Munster don't usually rock up to South Africa for URC duty until later in the season but that doesn’t change their mission this time around, says Tom Ahern.
In 2022, they travelled in March and lost to the Bulls and the Lions as their season fizzled out with five losses in their last six games.
The trip south in their championship-winning season came in April of 2023 and garnered a win over the Stormers and a draw with Sharks to provide impetus for their incredible away run in the knockouts.
Last year, it was again in April that they switched hemispheres for clashes against the Bulls and the Lions as they surged to the top of the regular-season standings.
Those games all came with a sense of jeopardy, with either their seasons on the line or a top seeding at play.
This time around, six months on from their last trip, there’s less at stake, seemingly, with just four rounds of the championship played.
However, Ahern, who made his first appearance of the season last weekend in the defeat to Leinster, doesn’t believe it changes their mindset ahead of tomorrow’s match against Stormers (5pm, live on RTÉ) and next weekend’s meeting with Sharks.
"The mission is the exact same," said the 24-year-old forward ahead of the 2023 final rematch.
"Like coming down here... we are usually backs to the wall but at the same time we are looking for two good performances and hopefully get two good results.
"I don't think [the mindset changes] because like every time we come down here to play a game we are looking to win so that doesn't change whether it is the end of the season or the start of the season
"We are coming down here and we are expecting two tough games but we are hoping to win in those games."
Putting in the hard work 👊
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) October 17, 2024
Round 5⃣ against the Stormers this Saturday
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That’s not to say everything is the same. They had "two long days travel" to get here and they are aiming to use the trip to bond.
"These two weeks, every time we go down to South Africa it is a bit of a bonding process because you are spending two weeks training with lads, eating with lads, you are waking up, spending your entire day with lads.
"Even on the off days you are doing things together," said the Waterford man, in line for a 48th appearance if named in the squad at midday today.
"So for the off the field stuff it is fantastic and then when we got on the field and it is also good because we are in this environment together and we get to communicate a lot more, fix things that have gone wrong much faster than if everyone was going home to their individual homes."
John Dobson’s Stormers have lost two of their three games so far, including a heavy defeat to Edinburgh last weekend, and will be without a number of Springboks, including Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Steven Kitshoff, Evan Roos, Manie Libbok and Frans Malherbe for the match.
Munster have never lost to the Cape Town outfit in four meetings but Ahern knows a tough challenge awaits.
"Look, we are under no illusions," he said.
"They played their first few games away in Europe so anytime you come down to South Africa you are expecting a massive battle up front.
"They have got speed on the edges as well. So we are just expecting a massive battle with them, it is their first [home] game of the season so they will obviously try and get the better of us.
"We are just expecting a big, physical, fast battle."
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Watch the Stormers v Munster in the URC on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
