Munster must find something extra special

The message from the Munster camp this week in anticipation of today’s Heineken Cup quarter-final may have been delivered in a variety of tones but it all boiled down to the same thing: It will take their best performance of the season to give them any hope of beating Toulouse this afternoon.

From the measured analysis of head coach Rob Penney to the downbeat assessment of Paul O’Connell, and the optimism of Conor Murray to the bluntness of captain Peter O’Mahony there was a unity of understanding that for all the strides made so far in the current campaign, there is an urgent need to finally put it all together into a complete 80-minute performance today.

For when the Toulouse juggernaut rumbles ominously into a sold-out Thomond Park at 1:30pm, and the man mountains from France come flying at them with power, purpose and poise, Munster must find it in themselves to match the four-time European champions tackle for tackle and stride for stride.