Cian Prendergast is hoping Saturday's highly anticipated derby with Munster will be the perfect medicine after his frustration with Ireland during the Guinness Six Nations.
The Connacht captain wasn’t able to add to his four Test caps during the championship, with his one opportunity to do so ended by illness.
The 25-year-old had been named on the bench for the round three game against Wales in Cardiff, only to withdraw on the morning of the game.
"I woke up Saturday morning with a vomiting bug," he says.
It was a particularly cruel blow for the versatile back row, who was in line to make his championship debut, with family having come over to Cardiff to watch him play alongside his brother Sam.
"Yeah, that was the immediate thought, that it was going to be such a special day for the family and that's probably what killed me the most.
"Being in camp is always enjoyable. Any time you're up there, you're extremely privileged. It was disappointing that we couldn't get the result against France, it was disappointing for the lads who played.
"Ultimately it was really enjoyable but we would have liked to have won the Grand Slam."
Prendergast (above) is one of four Ireland internationals Connacht can bring back into their team for Saturday’s crucial meeting with Munster, which is to be played in the novel setting of Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar.
The province's build-up hasn't been ideal, with head coach Pete Wilkins currently on sick leave, with scrum coach Cullie Tucker leading the coaching group, as they look to win at home against Munster for the fourth season in a row.
"We're obviously gutted to see Pete's unwell and we hope he's back soon, but we've 100% faith in Cullie. He has been around us for so long, he knows how we tick, we know how he ticks, so it's just been business as usual," Prendergast added.
The fact that the teams are six places, but only three points apart in the BKT United Rugby Championship sums up the rat-race of the URC play-offs this season.
"It's mental, and it was similar last year and we kind of fell off in a few games so that's pushing us to really start performing at this end of the season.
"We're extremely privileged to be in this position to get to play in this game so it's extremely exciting. Hopefully it kick-starts us into a really exciting end to the year.
"We've had some really good battles against Munster over the last few years since I've been here and it's an interpro. Interpros are always exciting, they're fun to play in, especially an interpro at home, with Castlebar being our home this week. You can't not get excited about it."
While the URC play-offs and interpro bragging rights are the short-term prize this weekend, there’s a long-term prize on offer at the home of Mayo GAA.
With a sold-out crowd of close to 27,000 set to come through the turnstiles in Castebar, it’s set to dwarf the province’s previous record for a home attendance at Dexcom Stadium in 2011, when just over 9,000 fans watched their meeting with Toulouse in their debut Champions Cup campaign.
And Prendergast, who admits Gaelic football was his "first love" before rugby took over when he was 16-years-old, says there is a responsibility to show off Connacht Rugby to the wider province this weekend.
"Bladey [Caolin Blade] spoke about 26,000-plus people and tickets from all five counties, so it’s huge to spread the game around the province and also showcase Connacht rugby to the rest of Ireland because I know there’ll be eyes from the wider sporting community in Ireland.
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 26, 2025
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"All I've thought is how exciting it's going to be to play this game. If you start to think about the personal gains you can get out of this, you're in the wrong business.
"So I'm extremely excited to be part of this game, to get the chance for Connacht to put on the best performance we've had this season on the biggest stages.
"I think any time you're involved in an occasion like this and a game like this at this stage of the season, there's always going to be pressure, but we've got to use that pressure almost as a privilege because we're in a position where we can actually achieve something quite special.
"That's how we have to direct how we think and how we control our week."
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