STANDER READY FOR ‘BIGGEST TEST’ YET
CJ STANDER concedes Munster are big underdogs going into this game, but believes his side can avoid a third straight away defeat and topple ‘the best opposition’ he’ll face this season. Without a win in the capital since October 2014, Munster enter Saturday’s Aviva Stadium clash on the back of a record 64-7 win over Ulster last weekend, while Leinster have the boon of an away win in Connacht. So far this season Munster have shone brightly at home with three wins from three — all coming against weakened opponents — while they have lost both away games in Glasgow and Cardiff. And while Stander (28) didn’t want to label any of Munster’s recent opponents as ‘second string’ he expects a big test from whatever Leinster team is selected. ‘This weekend we all know it is going to be a big test. It’s going to be a tough game up at the Aviva against the best opposition I reckon we are going to face this year,’ said Stander, who is about to enter his sixth year in red. ‘Those are your words, that they were second string teams that we played against. Leinster have a lot depth. It doesn’t matter who or what they pick, they are always going to pitch up. ‘We’ve seen that when we played them at the RDS. They changed a lot of players and they still produced on the day. ‘I think it’s a big challenge between two big provinces. From our side again, we just want to go up there and make sure we perform on last weekend and make sure we are consistent and play our game because we know they are going to be at their best. ‘We’re going up against the best team in Europe, they proved that last year. They can do it week in week out and they proved it over the weekend.’