If there is a common thread between Munster's three worst defeats of the season, it’s the absence of Jack Crowley.
The out-half wasn’t involved in last week's 45-0 defeat to the Sharks in the URC, stood down for a mandatory post-Six Nations rest along with Craig Casey and captain Tadhg Beirne.
January’s 28-3 loss up at Ulster, and the 40-14 trouncing in the Champions Cup against Bath were all played without the Ireland out-half, although Beirne and Casey were also absent for the Belfast defeat.
In need of a spark to reignite their season, Munster head coach Clayton has drafted both Crowley and Casey to his starting team for Saturday’s meeting with the Bulls in Pretoria, where win would keep them in contention for a home quarter-final later this season, but a defeat could see them slip out of the top eight. Fine margins indeed.
Neither player has played for the province since their Champions Cup elimination against Castres back in January, with Crowley enduring a frustrating night off the tee in particular, missing three out of five conversions in a game that Munster lost.
The 26-year-old has reason to be feeling a lot better about his game now, after reclaiming the starting Ireland out-half jersey in the second half of the Six Nations, and steering Andy Farrell’s side to a Triple Crown, with his performance in the last of those games against Scotland being his best of the championship.
"Jack's been great," the Munster head coach (below) said of Crowley.
"He's somebody who I think we'd all agree drew a line in the sand for himself around his performances for Ireland. I thought he was outstanding, central to a lot of the good that happened.
"Like any player, when you get a rhythm and a flow in your game, you have a bounce in your step, you have a smile on your face, and things generally start to flow your way.
"Again, he's brought that enthusiasm and that confidence from the national team back to us.
"It's important that he understands though that we don't need him to be the guy that creates and does everything.
"He's got 14 able people around him that he needs to leverage off to share their load as well."
Casey was in Durban last weekend in case of emergency, but comes into the starting side as captain, with Beirne still back in Ireland.
"I think Craig epitomises everything I love about a Munster player," McMillan added.
"He's hugely passionate about the club and the region that we represent, he wears his heart on his sleeve, he's a bundle of energy, so when he comes into the environment there's always a lift.
"He enjoyed the Six Nations. He clearly, as a competitor, would have liked a few more opportunities.
"He got a few [opportunities], but he comes into our environment and gets an opportunity to add value here. And he knows that when he does that, he continuously challenges people at the next level to keep thinking about what they can bring to the table."
The New Zealander is expecting a major response from his side in Pretoria after last week’s drubbing in Durban (above), where they were held scoreless for the first time in 16 years.
Earlier in the week, defence coach Denis Leamy revealed they took an unorthodox approach to their post-match review, splitting the squad up into their various positional units, before they presented their findings back to the squad.
And McMillan believes that has elicited the right response.
"You don't take any joy out of seeing people hurt, but there was some small satisfaction in seeing that there's a huge level of care, and we didn't perform at a level that we know we're capable of and paid a pretty hefty price.
"That just brings home the reality that we get nothing for free and the challenge gets even harder this week against a Bulls side that's on a bit of a run, obviously at home, Highveld, chasing points like everybody else and so it’s a huge, huge challenge.
"But I've been pleasantly surprised around the reaction and the way that people have conducted themselves this week and their preparation, I think a decent amount of edge, which, you know, we're going to need."
However, the Munster boss says he has taken a colder approach to motivating his team, rather leaning into the emotional side of the game.
"You don't want to be a one-trick pony. You don't want to be driving the emotional button every week. It's a shared responsibility.
"All I can say is that there's been a good edge around the group this week. Obviously, the injection of some of our internationals brings a natural element of leadership into the group and that's all really positive. But it counts for nothing unless we see evidence out on the field of that edge or the hurt that you feel from the previous game.
"That's the luxury of rugby. It's the beauty of rugby. We generally get another week to right some wrongs. We either do that or we don't.
"We've worked really hard this week. I think it's been a really positive week but again, all will be told through the performance on the weekend," he added.
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