Graham Rowntree lets out an ironic chuckle when it's suggested to him that the province's second row stocks are looking healthier than ever heading into the business end of the season.
Even allowing for the ankle injury that will keep Tadhg Beirne out until May, the Munster head coach is in a position where he has a positive selection headache for the coming games at lock.
Only a few months ago, they had supply issues in the engine room that would have rivalled Brexit.
Jean Kleyn held the fort for several months this season when stocks were low, while injuries to Fineen Wycherley, Edwin Edogbo, Tom Ahern and RG Snyman's setbacks left them so depleted at the position that they had to commission Gavin Coombes into a second row placement on occasion.
When Wycherley, Edogbo and Ahern all fell to injuries within a few weeks, the Munster coach was so desperate for bodies he signed Kiran McDonald on a short-term deal without even knowing who he was.
Following Munster's win against South Africa at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in November, Rowntree admitted he hadn't even heard of the Scottish lock before his name came up as a potential signing, but thankfully it didn't come back to haunt the province, with McDonald doing a solid job in his three appearances.
Snyman made his long-awaited comeback in Friday night's chaotic 49-42 win against Scarlets, while Rowntree says he expects to have Ahern and Edogbo available for selection when they return to action on 25 March.
In a game with 13 tries, Snyman's introduction on 63 minutes was the moment of the night at Musgrave Park. Seventeen months after his comeback from an ACL injury was cut short, the Springbok was back in the red of Munster, and against the side he suffered his latest knee injury against, in a strange twist of fate.
There were 8,000 people crammed into Musgrave Park on Friday night, and the 6ft 9in lock captured the attention of everyone from start to finish. Every time he rose from his seat in the opening hour he was greeted with a cheer, before the biggest one of the night when he ran on to replace Kleyn in the second half.
"It's everything, he is a world class player," Rowntree says of his potential impact in the final months of the season.
"He's important, he is a giver, he gives to the group and lads just enjoy having him around and being in his company and learning from him. It’s great to have him around, we have a few lads coming back for the Glasgow game as well, coming back from injury.
"We have lost Tadhg [Beirne] for a period of time but we have a few more guys coming back for the Glasgow game but we just had to get today, to get it right.
"It’s been a challenging seven days for the club and a big bonus was getting RG back on the field," Rowntree added, paying tribute to the province's national talent coach Tom Tierney, whose funeral had taken place on Thursday.
As well as working together at Munster, Rowntree (above) had been a teammate of Tierney's at Leinster Tigers, while several of Friday night's young players would have worked closely with the former Ireland women's coach in recent seasons.
"I played with Tom at Leicester, coached with him as well. A huge character, our thoughts go out to Mary and the family.
"It's been a challenge, an emotional week on many fronts. I’m proud of how we handled it as a club internally and individually. We trained well on the back of it. Yeah, proud of them."
Following Munster's bonus-point win on Friday, defeats for both the Bulls and Sharks over the weekend leave the province well-placed in URC table, four points clear of the sixth-place Bulls, while they know they can get into the top four with a win against Glasgow later this month.
However, after conceding five second half tries and almost letting a 28-point lead slip against the Scarlets on Friday, Rowntree says they have a lot to work on before they get back on the pitch in just under three weeks.
"In the cold light of day tomorrow we will look at it and see what we can do better. We are learning about ourselves, learning about players and seeing what we can do better because we have another huge game, the Glasgow game, in a few weeks.
"It’s important how we train. Certainly our intensity has not dropped off in training, even with all the emotional challenges this week.
"But let’s not take away from Scarlets. I would be proud of them if I was their coach, how they stuck in and came back. And they can play. We previewed them all week and how they scored those tries."
