Shane Daly is confident he can return to the form that led to his call-up for Ireland 'A' earlier this year.
The versatile Munster back suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in the first half of the team’s defeat to England ‘A’ seven months ago and made a successful return in the province’s victory over Scarlets on Saturday.
Daly, who was the URC 'Ironman' for the most minutes played in the 2023/24 season, has two full Ireland caps dating back to 2021 and had worked his way back into the international reckoning.
He started at full-back in Bristol that day and pulled up after chasing back to make a tackle.
The timing of the injury, which required surgery, ruled him out of contention for Ireland's summer tour but has also meant he was in prime condition for a new Munster chapter under head coach Clayton McMillan.
"It was very disappointing when it happened, obviously the timeline didn't support getting back for that Irish tour, if selected," said the 28-year-old, who is in line for a 107th appearance against Cardiff on Saturday.
"But at the same time it meant when I got back I was into the first week of pre-season and was able to build myself up slowly, and by the time the season started I felt as good as anybody else.
"So I was lucky in a way that I have that in the bank now but obviously disappointed the way the season ended for me last year, but that's going to happen in the game that we're playing."
"Look, touch wood, I've been very lucky in my career so far that I haven’t had too many massive injuries like that, so it was a big shock.
"It was something I hadn’t really experienced before, so I pretty much knew instantly that this wasn’t normal, and it was going to require some extra time out.
"It’s not until you get the scan that you know the full extent of it but I was fairly sure at that point that I wouldn’t be playing for a considerable amount of time.
"Unfortunately, I had to go get the surgery and luckily everything has gone well from that side.
"It’s feeling as good as it ever has, so I can’t complain.
"It’s the nature of the game, these things are going to happen. I’ve been pretty lucky to get this point unscathed."
The 2023 champions got the McMillan era off to a bright start with a bonus-point win in Llanelli last week in which they made 210 tackles to Scarlets' 140.
The Cork man (above) said: "We couldn't have asked for much more, we were the only team to get a win away from home but also to come away with the bonus point was huge.
"It's not something we targeted coming into the game.
"It was just about getting a result and putting all the hard work we put into pre-season into the game and I think a lot of that came through.
"Our physicality was really good, something we spoke about our set-piece was really good, it's something we put a huge emphasis on.
"So a lot of the stuff we worked on came through and it's positive but obviously there's stuff to work on this week as well."
Cardiff are the visitors to Thomond Park on Saturday evening (7.45pm) and Daly knows that consistency is key to avoiding the rollercoaster journey of the last two seasons.
The Welsh region, who defeated Munster 26-21 last year, beat Lions 33-20 in Cardiff in round one.
"We had a look at our game against them last year and we didn't fire in a couple of areas in that one, so hoping to improve on that performance," added Daly.
"But having a look at their performance against the Lions last week as well, we've learned a lot from that and they played some really good rugby so it's going to be a challenge for us, especially in defence.
"They move the ball very well, they have good movement in their shape and they're a tough team to play against.
"That result against [Scarlets] is going to stand to us in a lot of ways, coming away with five points after the first game is a step forward, and it’s a place where we wanted to put ourselves, but it by no means means we’re going to win the game this weekend.
"We still have to really focus on getting the points in that game as well.
"Our consistency hasn’t been our strong point and we’ve tended to close out the seasons quite well but not start great.
"It's been a huge emphasis over pre-season and probably why we put so much work into that pre-season – how difficult it was – to make sure our floor is higher than it has been before."
Meanwhile, the province confirmed that out-half JJ Hanrahan failed a HIA and will follow the return-to-play protocols, while hooker Niall Scannell has been passed fit after a head injury.
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