It's unusual to hear the word "despise" at any Irish rugby press conference but it's also refreshing on a certain level.
The lame platitudes that usually emanate from such gatherings can be hard to listen to so when Gavin Coombes burst out with "I think they despise us as much as we despise them" it was a welcome barb.
"There's an edge when we play any Irish team but particularly going up there," said the Munster number 8 ahead of this evening's BKT URC derby against Connacht (7.45pm).
In front of a sold-out Dexcom Stadium, Munster are going to bring it.
With enough outside noise to drown out a Motorhead concert, crossing the white line in front of a largely hostile 12,000 crowd will be a welcome relief.
The visitors have won their last two games, against Ulster and Benetton, and sit in fifth place in the table, two behind both Leinster and Lions, who face off in Dublin at 5.30pm.
Munster's final regular season game comes at home next week to the South Africans and it's set to go down to the wire.
Ahead of round 17 there were only two teams locked in with seven teams chasing six play-off places.
Getting into the top four which brings a home quarter-final is their goal, while they want to do as much as they can to improve that for more home comforts in the post-season.
They take on the task minus a number of frontline players.
Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne are the headline absentees, while Tom Farrell, Oli Jager, Jean Kleyn and Calvin Nash are also ruled out.
Head coach Clayton McMillan, speaking on Thursday as he once again admirably fronted up to take some tough questions about the Roger Randle affair, indicated that, barring Crowley, the others may not play again this season.
"From our DNA and the way we’re looking to play the game, we probably won’t change much in relation to what we’re about," said assistant Mossy Lawler about the missing men.
Munster edged the earlier meeting 17-15 at Thomond Park and have won the last four in a row, including last season's 30-24 victory at MacHale Park in Mayo, putting themselves in a healthy position to secure a play-off place.
Connacht, whose defeat to the Lions in the last round brought an end to a five-game winning run, are hovering just outside the cutline.
They shouldn't be too disheartened by that loss because they had already taken five points from their away match at Stormers and, offered five points before they took off for the southern hemisphere, they would have bitten hands.
Last night's draw for Ulster against Stormers yielded three points, putting them six clear, and means Connacht, this week at least, won't be able to break into the top eight even with a win as Bulls (five points ahead) have a vastly superior (+92) points difference before their lunchtime kick-off at home to Zebre.
Connacht, who start Bundee Aki in the centre, last beat Munster in January 2024 and given their rivalry that's far too long ago.
"Every game feels like a big game," said head coach Stuart Lancaster, whose side have won all four games at the venue since losing to Leinster in January.
"The first game of the season against Benetton felt like a big game, the games in South Africa felt big, but obviously you are now getting to the business end and you are still in the fight.
"This one has got real significance because of the league position. We are fighting for every point and you’ve got the context of the other teams that are playing over the next two weekends.
"Every team above us is playing meaningful games where they can take points off each other."
Even should Connacht squeeze into eighth place, if it's at the expense of Ulster and Murphy's men beat Montpellier in Bilbao, that won't result in Champions Cup qualification.
Realistically, they need to win today to stay in the hunt ahead of next weekend's trip to Edinburgh.
Lancaster, whose side have beaten Munster in their last three games in Galway, added of their opponents' recent spurt: "They have been excellent and it’s a huge game for them as well as it is for us. There’s no denying that.
"They will come confident, but we will just be very much focusing on what we can do, while the crowd will make a huge impact for us.
"I think Munster have been playing a lot more rugby in the second half of the season, so both teams will be going to win the game as opposed to trying not to lose.
"Our mentality will be to win by scoring tries, as it has been all season, while making sure we get the balance right in terms of when to play and when to kick and how to put pressure on in the right areas of the field."
There's a lot on the line in this game. Expect Dexcom drama and then some.
Connacht: Sam Gilbert; Shane Jennings, Harry West, Bundee Aki, Shayne Bolton; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Billy Bohan, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Sam Illo; Darragh Murray, Josh Murphy; Cian Prendergast (capt), Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sean Jansen.
Replacements: Eoin de Buitléar, Peter Dooley, Finlay Bealham, Joe Joyce, Paul Boyle, Matthew Devine, Jack Carty, Seán Naughton.
Munster: Mike Haley; Shane Daly, Alex Nankivell, Dan Kelly, Andrew Smith; JJ Hanrahan, Craig Casey (capt); Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Michael Ala'alatoa; Edwin Edogbo, Fineen Wycherley; Tom Ahern, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Lee Barron, Josh Wycherley, Conor Bartley, Jack O'Donoghue, Brian Gleeson, Ben O’Donovan, Seán O’Brien, Alex Kendellen.
Referee: Peter Martin (IRFU)
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