Timeline of a Munster marvel: How Red Army confounded the odds in Europe once again

Simon Lewis traces the 23 days that turned European preparations upside down but ultimately led to a stunning 35-14 bonus-point pool win at Wasps

Munster's Tony Butler, Conor Moloney, Patrick Campbell, Jonathan Wren, and John Forde celebrate after beating Wasps. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Day one — November 20: 29 days since last game Munster depart Ireland for Pretoria with a squad of 33 players for the URC games against the Bulls followed by the Lions in Johannesburg, their first games since the October 23 loss at Ospreys.

Simon Zebo, Gavin Coombes, Jason Jenkins, and Cian Hurley are late additions to the travelling party with Coombes and Zebo having been released from Ireland camp ahead of the final Autumn Nations Series Test against Argentina and Jenkins now fully recovered from the quad muscle injury that has delayed his Munster debut.