Munster prop Stephen Archer says their Heineken Champions Cup drubbing away to the Sharks was the turning point in their season, as they prepare for a URC semi-final against Leinster this Saturday (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).
Six weeks ago, the province's season looked to be dying on the vine after they were dumped out of the Champions Cup in a 50-35 hammering away to the Sharks in South Africa. And while they still looked likely to finish in the BKT United Rugby Championship playoffs, they appeared in danger of missing out on a place in next season's Champions Cup.
However, a gutsy win away to the Stormers was followed by a 19-point comeback to save a 22-22 draw with the Sharks in Durban, before booking their place in Saturday's semi-final against Leinster with a 14-5 win away to in-form Glasgow last weekend.
Their season has been given a shot of adrenaline in recent weeks, and while they're considerable underdogs to pull off a shock against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, the prospect of them being in a URC semi-final didn't seem likely six weeks ago.
Tighthead prop Archer says everything changed after that Champions Cup elimination.
"I think we had a good hard look at ourselves after the European loss to the Sharks," he said.
'Munster have to play on the edge'
"We knew we were going back out there to play the Stormers who are top class, so we had a good review, and had a lot of things to work on, and two weeks to do that.
"We had to pull up the sleeves, and it was massive going down there and getting that big win in Cape Town."
The 35-year-old has played 261 games for the province since making his debut in 2009, with two of his most important shifts in the red jersey coming on that recent tour of South Africa, where he played the full 80 minutes in each of the games against Stormers and Sharks. To put that into context,the tighthead had only previously gone the distance five times in his Munster career, the last of which was in April 2017.
"Old age, isn't it?" he laughs when asked what the secret to his longevity is.
The two-cap Ireland international is just seven appearances short of Donncha O'Callaghan's record of 268 games for the province, and having agreed a contract extension until the end of next season, looks likely to break that record in the next 12 months.
"The body is feeling good, and I'm feeling fresh," he added.
"I missed a portion of the season in October, got an ankle injury and missed about three months, so I've been refreshed going into the second half of the season. I'm delighted."
Having conceded 130 points across three games up to and including that European defeat to the Sharks, Munster have turned a corner defensively in their run to the semi-final, in particular last week where they held a usually free-flowing Glasgow attack to just five points at Scotstoun.
"It was a massive turning point when we soaked up a lot of pressure in that first 20 minutes [v Glasgow], and then the first chance we got, piling it on when we got a score, was a big momentum shift in the game and we took great confidence from that.
"Leams [Denis Leamy] and Andi [Kyriacou] have done great work with us in the last few weeks since that Sharks match, and it's really an area we focus on, our defence, we tightened up and it's through the lads' hard work. We'll need to be on the top of our game on Saturday."
The Aviva Stadium has been a difficult venue for Munster down the years, winning just two of their 16 visits there since Lansdowne Road was redeveloped, the latest being a 27-13 loss to Leinster in October.
The province's away form has been the foundation of their recovery in the second half of the season though. That defeat to Leinster on October was a fourth away loss in a row to begin the campaign, but Rowntree's side have gone unbeaten on the road in the URC since, winning away to Edinburgh, Ulster, Benetton, Stormers and Glasgow, as well as earning a draw at the Sharks.
"We've gone to some tough places and won, which is great," Archer added.
"It's given us a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence, and we'll need that this week going to the Aviva, where it's the opposite to us; Leinster are comfortable. Every match I've seen of them in the last few weeks has been from the Aviva, home comforts for them. We'll take teat confidence from our last few weeks.
"The two matches [v Leinster] were quite close this season, and I think we've come on a lot as a team since then. Leinster have too, but we have to take confidence that we're not a million miles off. We know it'll be a big test, and are looking forward to the challenge."
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