Munster expecting western backlash

On paper, today's contest at the Sportsground (3.0) is so lob-sided it makes the Leaning Tower of Pisa seem perpendicular. Munster have just come off one of their best starts in years while statistically it has been Connacht's worst ever start, and the bookies make it a 21-point game. Is there any point in Connacht turning up?

Well obviously, as Roy Keane might say, games aren't played on paper, and not only will Connacht turn up but their pride will surely ensure an altogether more focussed and intense performance than against Ulster last week.

Connacht know that should they suffer another 50 or so point loss then effectively their season will have gone belly up almost before it has started. Coach Glenn Ross is not the type to make excuses for a flat performance, suffice to say there were mitigating circumstances and he expects a big improvement today.

"I was really quite stunned by last week's experience. I couldn't believe that we were that bad given we had done a lot of good training. They (Ulster) were good but we made it pretty easy for them, and four of the (six) tries could easily have been prevented.

"I would be really concerned if we hadn't played so well in England. But we've taken stock of what happened and recharged the batteries. I haven't taken it out on the players, believing instead that we should take it out on our opponents. We'll know after the game, but I think we can turn it around."

Nor was the Munster manager Brian O'Brien coming out with the usual platitudes when he concurred with Ross's interpretation of Ulster's win after watching the match on video. "A lot of things went wrong for them last week," he said. "They did pretty well in first phase and I can't believe they'll be that bad again."

The rivalry within Connacht is arguably more concentrated and polarised than anywhere else, largely confined as it is to Galwegians and Buccaneers. Hence, when Ross opted for his one-time colleague at Northampton, Buccs' Martin Steffert, ahead of Galwegians' Junior Charlie, he was always risking incurring the wrath of the Galwegians lobby.

Ross also reveals that he went against Gatland's advice on the Charlie-Steffert question: "It wasn't an easy decision but I had to judge it on what I saw last year and on club form. Junior suffered a lot of injuries last year and I thought he was overweight. Meanwhile, the other boy was playing out of his tree for a successful side."

Connacht's frontrow looks much the better for its reshuffling, although as Ross concedes, "it's a big ask" of young Colm Rigney to replace the injured Gavin Webster. Connacht also do have more pace out wide, when you compare Matt Mostyn and Pat Duignan with John O'Neill and Mick Lynch, but will they get the chance to use them?

The men from the west have only beaten Munster four times in 62 interpro meetings, the last at home being 20 years ago, and Connacht have lost this fixture 13 times on the spin since their 1986 win at Thomond Park by 11-9. Admittedly, they were competitive in both meetings last year, although it was by virtue of doing the double over Connacht in two undistinguished matches that Munster won the interpro title.