A Munster victory against the All Blacks XV side would only have papered over the cracks at the province. 

As part of the first Munster side to face the All Blacks post 1978, the hype was incredible in 1989 as we prepared to face the tourists in front of 18,000 people at Musgrave Park. Then someone got twitchy.

The province must take their time in selecting the next man - one of several steps needed to return the province to rugby's top tier. 

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to identify where Sharks head coach John Plumtree's first point of attack is going to be.

As long as it’s cost neutral to Munster, I firmly believe the Leinster game should be staged in Páirc ui Chaoimh, at the very least, on rotation every two years. Munster need to show a bit more imagination

The setting in GAA headquarters on Jones Road, where so many players on both sides would have dreamed of performing as kids before rugby became a priority, adds a different dimension.

A full Croke Park on Saturday will see the season crank up another gear. 

Given the stoic resilience shown by this tight knit Irish squad over the last few seasons, I’d be surprised if they were to sign off on this demanding year without one massive effort.

Analysis: The absence of Jack Conan from the Irish bench is a concern and places a massive onus on Ronan Kelleher, James Ryan and Ryan Baird to match that re-energised Springbok physicality when Erasmus unleashes the bomb squad. 

Europe's big guns can’t logically expect to fill stadia and bolster bank balances on the back of three bumper autumn internationals without reciprocal arrangements for their southern hemisphere counterparts at this time of the year