Munster's schedule a blessing and a setback says Mike Prendergast

"We wanted to be in the two competitions as long as we possibly could. Unfortunately that didn’t happen in Europe and we were really disappointed with that."

BLESSING AND SETBACK: Munster attack Coach Mike Prendergast believes their schedule has positives and negatives. Pic Credit ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Midfield concerns notwithstanding, Munster go into their final league of the season in rude health, on an excellent winning run and unburdened by the usual pressures of last-day permutations ahead of the URC play-offs.

The defending champions and current table toppers still have to beat interprovincial rivals Ulster at Thomond Park on Saturday evening to ensure those dreaded post-season calculations come back into play but the path laid out in front of Graham Rowntree’s squad could not be more clear.