Toulouse pain will stand to Munster - Tom Ahern

The pain of Munster's Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final defeat to Toulouse will make the province stronger in the long run, according to second row Tom Ahern.

Johann van Graan's side return to the Aviva Stadium tomorrow (7.15pm) for the final round of the URC regular season, for what is in all likelihood a must-win game against Leinster if they want to secure a home quarter-final.

It will also be their first outing since the Champions Cup defeat to Toulouse at the same venue just under a fortnight ago, when they were agonisingly beaten in a place-kicking competition after a 24-24 draw over 100 minutes.

With no game last week, the Munster head coach said that they have been able to get that disappointment out of their system, and with their focus now firmly on the URC playoffs, Ahern believes the pain of defeat has only brought the squad closer together.

"In some of the photos after the game you can see all of us consoling each other, there was one nice group shot of us all close together and this group, especially, is all so tight, we get on so well with each other," he said.

"Obviously it was bizarre circumstances for that game and I think all the group was bitterly disappointed because we went toe to toe for 100 minutes and it was a tough way to lose a game.

"But we came in last week for one day, just to review the game and put it behind us and got some nice time off so we could just refresh our minds and I think we're all looking forward and refocusing for a big game up in the Aviva on Saturday."

The Waterford lock had to endure some frustrating times this season, when a combination of Covid-19 and a thigh injury limited him to just four appearances between October and April.

But since returning in the earlier derby defeat