Munster mission remains the same, says Tom Ahern

Munster don't usually rock up to South Africa for URC duty until later in the season but that doesn’t change their mission this time around, says Tom Ahern.

In 2022, they travelled in March and lost to the Bulls and the Lions as their season fizzled out with five losses in their last six games.

The trip south in their championship-winning season came in April of 2023 and garnered a win over the Stormers and a draw with Sharks to provide impetus for their incredible away run in the knockouts.

Last year, it was again in April that they switched hemispheres for clashes against the Bulls and the Lions as they surged to the top of the regular-season standings.

Those games all came with a sense of jeopardy, with either their seasons on the line or a top seeding at play.

This time around, six months on from their last trip, there’s less at stake, seemingly, with just four rounds of the championship played.

However, Ahern, who made his first appearance of the season last weekend in the defeat to Leinster, doesn’t believe it changes their mindset ahead of tomorrow’s match against Stormers (5pm, live on RTÉ) and next weekend’s meeting with Sharks.

"The mission is the exact same," said the 24-year-old forward ahead of the 2023 final rematch.

"Like coming down here... we are usually backs to the wall but at the same time we are looking for two good performances and hopefully get two good results.

"I don't think [the mindset changes] because like every time we come down here to play a game we are looking to win so that doesn't change whether it is the end of the season or the start of the season

"We are coming down here and we are expecting two tough games but we are hoping to win in those games."

Putting in the hard work