CJ Stander has had his fill of near-misses in a Munster shirt.
Dreams of capping his Ireland Grand Slam glory with a Champions Cup success fell apart in Bordeaux eight days ago as Racing 92 deservedly marched in to the decider against Leinster.
The 27-22 scoreline did not reflect the Top 14 outfit's superiority as an off-the-pace Munster paid the price for a nightmare first half.
It means their only hope of ending the season with silver lies in the Pro14.
Twelve months after being beaten in the Pro12 final by Scarlets, Stander knows that at this stage of the campaign, it's all about winning.
"It's cup rugby from now on. If we win it we go on; if not, we don't go on," he told RTÉ Sport ahead of this weekend's Pro14 semi-final play-off against Edinburgh at Thomond Park.
"We need to make sure we put the hard work in this week, concentrate on this game and make sure we don't get caught again watching semis and finals at home while other people are playing.
"It's going top be another tough game. It could be the last game of the year. Anybody that's pushed up against the wall is going to come out and play as well as they can, come out fighting. That (goes) for both teams. It just comes down to a good showdown for the weekend."
A win in front of their own fans would give Munster a crack at old rivals Leinster in the semis at the RDS.
Stander revealed that there was plenty of soul searching and frank discussion in the aftermath of the European defeat, and believes the squad are in a better place for it.
"Last week was always going to be difficult after the performance in the first half," he said.
"It was quite refreshing; there was a lot of honesty, things we can improve on. Sometimes you think you're doing things right and you're not. It was good to see people preach up and talk up, and see that this place means something to them. We need to move on.
"A full Thomond Park is place that really is special. It gives you goosebumps. We want to play as hard as we can and give something back to the crowd. They've been outstanding this year."
