'We need to be in knockout rugby'- Costello relishing Sharks clash in South Africa

Ian Costello insists his Munster Rugby side must draw a line under their patchy league campaign and turn their attention to tomorrow night's BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the Sharks.

READ MORE: BREAKING: Dates confirmed for 2027 Ryder Cup in Limerick's Adare Manor

Munster are coming off the back of two gutsy wins against Ulster Rugby and Benetton Rugby to secure Investec Champions Cup qualification for next season but their interim head-coach says they must now put that to one side as they arrive in Durban to face the highly fancied Sharks. 

"There's an expectation we need to be in knockout rugby, there's a lot of pressure to get there. But now that we're here, we're very, very ambitious on what we want to achieve."

"We all know that we had to get into the play-offs. We had to get into the Champions Cup, that's the expectation that comes with Munster, rightly so," he said.

"I think it was really important that we drew a line under that first. We put an awful lot into that physically, mentally and particularly emotionally in that last two weeks. There was so much to be pleased with in those last two weeks," he added.

Munster come into this quarter-final with a much needed week off having come through those must-win clashes against Ulster and Benetton. 

Costello commends the groups' togetherness in this period and says that now is the time to have a real go at this year's play-offs.

"This group, over the last couple of weeks, have really showed how much they care about each other. It came out in the way we trained, prepared, what we would have seen behind closed doors and what you would have seen in the performances.

"You don't get the intensity and physicality of a performance like that unless there is a real deep care and it means a huge amount to this group.

"I think that was huge to get that job done, but we've had a taste of play-offs before, we've played a few knock-out this year, more than we would have liked, especially over the last couple of weeks. That's set us up to have a real crack at this week, so it's a fresh focus and just really excited about play-off rugby."

It's also a chance for Munster to right the wrongs of last year's defeat to Sharks at the Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium. They were well beaten on a scoreline of 41-24 in round five of the regular season, with head coach Graham Rowntree leaving his role just a few days later. 

Costello says that this result will have no bearing on tomorrow night's fixture.

"No, that hasn't come into it at all of I'm honest," he said.

"I think the squad is in a different place. You look at the squad that actually travelled over here, we looked at it yesterday and there's a huge difference between the squad that travelled over in October versus the squad that's over here this weekend, or this week," he added. 

Munster will be buoyed by the fact that Jack Crowley has been given the green light to return to action this week, after the out-half picked up a rib injury earlier this month. Diarmuid Barron and Jeremy Loughman are also in contention to play after missing time with injury.