Munster’s opening foray into the tournament that has defined them and which they have helped to define over the last quarter of a century finds them in classic, 11-point underdog mode against a Bath team regarded as a cut above the rest and coached by their former boss, Johann van Graan.
The Munster coaches and players have had a deep dive into the reigning Premiership champions and leaders ahead of Saturday night’s daunting Champions Cup opener against Bath at the Rec (kick-off 8pm) and are evidently suitably impressed.
“They’re a very, very good team,” says Munster flanker John Hodnett, not one given to excessive statements. “They have a lot of X-factor players. Big pack, good set-piece, good in the air, so a lot of threats.”
While Hodnett also says Munster’s focus, as ever and naturally, will be on themselves, he admitted: “They’re all really good players. They’re playing regularly for England as well, so it’ll be a good challenge for us. We’ll see what selection’s like, but it’ll be a great challenge if I am playing. They’re good players in fairness to them.”
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Hodnett’s insecurity about his place is understandable. The teak-tough 25-year-old from Rosscarbery, Co Cork, had been averaging 20 games a season for Munster over the last three campaigns, but he’s had a rough time of it since summer.
He suffered a fractured cheekbone in a preseason game, which required the insertion of a plate, and in his first competitive outing against Connacht before the autumn break he damaged a ligament in his toe.
Back on the bench last Saturday against Cape Town’s Stormers, Hodnett ended up playing 70 minutes in place of Jack O’Donoghue after the latter failed his head injury assessment (HIA).
Alas, that anticlimactic 27-21 defeat after leading 21-6 at the interval has punctured some of the momentum generated by the initial five wins from five under Clayton McMillan and has left Munster in classic underdog mode.
But just because they have a deep well of defying the odds abroad in the past doesn’t count for much in Hodnett’s view.
“Yeah, but you can’t rely on that either. We just have to be better. You can’t just say it, ‘Because we’re Munster’, that kind of old-school thing or whatever about that. We just have to be better, really. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”
Whenever Munster have produced epic away performances in the Champions Cup, it’s invariably been the product of a cumulative effort from one to 23, with no weak links.
“Yeah, you’ve hit the nail on the head there. Any time we’ve gone away, one to 23 could have got man-of-the-match like and that’s no different this week,” Hodnett says.
“Bath will have a big bench, they’ve a lot of quality on the bench. So whoever starts or comes on for us, they’ll really have to be at their best.”
In each of the many epic performances Munster have produced over the years, the travelling Red Army has helped inspire the players to defy the odds.
“Yeah, that’s one thing I can guarantee. It’ll be a good colour of red over there anyway and that’ll be exciting. That’s the great thing about playing for Munster. The supporters are the best in the world, so you know you’re going to have backing wherever you go. So, in fairness, that is very exciting.”
There’s also a responsibility that comes with such outside devotion.
“Yeah, definitely,” Hodnett says. “People are spending their hard-earned money to come and see us, so you can’t let them down. You have to be your best. We really appreciate everyone who comes out. They spend their money.
“They want to see us play, so the very least we can do is just go out and give our absolute best. That’s probably a lot of where it comes from too.”
Nor has that gone away. Munster, team and Red Army alike, rekindled past glories in last season’s round of 16 tie against the side coached by Ronan O’Gara, their two-time Heineken Cup-winning outhalf, in La Rochelle.
“The La Rochelle game last year was crazy,” Hodnett says, recalling his most memorable European away day. “It was brilliant. Crazy. For me anyway, it stands out.”
