A sense of stability exudes from the Munster camp given the familiarity of their management and players. However, for Declan Kidney, Munster's director of rugby, things are strikingly different this season. The coach who has lived his life as a pupil and then a coach and teacher at PBC Cork, calculated he was involved with 18 teams last season when the World Cup winning Irish under-19s, Dolphin and various Munster outfits are added to the Presentation school sides.

Kidney has cut the umbilical cord with the school (where he taught maths and commerce for 10 years) courtesy of a three-year leave of absence to concentrate on his full-time task as the province's director of rugby.

"This is the busiest time, at least I hope it is; setting up the job, getting everything in place for the first time and getting all the preparations in place. When the matches start out on the pitch, that's the easier part."

A year ago, Kidney had only 10 full-time players to work with, obliging the bulk of the part-time squad to augment their day job with early morning and evening sessions. Though several of the full-timers have been demoted from international contracts and are thus on less money (without cars), like the other provinces Munster have 21 full-time players.

Professionalism though, takes time. It's not simply a case of players earning money from the game and doing nothing else. It's a state of mind. For those players used to the professional ways, the benefits a year on are abundantly apparent to Kidney. "In the first year of professionalism the effect on the system was more noticeable. Now, the players are more in tune with taking rest and the values of rest."

"They're also more aware of what to eat and drink. It's more a case now of them demanding water and eating the right foods at the right time, rather than us telling them. They're aware of the needs to prepare properly, which is a big help."

A year on, Kidney also detects a far more positive attitude generally throughout the four Irish provinces. "Last year, all the provinces were being written off. There's not so much of that this year. I think they're being held in greater esteem, and I say that about all the four provinces."

The air of expectancy within the four camps is palpable: helped by the extension to the provincial season for which all craved. With the Guinness interpros doubled to six matches on a home and away basis, and varnished with a Super12 points scoring system, Munster will have at least 12 competitive matches to set alongside their four friendlies (Edinburgh Reivers and Morocco have been added to an intensive itinerary after last week's successful two-match trip to Wales).

This has other repercussions for Kidney. "We're gearing our preparations on the basis that this season will be much longer.

"Effectively, the competitive season now runs from August 15th to the start of November at least. It's a 13-week season, which is going to place far more emphasis on consistency and squad strength in depth. Whereas until now, a team could hit a purple match for a few weeks and carry off the interpros on the strength of it."

Kidney welcomes the changes to the interpros, which to date were more akin to a three-game form of Russian roulette. "It gives everybody a better chance. One slip-up and the whole thing was gone."

Witness last season, when Munster slipped up on the final day in Belfast, and waited on the pitch to hear that Leinster had stolen the crown on points differential with an injury-time score.

Kidney makes no bones about last season's campaign. "It was very disappointing." This despite safely qualifying for the European Cup, while narrowly missing out on the interpro title and a place in the knock-out stages of the European Cup after two wins out of six (at home to Bourgoin and, memorably, Keith Wood's Harlequins).

The most damaging characteristic, distinctively Munsteresque, was a penchant for starting games slowly. "Last year we had a problem playing for 80 minutes, so we'll be looking for more 80minute performances this season. Take into account the first 10 or 15 minutes against Ulster, and away to Munster and Cardiff, and it was a pretty costly 45 minutes or so."

I chuckle as I put forward the theory, expressed by some in Leinster and Ulster circles, that Munster are entitled to start the interpros as favourites. "I'm glad you laughed and not me. Both of them have strengthened their squads more than we have, and Leinster won it last year, so I don't see how we're favourites."

"I'm happy with the squad's strength in depth. We have some good young players coming through and a lot more are going to get chances earlier than they would have in years past because of the greater number of matches - take the example of Donacha O'Callaghan, our 19-year-old second-row who played against Rumney."

"But as I know through my involvement in the under-19s, Leinster have some very good young players coming through their ranks as well, while Ulster have had a big influx. You just cannot compare Ulster with the Ulster of last season."

Overall, Kidney says, "I'd like to see more of the belief coming back into Irish rugby. On the back of the trip to South Africa, and their results subsequently, and the belief that a lot of the younger boys have now, I think there's a growing feeling that we're not all here just to make up the numbers."

From a Munster perspective, Kidney applies the basic credo: "Us getting as good as we can be, and if we get beaten, so be it. I always make a distinction between getting beaten and losing. And I hate losing," he says, laughing.

The draw for this season's European Cup has already been made, privately, by ERC Ltd, and the whisper is that Munster have been paired with the three Ps, Perpignan, Pontypridd and Padua. All will apparently be revealed sometime this week, but whatever the draw, Munster ought to have a fighting chance of gaining the runners-up spot in their group and so reach the quarter-finals.

Ideally, Munster are looking to win the interpros and at least reach the last eight of the European Cup. To give themselves a reasonable chance of both, Kidney has set a basic target of "winning all our home games, both in the interpros and the European Cup."

One senses that Munster's chances of achieving this would be greater if all their games were played in Thomond Park - where they have never lost a European game. Alas, Thomond is currently being reseeded, so instead Munster host Leinster and Connacht in Dooradoyle (on Saturdays rather than Friday evenings) with the venues for the European Cup still to be arranged pending progress on the work in Limerick.

As part of the trade-off with Cork, a further intepro or two could have been thrown their way in return for playing all three European games in Thomond Park, which would definitely improve Munster's chance of progress. After all, it's in Munster rugby's interest that they progress to the knock-out stages, and it's in Irish rugby's interest that one or more do, as this will increase Ireland's basic representation of two teams in the 1999-2000 Cup (always presuming there is a Cup).

The higher qualification threshold thus has immediate ramifications. "As things stand, only two provinces might qualify for next season's European Cup, so you'd probably have to win four of your six matches to be certain of qualifying," reckons Kidney, slightly nervously.

Come Friday evening then, when Munster take on Connacht in Galway, the stakes will be altogether higher.