Even Young Munster captain Mick Lynch's optimism is feeling a little pressure. Six weeks into an AIB All-Ireland League campaign and the Limerick side have yet to win their first match.
At the bottom of the table they've just one bonus-point and are conceding scores at the rate of 27 points per game. No other team in any of the three divisions are performing so poorly.
Wanderers in the second division have two points, while Bangor, rooted to the bottom of Division Three, have four. More stats? Young Munster have scored just 63 points in those first six games, or, just more than an average of 10 points per game.
The awfulness of it all is not just the distasteful figures but as much that it is a club of such celebrated history and calibre going through the wringer in rugby's new age. There are some mitigating factors but none of them unique to the side many would regularly turn to before each season and pick out as possible league champions.
Seven players are contracted, Peter Clohessy, Paul O'Connell, Mike Prendergast, Eoin Reddan, Mike Mullins, Des Clohessy and Rob Henderson, whereas last year Young Munster had just two players regularly unavailable. In tandem, the side have been struck hard with injury.
"It's been crazy," says captain Mick Lynch. "We can't get a full side out. It's not even easy to train some weeks. We identified ourselves that we'd a problem with fitness, but that has improved.
"There's about eight of our more seasoned players injured. We've two props, one hooker, one second row, a scrumhalf - Leo Doyle - with work commitments, Jason Hayes with a hamstring and Mark Connolly has ankle ligaments, you know, and Matt te Pou left for Old Crescent last season and he has not been effectively replaced in the back row.
"Yes, there is a huge amount of worry in the club. They understand the predicament but they also understand that we cannot make a silk purse from a sow's ear."
Carlow, Buccaneers, Garryowen, Terenure and Dungannon have all looted Young Munster but only Blackrock, who won 42-8 in Stradbrook, have truly filleted the side. A couple of times they have led at half time before being overhauled. Against Dungannon it was 3-0 before the 12-3 defeat. Buccaneers trailed 13-0 before piling up 31 points.
"A club like Young Munster, and I know this might sound arrogant but I don't mean it to, does not belong in the second division," says Lynch. "We're a first division club and we will continue to go into each match with expectation, not trepidation. It doesn't feel right where we are now and it is very difficult for the people who have pride in the club to turn out each week and watch us go down without a whimper. It must be soul-destroying for them. But we can't just complain about it. I'd like to think we'll come out of it and we've nine games left to do it.
Since the Blackrock match, Declan Edwards has stepped in to coach the forwards and augment the work of Johnny Maloney in trying to shape what is a inexperienced side into one that can now pull itself up the table. Cork Constitution have been cited as the team that offers a beacon of hope. Last year, points out a Young Munster official, they reached the League final despite losing six matches.
"We've used a few under 20s and they've done well. But it is a huge step up to play AIL. Through Dec and Johnny the morale is high but now we've got to somehow turn it around," says Lynch. This week DLSP will try to prey on the Young Munster form coming off a win over last year's winners, Dungannon.
Another difficult week. And not unusual this season for the 1992-93 champions.
