Dark green n black with splashes of yellow was the the predominant colour on the streets of Limerick this morning as Northampton supporters took advantage of the mild weather to stretch their legs ahead of the evening’s fare.
And there was a discernible air of confidence about the followers of the side that went through last year's Pool unbeaten to look cast iron certainties at half time in the final only to implode spectacularly in the second half.
This time around the talk is that they'll draw inspiration from that near miss and they do arrive in Thomond Park Stadium this evening in rude good health following three successive League wins, the latest away to London Wasps.
Much is made of their formidable pack, in particular their front row of Soane Tonga'uiha, Dylan Hartley and Ben Mujati and the prowess both out of touch and in the loose of Courtney Lawes.
Behind that pack they have attack potency in English internationals Ben Foden and Chris Ashton and the Russian flyer, Vasily Artemyev while Ryan Lamb has been in good form from the kicking tee.
All that being said however, nothing they've faced to date will compare to what Paul O'Connell, his teammates and the Munster crowd are going to serve up to them this evening.
Leinster provided the ideal prep last weekend and on a direct formline through Leinster, then this is a game that is well within Munster scope if they bring their best form to what promises to be an enthralling fixture.
Munster: J Murphy; D Howlett, D Barnes, L Mafi, D Hurley; R O'Gara, C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, BJ Botha; D Ryan, P O'Connell (capt); P O'Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: D Fogarty, J Ryan, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, D Leamy, T O'Leary, I Keatley, W Chambers.
Northampton Saints: B Foden; C Ashton, J Clarke, J Downey, V Artemyev; R Lamb, L Dickson; S Tonga'uiha, D Hartley (capt), B Mujati; C Lawes, M Sorenson; C Clark, T Wood, R Wilson. Replacements: M Haywood, A Waller, P Doran-Jones, S Manoa, P Dowson, M Roberts, S Myler, G Pisi.
Referee: N Owens (Wales)