Beirne: Backs to the wall spirit is driving Munster

It's easy to forget that when Munster took on Toulouse in that agonising Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final defeat in May, they did so without a number of their biggest hitters.

Andrew Conway was, and still is, sidelined with a knee injury, while Gavin Coombes, Dave Kilcoyne and Tadhg Beirne were also absent due to injury.

In spite of that, they came within a whisker of whisker of defeating the five-time champions, running out of steam to give up a 24-14 lead, ultimately losing in a placekicking competition after one of the most absorbing game of rugby in the 27 years of the Champions Cup.

Johann van Graan's side came out swinging that day. They always do in Europe, going back as far as the Declan Kidney days, and there's little to suggest that will change under Graham Rowntree.

"Especially at a club like Munster, there's a special feeling around Europe," Beirne said, as they prepare for a rematch with Toulouse this Sunday (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).

"Whether we mean to or not, the mood lifts when it comes into European Cup weeks. It's no different this week."

It's been backs to the wall rugby from Munster for a few weeks now.

Having lost five of seven games in the opening block of the season, they've found themselves in a situation where every game is as important as the last. The recent bonus-point wins against Connacht and Edinburgh - the latter seeing them come from 12-0 and 17-7 down in the opening half - has steadied the ship and given them some momentum heading into the busy winter block of games.

Sunday's meeting with Toulouse is the third of a 10-game stretch between now and the Six Nations, where the margin for error is tiny.

And Beirne says the attitude shown to dig themselves out of a hole in Edinburgh last