Setting their Thomond Park record straight next on Munster's agenda

THE EXPECTATION IS that Munster will be bouncing into his one.

10 points from a possible 10 in South Africa meant they flew home rightly delighted with themselves before a bit of time off last week.

There are still a few important players injured – with Diarmuid Barron and Jean Kleyn on the long-term list and John Hodnett unavailable this weekend – but when you compare the situation now with what Munster went through earlier this season, they’re in fine fettle.

Their success in South Africa pushed them up to third in the URC table, just a point behind Leinster and five points off leaders Glasgow, so Graham Rowntree’s men are well-positioned to attack the final three games of the regular season and earn home advantage for the quarter-finals at least.

With Connacht missing a couple of important players for this weekend’s visit to Thomond Park – Mack Hansen, JJ Hanrahan, Cian Prendergast, Denis Buckley, and Shayne Bolton are all part of the injury list – it’s not hard to understand why Munster have been deemed 10-point favourites for Saturday evening’s inter-pro.

And yet, Rowntree’s men might feel like they have a couple of points to prove beyond just beating what’s in front of them.

Firstly, there’s reminding everyone that Thomond Park is their fortress. Munster’s form at the famous Limerick venue has been strange so far this season.

They had a win there against the Sharks in their season opener back in October and followed that up with a good 10-3 victory against the Stormers in November but their fortunes changed thereafter.

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Munster drew with Bayonne at Thomond Park in December.

A 17-17 draw against a weakened Bayonne side at Thomond Park in December proved to be damaging to Munster’s Champions Cup hopes, while Leinster grabbed a 9-3 win in Limerick in the rain on St Stephen’s Day.

Rowntree was dealing with a heavy injury toll at that time but the performances, especially the Bayonne one, weren’t of the standard that Munster hold themselves to.

Their next game at Thomond Park was the visit of Northampton in the last Champions Cup pool match. When Saints hooker Curtis Langdon was sent off, it appeared to pave the way to a win but Munster laboured in the rain again and were pipped 26-23.

They did get back to winning ways in their most recent outing at Thomond Park at the end of March as they beat Cardiff but it was another performance that the southern province weren’t happy with.

Munster’s best performances and results this season have come on the road – victory in Toulon, those bonus-point successes in South Africa – and that was the case last season too as they won all three URC knock-out games away from home.

Even last season, there were woes in Thomond Park as Munster lost there against Ulster, Toulouse, Leinster, and Glasgow. Those are good teams but re-establishing the Limerick ground as a nightmare venue must be high on Munster’s list of priorities.

So this weekend’s clash against Connacht is a chance to deliver another convincing performance that underlines Munster’s intent to retain their URC title. Ulster will visit Limerick on Saturday 1 June in the last regular-season round, providing another opportunity for Rowntree’s men to make a statement in their home stadium.

There’s a visit to Edinburgh in between and if Munster can nail these three games, they will definitely have a home quarter-final in the URC and could earn home advantage for the semi-final and maybe even the final if they progress.

Rowntree’s men won the title on the road last season, beating Glasgow, Leinster, and the Stormers in the play-offs, but it would be special to bring knock-out rugby to Thomond Park.

The most recent time Munster had a home knock-out game in this competition was in 2019 and their last home play-off match of any kind was a Champions Cup round of 16 clash with Exeter in 2022.

The other point they can prove with these two upcoming inter-pros is their ability to beat Irish opposition. Munster have yet to do it this season, losing away to Ulster, home and away against Leinster, and away to Connacht.

Last season included the memorable URC semi-final success against Leinster in Dublin, as well wins over Ulster in Belfast and Connacht at home.

While it doesn’t really matter who you beat as long as you’re racking up wins, there’s no doubt that the Irish derbies remain a point of pride for the provinces.

There are plenty of reasons for Munster to be confident ahead of Saturday’s clash with Connacht. They’re coming off the back of two excellent wins in which returning key players made their presence felt, RG Snyman in particular. Now he’s set for his first-ever start in Thomond Park this weekend.

Ireland out-half Jack Crowley delivered assured performances in South Africa, while the likes of Conor Murray, Stephen Archer, and Simon Zebo showed that their class is permanent. Younger guns like Alex Kendellen fired in impressive fashion too.

The good vibes seemed strong in South Africa and now Munster have a chance to add to them by reminding everyone of what they can do at Thomond Park.