective they’ve got a bit to fight for but we’ve certainly got a lot to fight for. That makes a massive difference, getting those home games.
“Yeah, we’ve spoken about that earlier in the week and that will be a little focus in the back of our minds.
"But it’s like every other game, we get our prep right leading into the game and we’re trying to put our best performance on the field.”
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