MUNSTER’S URC trip to South Africa continues with another difficult outing against Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday, kick-off 12 noon (Irish time).
It’s a fixture in which the visitors will hope to put the horrors of the huge loss to Sharks in the rear-view mirror.
Despite their recent patchy form, Munster are in sixth place in the league standings.
It is hard to understand how Munster conceded such a hefty defeat last Saturday.
The starting XV looked solid on paper in most positions but coach Clayton McMillan will now have a job to patch up for the losses in eight of their last twelve games.
Another defeat would suddenly find Munster drop Munster into the lower half of the table.
On Sunday, the travelling group travelled to Cape Town and were scheduled to train at sea level before flying to this weekend’s match venue tomorrow (Friday).
In player news, internationals Craig Casey, Jeremy Loughman and Jack Crowley all linked up with the squad at the outset of the week.
Aside from the usual bumps and bruises after the outing in Durban, none of the 31-man squad have been ruled out of contention for the imminent fixture.
The Munster team will be announced this Thursday afternoon.
Backs: Craig Casey, Ethan Coughlan, Paddy Patterson, Jack Crowley, JJ Hanrahan, Tom Farrell, Dan Kelly, Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien, Shane Daly, Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Ben O’Connor.
Forwards: Michael Ala’alatoa, Jeremy Loughman, Michael Milne, John Ryan, Kieran Ryan, Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Barron, Lee Barron, Niall Scannell, Tom Ahern, Edwin Edogbo, Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley, Gavin Coombes, Seán Edogbo, Brian Gleeson, John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen.
Two upcoming competition ties at Thomond Park are against Ulster (April 25) and Emirates Lions (May 16).