Stephen Archer - Mr Dependable set for Munster record

Of the 268 games Stephen Archer has already played for Munster in his career, it's arguable that two of his most important came within seven days of each other last April.

Was it not for Munster's unbeaten tour of South Africa in the final rounds of the URC regular season, it’s likely there would have been no trophy to parade around Thomond Park in May, and maybe even no Champions Cup rugby to look forward to this year.

In that win against the Stormers and the come-from-behind draw against the Sharks the following week, Archer put in a pair of tireless 80-minute shifts, a foreign concept for modern tighthead props, let alone one who is 35-years of age.

The fact that he locked horns with Springbok World Cup winners Steven Kitshoff and Ox Nche in those games makes the feat of endurance all the more impressive.

Highlighting a pair of 80-minute performances across a 14-year career may not appear to be much of a tribute, but to put it all into context it had been six years since the veteran prop had been asked to go the distance for his province, something he’d only been required to do five times in his career.

The Corkman is set to put his name into the Munster Rugby history books this evening against Leinster where he'll make a record 269th appearance for the province, passing the mark which has been held by Donncha O’Callaghan since 2015.

The prevailing adjective used to describe him this week has been "durable".

"He's like a Toyota Hilux, isn't he, with about 400,000 miles on the clock. He'll never break down," Munster forwards coach Andi Kyriacou said of Archer this week.

Again, there will be more glamorous superlatives used to describe players, but most front row forwards will recognise that comparison as true praise.

Similarly,