O'Donoghue understands the effect adversity will have on Cardiff psyche

MAXIMUM POINTS: There is also the added motivation, which Munster back-rower Jack O’Donoghue detects in the Cardiff psyche, of the recent turmoil behind the scenes at the Welsh capital club, having been taken over by the home union after entering administration. Pic:  David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

It will be an emotional Cardiff Arms Park which Munster enters on Friday night, making the province’s bid to rescue a difficult campaign even more challenging as the hunt for URC play-off places reaches a critical juncture.

A final home game of the season for sixth-placed Cardiff ahead of a challenging final two rounds in South Africa means Matt Sherratt’s side need maximum points this weekend to give themselves the best chance of hanging on to the top-eight finish and a place in the knockout rounds that both home and away dressing rooms are on a mission to secure.

There is also the added motivation, which Munster back-rower Jack O’Donoghue detects in the Cardiff psyche, of the recent turmoil behind the scenes at the Welsh capital club, having been taken over by the home union after entering administration.

O’Donoghue, 31, has been around long enough to remember the galvanising effect Anthony Foley’s sudden death had on the Munster squad during that most grief-stricken of campaigns in 2016-17 and he sees parallels in the way Cardiff’s players reacted to their off-field problems with a rousing 36-19 win over derby rivals Ospreys last weekend at Principality Stadium.

“I think we can relate, we didn't go into administration but we went through a bit of turmoil with Graham (Rowntree) leaving during the season,” O’Donoghue said this week.

“Personally, went through Anthony Foley passing away, so it does bring the group closer together. You know, you go back to that Anthony Foley game against Glasgow (a day after their head coach’s funeral) and how close we were as a team. It was really special and that's exactly what they're doing.

“Their backs are against the wall, it's going back to ‘this is our club, this is our community’ and everyone's rowing in behind them. It's galvanised them so I think they're going to be tough to beat.” 

That Munster go to Cardiff off the back of successive defeats, a Champions Cup quarter-final at Bordeuax-Begles and last Saturday’s 16-13 home reverse to the Bulls does not make life easier for Ian Costello’s side. 

Home games against Ulster and Benetton will round out their league campaign but the seventh-placed province, currently at the upper end of bunched group of 10 teams between fifth and 12th within 10 points of each other, desperately need a victory on the road to bolster their chances of making the play-offs.

Fail to win at the Arms Park and the prospects for Champions Cup qualification next season begin to look extremely precarious. 

The effects of a Challenge Cup pool campaign will be huge, not least financially, and not exactly the welcome gift new head coach Clayton McMillan would have envisaged when he agreed to leave Super Rugby’s Chiefs for life in Limerick this summer.

So an awful lot rides on the next few weeks and the outcome in Cardiff is crucial to how this season and what lies ahead pans out.

“We can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves, there’s too much at stake for that,” O’Donoghue said. "We have aspirations to win the trophy and we're chasing a knockout spot and that’s exactly what we need to do. With three games left, I know it’s a cliché but we’re treating every game as if it’s a cup final.

“With the team’s we’re playing, there's going to be massive shifts amongst those play-off spots and we can just control what we can control, and that's Friday night.” 

Munster make seven changes to the side beaten by the Bulls as they bid to save their season. Michael Milne will debut at loosehead prop while Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Craig Casey and Gavin Coombes all return from injuries or illness for the must-win road trip.

John Ryan at tighthead prop and second Fineen Wycherley also get starting roles.

Haley starts at full-back after recovering from the ankle injury he sustained in January with Nash returning to the right wing following his ankle knock in Bordeaux a fortnight ago, while Thaakir Abrahams switches from number 15 to the left wing.

Casey returns to scrum-half alongside Jack Crowley, having been taken ill before kick-off last time out.

Milne, who joined Munster on loan for the rest of the season last week ahead of his permanent move from Leinster this summer, will pack down alongside hooker Niall Scannell and veteran tighthead Ryan, who steps up following injuries to both Oli Jager and Stephen Archer during the Bulls game.

Fineen Wycherley joins captain Tadhg Beirne in the second row while Peter O’Mahony’s hamstring strain picked up in the warm-up for the Bulls fixture sees Jack O’Donoghue move from No.8 to blindside flanker in place of the injured Tom Ahern, Alex Kendellen retained on the openside and Coombes return at No.8 having also received an ankle knock in Bordeaux.

CARDIFF: C Winnett; J Adams, H Millard, B Thomas; G Hamer-Webb; C Sheedy, J Mulder; D Southworth, L Belcher - captain, K Assiratti; J McNally, T Williams; J Botham, T Young, T Faletau.

Replacements: E Lloyd, C Domachowski, R Litterick, R Thornton, A Lawrence, B Donnell, A Davies, T de Beer.

MUNSTER: M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, T Abrahams; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, N Scannell, J Ryan; F Wycherley, T Beirne - captain; J O’Donoghue, A Kendellen, G Coombes.

Replacements: D Barron, M Donnelly, R Foxe, J Kleyn, R Quinn, P Patterson, T Butler, S O’Brien.

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy).