Munster captain CJ Stander admits it will be strange to go into battle against his new international team-mates this weekend, but says for 80 minutes he will face nothing but enemies.
Fourth-placed Munster travel to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday to take on a Leinster side looking to secure a home semi-final in the Guinness Pro12 (5.30pm, live blog on RTE.ie/live on Radio 1) and eager to bounce back from last weekend’s inter-provincial defeat to Connacht.
Anthony Foley’s side defeated a hapless Zebre 47-0 last time and out and go in search of their second successive victory in this fixture at the Aviva Stadium.
Last season’s 34-32 defeat ended a run of six consecutive defeats to their rivals in the capital, though Leo Cullen’s side claimed the bragging rights earlier this season with a comprehensive 17-point success in Thomond Park.
Stander is brimming with confidence following an exemplary start to his international career, starting all five games in this year’s Six Nations and earning a man-of-the-match award for his debut performance against Wales in the tournament opener.
“Before it would have been easy, you just go up there and treat them as enemies, but now they are friends”
Having spent so much time in camp with many of the Leinster players he will go toe-to-toe with this weekend, the 23-year-old admits the battle lines will have to be drawn and new friendships put to one side.
“Before it would have been easy, you just go up there and treat them as enemies, but now they are friends,” the backrower told RTÉ Sport.
“This is my first time ever doing that as a player, so I probably need to get some advice from a guy like Axel (Foley).
“He’ll probably just tell me to make enemies again!
“You can talk about it afterwards, but going into Saturday it’s going to be head down, do your job and don’t look out for your friends, you are looking at your enemies.”
The former Blue Bulls player made a scoring return for Munster in the seven-try demolition of Zebre, but concedes that little can be read into the result against a side who offered up ample opportunities at Thomond Park.
Despite disappointing European campaigns and at times indifferent league performances, the tension ahead of Saturday’s derby has already been keenly felt in training.
“You can feel it on Monday morning when you walk in. There’s an aura in the place, you can feel it straight away. We all know what is on the line for us. The intensity is there, training’s been good.
“The Aviva is going to be full and they are going to be on edge. You have to pitch up and play your ‘A’ game.”
With four games of the regular season left, Foley’s currently side sit in the final play-off position, seven points behind their rivals and 11 adrift of pace setters Connacht.
Just 10 points separating Scarlets in third to Edinburgh in seventh and defeat this weekend could see last year's finalists replaced in the play-off positions by Ulster, Glasgow or Edinburgh.
Stander, echoing the comments of team-mate Conor Murray, stresses the importance of Saturday’s game in the context of their season.
“We are just taking it week-for-week now. We know if we slip-up this weekend, we are going to probably be playing for scraps.”
