Thomond Park will stage a home-coming of sorts this weekend when Munster welcome Racing 92 for their Heineken Champions Cup clash.
The French giants are Saturday's visitors to Thomond Park (5.30pm) for the second round of the Champions Cup with both teams having starting their Pool 4 campaigns with victory.
On the pitch former Munster players Donnacha Ryan and Simon Zebo will be hoping to remind supporters just what they can do while attack and backs coach Mike Prendergast is aiming to mastermind a rare away victory at the Thomond Park.
Speaking to 2fm’s Game On, Prendergast admitted that his side are up against it at such a famously tough ground.
"When you look at it fortunately enough over the last number of years Racing have had the experience of playing in Thomond Park, albeit coming up short," he said.
"We’re going into the weekend coming off the back of a good victory against Saracens but also on the other side of it Munster had a huge win away to the Ospreys, taking five points away from home is a massive result."
Prendergast is well aware of just how difficult it is to take any kind of result away from Thomond Park, but he’s hoping having the kind of inside knowledge that he, Zebo and Ryan can offer, might give them an edge.
"We’re well aware, especially myself, Simon and Donnacha, what the Thomond Park factor can do. Everything gets ramped up, it probably brings an extra 10% or 20% out of everybody.
"On a Saturday evening with a kick-off at 5:30 it’s the biggest show in town. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us.
"Results speak for themselves in the last 25 games they haven’t been beaten and lost two in the competition overall between the old Heineken Cup and the Champions Cup so that speaks volumes itself as to how difficult a place it is to go.
"We have to believe we’re going to win there and confidence is good after the last weekend but we also saw the other side of it where Munster had a very good win and did what Munster do and have always done well.
"It’ll be very strange coming up against players you know quite well and coaches obviously and back room staff that you’d know but it’s exciting as well, I’m looking forward to Saturday and I’m sure it’s going to be a great game."
