When Munster landed in Cape Town on Tuesday, many of their travelling party had racked up almost 20,000 air miles in two weeks.
The return journey from South Africa to Ireland following a 50-35 Champions Cup bashing at the hands of the Cell C Sharks in Durban would only have added to the long-haul weariness.
The DHL Stormers, Munster's opponents on Saturday, and the Sharks have also been traversing the globe and, like Munster, had to make return journeys stewing in the juices of European defeat.
But now it’s the Irish who have to go to the well again and come up with something special to make the BKT United Rugby Championship play-offs, and indeed book a Champions Cup place for next season.
Munster sit in fifth place but face the toughest run-in of all the competition.
The Stormers, who drew with Leinster, haven’t been beaten at home in the tournament since December 2021.
The Sharks, Saturday week’s opponents, are currently in eighth place and will be desperate to stay in the hunt. They host Benetton on Friday night.
"It’s a challenge and you’ve got to get on with it, haven’t you?," said Graham Rowntree when asked about the difficulty in keeping players fresh for the fray.
"It’s like having a load of injuries, you get on with what you’ve got.
"We’ve planned for these trips, done some good conditioning, some good strategies around recovery and sleeping on planes but this is how the game is.
"The South African teams are doing it a lot more regularly than us and they seem to get on with it and that’s been our message here, we get on with it.
"We had a good training session [Wednesday], not gone too hard today but we will tomorrow.
"No, it’s part of the job now, different challenges, getting on with things, finding out and getting better."
Responding to a suggestion about asking golfer Padraig Harrington for tips on sleeping on airplanes, Rowntree pointed out that the three-time major-winner was unlikely to have similar-sized company on his many journeys.
"Is he sat between Denis Leamy and Andy Kyriacou? I bet he doesn't do that, does he?"
Having taken some time to find their feet under a new coaching ticket, Munster went on a fine run mid-season before their recent dip that has seen them concede 130 points in three games.
"You learn from adversity," added the 51-year-old former England international, who took over from Johann van Graan at the end of last season.
"We’ve had some adversity for one reason or another this season and the group’s tighter for it.
"This group want to achieve and a word was mentioned earlier about fizzling out, there’s no-one here going to fizzle out.
"We’re still striving to be as good as we can be and the lads have been honest.
"We’ve been honest about the last performances. What more can you do? Fix it, be honest, get on with it. Get on with the next game."
Rowntree, who confirmed that Simon Zebo’s absence was a selection call, is able to welcome back Ireland international Keith Earls following a calf injury.
The 35-year-old missed Ireland’s Grand Slam campaign and his return provides a timely boost for the 2011 tournament winners.
"He’s a thorough professional. I can’t speak highly enough about Keith Earls, particularly as we’re the same age as well," joked the head coach.
"I still don’t know how he keeps going at his age.
"He has been great around the group, good for our leadership group.
"He’s a very calm influence, knows the game inside out. It’s good to have him here."
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