It's hard to know exactly what to make of Munster this season.
They had a lot of dirty diesel to work out of their system after how last season finished, an incredibly disappointing home loss to Glasgow in the URC semi-final.
It’s a defeat that happened four months ago but was brought up at attack coach Mike Prendergast’s presentation to the team on Tuesday, echoing, he reckoned, Saturday's loss to Leinster.
While they began with a dramatic win over Connacht, the sense after that game was that the visitors to Thomond blew it and Munster could have easily lost.
A first ever reverse to Zebre was a shock to the system, which led to severe criticism from Munster legend Donncha O’Callaghan, with defence coach Denis Leamy unable to disagree with anything his former team-mate said.
"I wouldn't pay too much attention to outside noise and I think that's the same with everyone in the squad," Tom Ahern, the versatile forward, who made his first appearance of the season in last Saturday’s 26-12 loss, said of the comments.
"Look, we are a kinda cohesive unit and we only listen to people that's inside the building and we kinda block out the noise from outside."
The injured list lengthened after the Parma game with the players dropping like flies and the subsequent bounce-back win over Ospreys in horrendous conditions in Cork came at the cost of injuries to Peter O’Mahony - how they would have loved him in Croke Park – and Oli Jager; it was bulk and nous they could have done with for that clash.
But the difference between the sides was stark, in reality: Munster’s inability to convert nine line breaks (to Leinster’s 4), 27 defenders beaten (to 14) and 14 offloads (to 5) into more than two tries cost them dearly.
"The reaction can be about just being a bit more having that killer instinct and also just that calmness and trusting people at times that are outside you," said Prendergast ahead of this afternoon’s return to Cape Town where they meet the Stormers in a repeat of the 2023 final.
"That’s where we came up short."
Shane Daly and Billy Burns, on the bench, return from injury, while Emerging Ireland captain Alex Kendell also comes into the side.
Conor Murray, John Ryan and Ahern all start, while Craig Casey misses out with a "knock".
The Stormers, meanwhile, have one win from three in their games to date, a 36-5 victory over Zebre, coming in between losses to Ospreys and last weekend’s 38-7 defeat in Edinburgh.
"We made too many mistakes," said director of rugby John Dobson of the loss in Scotland, in which they conceded 15 penalties.
"We got into chase mode and that hurt us. We were under pressure at the start. Our discipline puts us under pressure."
Prop Sti Sithole and hooker Joseph Dweba come back into the starting line-up for the hosts, while lock Adre Smith will make his first start of the season.
The only change to the backline sees Suleiman Hartzenberg back on the right wing, while Springbok fly-half Herschel Jantjies will make his return from injury on the bench.
"If we can get our fizz back at home, we will be okay for the rest of the season," added Dobson, whose side sit bottom on the standings.
"The key for us is the next two home games. If we can get those next two, we will be alive and kicking. There is a little bit of pressure in that respect."
Munster have an excellent record against the Stormers, winning four from four, two home and two away, including, of course, the 2023 final here.
"I'm a strong believer that if you’re going to advance in this competition, what you do in South Africa is huge in terms of what you can acquire, points-wise," Rowntree said last week and there’s no better example than Leinster’s tour last year, where they didn’t pick up a bonus point in two losses, costing them top seeding at the end of the regular season.
But for the last three years, Munster’s trip to the Rainbow Nation has come in the later rounds and despite the visitors’ insistence that the mission remains the same, the fact is that the results of the double-header here, and against Sharks next week, won’t make or break their season at this point.
This is the team’s first game out of the country since the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi horror show and Rowntree will be desperate to see his side deliver a statement performance, at the least.
They had no choice but to rise up for the Ospreys match, while there’s little motivation needed when facing Leinster.
The former England and Leicester prop will want to see how his team respond for a game, in which they start five-point underdogs, that no matter the outcome, won't see the panic button pressed.
All aboard the red roller coaster for another adventure.
