Munster look set to be without Jeremy Loughman for Saturday's Investec Champions Cup quarter-final with Bordeaux-Begles, although Ian Costello’s side have otherwise come through last week’s win at La Rochelle in good health.
The loosehead prop departed early in Saturday's 25-24 epic victory against Ronan O’Gara’s side with a hamstring injury, and is set to have a scan on the issue, with Josh Wycherley now likely to come into the starting team this Saturday in Bordeaux.
Having not won a Champions Cup knockout game in France for 23 years, the province are now looking to do it for the second time in a week when they take on Bordeaux at Stade Chaban-Delmas, site of Munster’s famous 2000 semi-final win against Toulouse.
But defence coach Denis Leamy says they will be drawing on their experiences from the last two seasons, where they pulled off some famous results in South Africa with their backs against the well.
"The experience is definitely there and it's something we can always draw on," Leamy said.
"This group of players have been in difficult places, have won in difficult places, and it's about growing all those different pieces that help you understand the reasons of how you can win and why you can win in away pitches.
"The group is in a confident mood. We've obviously won in a very difficult place in La Rochelle last weekend, but look, the challenge going to Bordeaux now will be even higher again, but it's one we're very excited about and it's just about getting our bodies and our minds right for the challenge and over to France we go again."
While Bordeaux hold the top seed in the Champions Cup knockouts, Yannick Bru’s side looked inconsistent in their Round of 16 win against Ulster on Sunday, given a bit of a scare by Richie Murphy’s side before holding off their attempted comeback to win 43-31.
The French side weren’t at full-strength, however, resting some of their key men, including the Six Nations Player of the Championship Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
The 21-year-old has scored 14 tries in his last nine games for club and country, among a wider record of 26 tries in his last 22 games, and Leamy – in his role of defence coach – admits he has a big job on his hands shutting Bordeaux’s electric backline down.
"You could argue that Bordeaux maybe look to play a little bit more chaotic [than La Rochelle] and they throw the ball around a little bit more and they've got players like [Damian] Penaud and 'Billy Barry’ [Bielle-Biarrey], that's what we're calling him at the moment here, but these sort of players are very special players and they get them into spaces where they get really threatening and really effective.
"So that's the challenge for us in trying to create slow ball and trying to create a good defensive line in controlling our kicking game, and obviously when we have the ball, how we control that and how we create problems for them.
"Well that is the challenge, isn't it, it's trying to be disciplined around your kicking game, around holding the ball in attack, your execution, in terms of not creating scraps around our turnovers and creating unstructured, fractured play.
"Teams like Bordeaux, they just thrive on that and obviously you can see that it's something that they value hugely, just that chaotic game, they try to create that at every opportunity and they're really effective with their speed and their power and some of the lines they run are really impressive."
While this is a first ever meeting of the sides, there are some common denominators between the sides, with former Munster 10 Joey Carbery (above) now at out-half for the French side, while Clare’s Noel McNamara is backs coach.
"I worked with Noel myself [at Leinster], I know Noel very well, he’s done very well in the Leinster Academy and went to Sharks and now onto Bordeaux," Leamy added.
"He’s had a brilliant career and being successful anywhere he’s gone. Anyone who has worked with Noel will know his philosophy on rugby, huge detail around the breakdown and kick transitions.
"It’s great to see Noel doing well and bringing Bordeaux to this stage of European rugby.
"And obviously Joey who was with us for a number of years, played for Ireland, he’s somebody we know well and we know the quality he will bring and the threat that he possesses."
Watch Leinster v Glasgow Warriors in the Investec Champions Cup on Friday from 7.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, and listen to live commentary on RTE Radio 1
Watch Ireland v England in the Guinness Women's Six Nations on Saturday from 4pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
