South African sojourn a blessing in disguise for emerging Munster stars

Munster fans could have been forgiven for groaning when their brightest prospects were plucked from the province's ranks to head to Bloemfontein for the Emerging Ireland tour, but RTÉ analyst Donal Lenihan believes the trip will end up yielding rich dividends.

While Simon Easterby's young guns were busy defeating the Griquas, the Pumas and the Cheetahs, a Munster outfit shorn of its nascent talents was enduring a four-game winless run in the URC that only ended with Saturday's encouraging 31-17 victory over the Bulls at Thomond Park.

The Munster contingent only returned to base last Thursday, but the likes of Shane Daly, Jack Crowley and Thomas Ahern made eye-catching contributions in the bonus-point success.

As Graham Rowntree attempts to restore Munter to their former glory, while keeping a lid on expectations, Lenihan believes that the young talent that the head coach has at his disposal will prove key to the success of the project.

There was plenty of encouragement to be taken from Munster's 31-17 triumph against the Bulls at Thomond Park, with the province's young guns shaping as key figures in Graham Rowntree's project. #RTErugby #AgainstTheHead pic.twitter.com/0l4irsVv2B

"The problem with Munster is that, for years and years, there's a level of expectation that's there," the former Ireland captain said on Against the Head.

"Munster are held with an aura about them that I'm not so sure that their performances over the last five years actually warrants.

"Thomond Park as an entity isn't the sort of mad citadel that it was years ago and that's understandable.

"But, for me, the more important thing is that there is a massive cohort of really good young players, and that's why I think that this Emerging Ireland tour will in the