Munster legend Ronan O'Gara believes the province can get a result in Clermont on Sunday in the Champions Cup, despite losing at home to the French side last weekend.
The Reds lost 16-9 at Thomond Park, in a game where captain Peter O'Mahony admitted they were "bullied", to hand control of Pool 1 back to their rivals.
While winning in France now looks a tall order, O'Gara told RTÉ Sport that Munster will be competitive if they can perform to their best.
"It was a one-score game," he said. "Munster didn't play near their potential and I think if they can look to play the game with a little more pace on a soggy, energy-consuming pitch in Stade Michelin, if they're within one score in the final 20 minutes it could go either way.
"When you're the home team [as Munster were last week] and you're chasing a game it makes it so much different in terms of your mindset to building a lead.
"They'll have to attempt to kick all their three-point opportunities and they'll have to play, which could make it exciting.
"People will probably expect Munster to kick the ball in the air and keep it tight, but it could be a very interesting game depending on weather conditions."
"Clermont were highly prepared, highly organised, highly disciplined, highly motivated and it worked a treat for Jono Gibbes.
"He came up with a coaching masterplan and attacked Munster's key leaders, key ball-carriers.
"Munster found it hard to get any rhythm into the game and when you get a body-blow like a score off a driving maul in the first minute of the game, it's hard to reverse that momentum and body language.
"It was a serious operation by Clermont but, saying that, I don't think it's as drastic as people are making out."
"It was a serious operation by Clermont but, saying that, I don't think it's as drastic as people are making out."
O'Gara conceded that winning in Clermont would be "a massive ask" but suggested that the Munster players could thrive under the pressure and that a losing bonus point might be an acceptable return.
"The fans there are fantastic, it will be a cracking atmosphere," he said.
"That and the Stade Mayol [home of Toulon] are probably the two best venues outside Ireland, in terms of atmosphere and finding out an awful lot about yourself.
"There will be times when fellas will feel like they want the ground to swallow them up because there will be waves of blue and yellow coming at them on Sunday but they're the things can make you.
"A losing bonus point isn't to be sniffed at either. There is so much still to play for in this group.
O'Gara also suggested that Munster's recent good form and last season's Heineken Cup quarter-final thrashing of Toulouse might have led to over-confidence.
"The Munster fear-factor last week probably wasn't as high as it would have been if they had lost [the opening two group games] but they had won six games on the bounce, and the internationals had a fantastic November, so confidence levels were really high," he said.
"Toulouse were the last French side to come to Thomond but how could you have fear-factor after what happened in that game?
"But what has been established since the weekend is that Toulon and Clermont are operating at a higher level, most definitely in France and probably in Europe, to any other teams."
Munster captain O'Mahony insists the players are itching for a chance to atone for a painful defeat and said matching Clermont physically would be their priority .
"It hurt to lose at home but it's not a week to be hanging around and feeling sorry for yourself," said O'Mahony.
"Luckily, we have a chance to get back out there on Sunday. We just have to dust ourselves off and try to right the things that we didn't do well [last weekend].
"Rugby is coming down to physicality now and we were bullied at home, so the physicality is something we're going to have to get right come Sunday.
"It's going to take a massive performance. They're a different animal at home, so we're going to have to be as good as we can be."
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