Jeremy Loughman: 'We'll have a big target on our back'

Munster prop Jeremy Loughman says he's expecting a big backlash from Leinster when they face their rivals at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The pair are due to face off in front of close to a full-house in Ballsbridge, six months on from Munster's dramatic 16-15 win when they met in last season's BKT URC semi-finals.

It was Munster's first knock-out win against Leinster in five attempts dating back to the 2011 Celtic League decider, and it was the springboard for Graham Rowntree's side to go on and see off the Stormers to lift the trophy a fortnight later in South Africa.

"It was kind of one of those wins we needed to get, a monkey off the back," Loughman said as he looked back on that game in May.

"It just showed everyone how we were moving forward as a team and in terms of that rivalry, pushing ourselves as a better team and challenging for those big games.

"So it was massive, a morale boost for everyone to see that when we do our work right that we can achieve what we're aiming for."

The 28-year-old (below) is among a number of former Leinster players in the Munster squad, having joined from his home province in 2017.

But he says it takes nothing away from the rivalry between the sides.

"It has a special feel, the [Leinster] week, you can feel coming in that everyone's on edge, it's a bit different," he added.

"Everyone's at each other, making sure we're all perfect, we're really pushing ourselves and they're the weeks that you really look forward to, the big weeks, the big crowds, there's going to be 45,000 people there so it will be a full house and the atmosphere will be class.

"So really looking forward to it, they're special games and they're the ones you want to play in, especially when you grow up watching them.

"We'll