Refreshed Peter O’Mahony ready for European road

For all the buzz generated by an exciting bonus-point derby victory over Connacht last week, Peter O’Mahony’s return to the fray also coincided with a return to Munster basics.

Back-to-back victories in the Guinness PRO14 over noisy neighbours to the west and east have primed Munster for the next two weeks of Heineken Champions Cup pool play, a crucial fortnight the province has to get right if it is to reach the European knockout stages for the 18th time. The mission starts Friday night with a round-five clash against Gloucester at Kingsholm, as Munster bid to make amends for a narrow round-four loss last month at Castres that has given all four teams in Pool 2 a sniff of a quarter-final berth with two games to play.