Even accounting for the off-season, it's been a longer than usual gap between games at Thomond Park for Munster.
Having had to rearrange the schedule late last season due to Ed Sheeran's Limerick dates, and their early-season fixture list which saw three away games and one at Musgrave Park, Saturday's visit of the Bulls will fall just one day shy of the six-month mark since they last togged out at Thomond.
Incredibly, the Champions Cup last-16 second leg against Exeter Chiefs was the last time they played a game in Limerick, the stadium getting a bit of a makeover in the six months since with a new hybrid pitch.
They return to Thomond with a cloud hanging over them. Most people would have allowed a bedding-in process for the new coaching team, but very few would have anticipated the province losing three of their first four games in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
There's real pressure on them to perform, but there's even more pressure on them to just start winning games, and Denis Leamy says he's well aware that they're not meeting the required standards.
"I understand if a club like Munster - and it is a big club, a big European club - there is always going to be pressure," Leamy says.
"There is always going to be expectation. We knew that when we took the job, we knew that we played in the jersey, there is an expectation that comes with Munster that is huge and we know the standards that are required."
And having returned to the province in the summer from a stint working with Leinster, the province's former back row says he sees the importance of Munster's results to the supporters on a daily basis.
"I was at a senior rugby match between Cashel and UL Bohs on Saturday and I bumped into loads of grassroots rugby people and you get the support.
"People are very supportive. There is an awful lot of good people out there, they understand, you know, the patience and the time that is required.
"We are working towards that, I can assure, people on the ground, I get a lot of support and you get a lot of encouragement from meeting those people as well."
The worry from a Munster perspective is that, on paper at least, their most difficult games of the season are yet to come.
"Are we expecting the Bulls to turn up and not play well, and somehow we win a game not playing well? I don't think that’s realistic. We’re going to have to play really, really well to beat them."
Their defeats to Connacht and Dragons are those sides' only wins of the season, while 10th place Cardiff are the highest-placed team they've faced so far.
Of the three remaining games before the international break, two are Interpros', while last season's finalists the Bulls visit Thomond Park this Saturday.
And Leamy says the importance of breaking their poor run in front of a Thomond Park crowd isn't lost on him.
"I think Thomond Park is a very special place to Munster people and to Munster teams, you take that for granted. It is brilliant to be back there, it really is.
"In terms of the number of the crowd I am not sure, I think our support base is spread right throughout a geographically big area so, so whether we will have a packed stadium I am not sure.
"But what I do know is there will be a huge amount of people watching and a huge amount of interest and opinion around it, so we want to give those people a performance that they are proud of. We want to give a performance we are proud of, and we are conscious of that, Thomond Park is a special ground and we hope that it brings the best out of us.
"The players' effort and how they're applying themselves is really good, we need more and how we grow that on the training pitch and in the environment here is really important.
"How we give them the confidence to do that is really important.
"We're not seeing yet, but I believe we will see it. There's a definite trust around the coaching group for the players that we will get there.
"What better place than Thomond Park on Saturday? We'll go again, we'll put pressure on ourselves again," he added.
Given their precarious position in the table, its arguable the short-term goal of winning games is becoming more important than the long-term performances.
However, Leamy believes when you're facing teams like Bulls, Leinster and Ulster, the former can't be achieved without the latter.
"A win would be absolutely fantastic. I think you have to look at in terms of where we're sitting as well. The performance is what sets us up to win, honestly.
"Are we expecting the Bulls to turn up and not play well, and somehow we win a game not playing well? I don’t think that’s realistic.
"We’re going to have to play really, really well to beat them, in terms of how we execute, in terms of how we hold our discipline, all of those things, field position, really looking to work them hard, playing at a pace that we want to play at. That just lays the foundations for that win.
"They came to Dublin and beat a really, really good Leinster team.
"They’re full of experience the Bulls, full of quality. Their physical game, their ability in the tight and their speed in the loose is excellent. So, a massive challenge no doubt but it’s a challenge that we’re really looking forward to."
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