Former Ireland international Darren Cave says the Ospreys will be smelling blood as they prepare to take on a Munster team who produced their "poorest performance" under Graham Rowntree in losing to Zebre Parma.
Rowntree's side went down to a shock 42-33 defeat in Italy last weekend, conceding six tries, while the Ospreys recorded a 37-24 bonus-point victory over the Stormers in Bridgend.
Former Ulster centre Cave reflected on Munster’s headline-grabbing loss to Zebre.
"I was working on television for the game and I was on with Donncha O’Callaghan who is obviously one of Munster’s greatest legends and he was very scathing about them," he said.
"It was a dreadful day out. It was certainly the poorest performance Munster have had in the Graham Rowntree era.
"From an Ospreys point of view, they will definitely smell blood, particularly on the back of a good win against the Stormers where they racked up a few tries.
"The Munster defence in the first two weeks of the season has been average at best.
"The Ospreys will see they are playing against a team that is conceding an average of 37 points a game so far. Munster also conceded 33 points at home to Gloucester in pre-season.
"So the Ospreys will be viewing this as a team that’s not defending well.
"They will feel if they can get Munster under pressure early, will the pressure of the past week tell because the team meetings will have been phenomenally hard stuff to watch and listen to.
"This game in Cork this weekend has now become a lot bigger because Munster have an opportunity to either delete everything or compound it.
"If they get a really strong performance and result this weekend, then what happened in Parma is quickly forgotten because you can’t dwell on it.
"They will take to heart having past players and fans challenge their energy and effort, so I would expect there to be a phenomenal reaction from Munster. It makes for a cracking game."
Looking further ahead, Cave predicted that Leinster will end their three-year drought and claim the title.
He said: "I would always back Leinster. If you had to put your mortgage on it, I think they are the most likely team."
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