Durban date, but Munster can draw strength from erasing worst fears

Interim head coach Ian Costello is delighted with how the province pulled together to avoid missing out on the Champions Cup.

Munster's Peter O’Mahony poses for photos after the win over Benetton. Pic: Laszlo Geczo, Inpho

The long trip to Durban is by now a familiar one but it will be no less daunting when Munster pitch up by the Indian Ocean to face the Sharks in two weeks.

For now, though, a URC quarter-final can wait a couple more days, as far as players and management are concerned. Just getting into the end of season play-offs was the number one objective for interim head coach Ian Costello and the entire Munster organisation and given the effort to achieve that over the past fortnight, a few days of decompression following last Friday night’s 30-21 victory over Benetton are not just welcome but vital to the province’s hopes of repeating their title run on the road two years ago.