Munster can secure PRO14 final spot tonight but focus fully on Connacht

A win over inter-provincial rivals tonight, and their objective of a first final since 2017 will be achieved

ONE STEP AT A TIME: Munster coach Johann van Graan talks to Joey Carbery during training at UL. Van Graan is at pains to urge patience with Carbery’s return. Picture: Dan Sheridan

Munster return home to Thomond Park for the first time in six weeks tonight and with the stars aligning as they bid to nail down a spot in the Guinness PRO14 final later this month. Not that Johann van Graan is expecting Conference B rivals and neighbours Connacht to roll over without a fight.

The news has been entirely positive for van Graan since Munster’s last home game saw Leinster reassert their dominance over them with a 13-10 victory in Limerick on January 23. Three wins on the road, at Benetton, Edinburgh and, last Friday, in Cardiff over the Blues have given the men in red a nine-point cushion over Connacht at the top of Conference B with three games remaining.