‘Go beat the king in his castle’ says Munster coach Johann van Graan

Johann van Graan is planning a revolution in the provincial hierarchy and there would be no better time to rally the downtrodden Munster masses, storm the palace gates of the RDS on Saturday and overthrow Irish rugby’s ruling elite.

There is never too much motivation required in the red quarter of this island when Leinster are the opposition but the Blues’ success in landing a fourth European title in Bilbao last Saturday with their Champions Cup final victory over Racing 92 has added another level ambition for a Munster side whose search for silverware has come up short for the last seven years.

Captain Peter O’Mahony admitted to jealousy when the L word came up this week as he looked forward to this Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 semi-final in Dublin and the chance to be first team to take the newly-minted kings of Europe down a peg or two.