Wary Ospreys coach Holley kneels at Munster altar

OSPREYS head coach Sean Holley believes his charges will have to step up a gear when they face a Munster side he believes are the team to beat in this year’s Heineken Cup.

The Welsh region visits Limerick’s Thomond Park on Sunday in the first of two Pool Three meetings in six days that could make or break both side’s European campaigns this season.

The omens are not good for Ospreys having lost all three previous Heineken Cup ties against Munster, including a 43-9 quarter-final drubbing at Thomond Park in 2009, and their head coach believes it will require a special performance to defeat the current group leaders and two-time champions in front of a sell-out Limerick crowd.