Munster face Connacht this afternoon for their first game of the New Year - with the sides separated by as little as three points in the URC standings.
The men in red missed out on their usual Stephen's Day clash with Leinster and now have three games in hand - with their trip to South Africa and the games with both the Lions and the Bulls also postponed.
Today, Connacht have opted to start a full-strength side in the hopes of toppling their southern rivals, while Johann Van Graan has chosen a mix of youth and experience to get the job done.
Something that's becoming a more regular occurrence these past twelve months is the appearance of two Waterford men on the same team sheet - Jack O' Donoghue and Thomas Ahern. The Waterford City and Ardmore natives have become an ever-growing presence in the red jersey, with O' Donoghue captaining the side for Van Graan this evening.
Former Munster and Ireland out-half Niamh Briggs has noted that with the emergence of the two tight five players, we can now see a more defined production line of players coming from the Desie.
"Oh absolutely and it's only going to get stronger and stronger I think. When you see players like Ahearn and Eoin O' Connor doing so well, and O'Connor was brilliant against Wasps that day. I think there are pathways in place that you can almost see it."
"Not just Eoin O' Connor but there was two guys from Ennis too, so there are club pathways coming through and I think for young lads and girls to see that; I think it's brilliant."
While O' Donoghue has earned the captain's armband on several occasions this past year, Briggs wonders why the former Waterpark player has not come into consideration for Andy Farrell and the Irish team.
"It's great today, I think Jack O' Donoghue is having one of his best seasons. I think he's been brilliant and he must be so frustrated not to be in and around that national squad mix. It must be really difficult for him to understand why he's not in there because he's just been incredible for Munster. A huge leader obviously - captaining the side but also his energy and work rate is so so good."
With O' Donoghue leading the team out, Ahern will have to wait to be sprung from the bench. The West Waterford colossus is one of the young players that Farrell took a shine to ahead of the Autumn internationals, bringing him in for training with the international squad.
"To see Thomas Ahern coming in, you'd like to see him back in after injury and covid issues - you've got to start seeing him now push on. It's time for him to be a regular fixture in those much day 23's. Especially with RG [Snyman] out injured, I think that the opportunity is there for him now to get in and stamp his mark and really push on to the next level. It's something that we obviously as Waterford people but also as Munster supporters would love to see happen now."
