After a few seasons of pursuit, Munster have finally landed their man despite offers from England, the TOP14 and the pick of all four Irish provinces. Sounds a bit unusual, doesn’t it? That Munster were looking at Frisch when he was playing in the PROD2 for Rouen and Massey? But it’s the truth.

Munster were looking at bringing in the Irish qualified Frisch last season from the PROD2 but the budget as it was post-COVID didn’t allow for it.

Frisch went to Bristol Bears instead and over the course of this season he’s been gradually racking up the minutes until the last few weeks where you could make a genuine argument that he’d be the certain starter alongside Radradra – if Radradra was fit.

That’s some turnaround. When you sign a guy from the PROD2, I think most would assume it’s sensible to temper your expectations but Frisch has blown those expectations out of the water. How is he even available? Well, putting it bluntly Bristol made a mess of their cap admin this season so Frisch – who was on a one year deal from last summer – was always likely to leave because Bristol couldn’t offer him the vastly improved terms his performances deserved. Stade Francais were sniffing around, Montpellier, all of the Irish provinces too and a few big English clubs but Frisch chose Munster as recently as a few days ago.

Munster had some extra budget to work with after the Round of 16 win so here he is – Antoine Frisch, Munster player.

Any player getting a three-year deal – let alone a three-year deal at 25, soon to be 26 years of age – is notable in the Irish system. Typically that kind of deal only gets handed out to top tier players just below the central contract level, high-level prospects who are drawing legit interest from abroad or at the full central contract level. Think Conway, Beirne, Furlong or, most recently, Knox and Salanoa at the developmental level at Munster.

It’s rare enough to be notable, let’s put it that way. What was the thinking behind it? Well, Frisch is Irish qualified and, arguably, performing at a high enough level in England to warrant possible test inclusion as of today so when you also consider the interest from France and elsewhere in the Premiership, a hefty contract from a time and €€€ perspective would have been needed to seal the deal.

You also need to consider the wider Irish environment too – Aki turns 33 the year of the World Cup, and Henshaw is in the age bracket and contract value that would make him (a) an expensive retention after his latest deal which is signed but yet to be announced and, as a result, (b) a prime marquee target in France post World Cup. Frisch has the potential to be a live option in the Irish midfield as a wider squad guy at the very least and, with a good run, could offer a Mack Hansen-style impact going forward.

So what does he bring? At 6’2″ and 95kg, Frisch certainly has the size to offer a physical presence in the Munster midfield but what kind of player is he? He’s played mostly at #12 for Bristol but he can cover either midfield slot – and arguably the wing too – because he’s just incredibly athletic. You see 6’2″ and verging on 95KG and assume that he’s a hitter like Damian De Allende and, while he’s certainly capable of hitting the line hard, it’s not even half the story of what has made him so effective for Bristol this season. He’s a rangy, gliding runner with outstanding agility and a wide range of passing at short, medium and long-range. That might seem to be a workaround for a guy who’s big but who can’t win collisions, but that isn’t accurate.

He can win collisions, yes, but he can play out of the tackle too and it’s actually his preferred way of generating those tighter compressions – you can never truly switch off on Frisch when he carries the ball. He can beat you outside, and inside and go over the top. If I was to think of a comparison for Frisch’s game that would give you an idea of role type, it would have to be Gaël Fickou. Fickou and Frisch share a lot of the same physical qualities and you could say the same for their overall game too – both are rangy runners, deceptively strong and have the same wide range of passing.

Both players are often overtly pigeonholed into one midfield slot or the other. Fickou plays at #13 for France as of late, but he’s played a lot at #12 too because it genuinely doesn’t really matter – his skillset allows him to excel in both positions. For Racing, Fickou is usually a #12 and, for the same physical and stylistic reasons, I think you’d use Frisch in the same slot.

Frisch’s passing, positional play, active breaking threat and attacking organisation are, for me, perfectly suited to that first handler in a layered attacking system. He often runs in this kind of layered screen running role for Bristol in a way that would be a bit different from how you’d use a De Allende, for example.

Is he a second playmaker? I mean, he is but even that description would limit your understanding of what Frisch does and is capable of. He’s a willing passer, which is quite a bit different from a centre that has added passing to their game at a later date. You really would know that Frisch played a bit of #10 during his time traversing the mean streets of the PROD2 because he’s got such a varied skillset and is super comfortable with the ball in his hands in space.

It’s why I think he’s been signed as a #12 for Munster because he’s got such a tight handle of the ball.

I’ve been watching Bristol all year long – quasi-hating on them, to be fair, as a means of examining width for width’s sake during my upcoming summer content – and Frisch has been a constant standout during that time, first in Radradra’s absence and then alongside him.

So knowing he’s been signed for three seasons gives me a clear indication that whatever happens next season, Munster appears to be moving towards a primarily on-ball style in the first year of the Rowntree era because you do not bring in Fekitoa and Frisch to make gains on the defensive side of the ball. Both are good defenders, don’t get me wrong, but they are completely different in style and usage to Damian De Allende. What this means for Munster’s midfield remains to be seen, especially with Farrell re-signed on a two-year deal over the same period. Could we see Frisch and Farrell used at 12 and 13 with Fekitoa deployed as a power winger? If so, that would be really on-trend with the modern game where selecting what is, essentially, three midfielders is becoming increasingly common with ball-dominant sides.

We’ll wait and see but one thing is for sure, Frisch has been signed to play a key role in whatever comes next for Munster.