Byline: Colm Keys CHIEF SPORTS WRITER
THE Thomond Park public address system was unusually busy for a lunchtime on Wednesday as Munster trained on home soil for the last time before departure to Perpignan this morning.
The familiar sounds of heavy duty trucks on the road outside were replaced by brass bands, booing and passionate French voices at full tilt booming out over the tannoy.
Confused? Don't be.
It was a clever innovation by coach Alan Gaffney to recreate the atmosphere Munster can expect in the devout rugby terrain of the south of France on Saturday.
Yet you wondered if it was necessary.
The necklace of towns and small cities dotted across Languedoc and Provence and at the foothills of the Pyrenees have long been renowned as the bedrock for Les Bleus.
But asking Munster to tune into the cacophony of sounds they can expect in any French rugby ground was teaching old dogs old tricks.
Like Celtic training to the echoes of the Fields of Athenry or Clive Woodward's instructions to an English rugby team being drowned out by the strains of swinging chariots.
Munster and Saturdays in France have become as regular and compatible as Mike Tyson and controversy.
This is a huge week for the twice beaten Heineken Cup finalists - but a routine week too.
If any ear is receptive to the clatter of brass and the din of passionate French tones it's a Munster one.
No group of men have plundered this area with as much success since the Roman Army laid claim to most of Gaul.
Bordeaux, Castres, Beziers and even the Stade Jean Bouin in Paris have provided scalps for Munster that no other club or province can lay claim to.
Gaffney knows this, but for a little extra edge the decible level was increased for the final preparations yesterday.
Perpignan is different from the other havens of rugby in the vicinity - more compact, more frenzied, more intimidating.
Gaffney and Munster manager Jerry Holland were out there on a reconnaissance mission earlier in the season and saw at first hand how they thrive on home soil.
'What you heard out there is only a percentage of what we will hear on Saturday,' warned Gaffney.
'Brass bands playing for the full 80 minutes and 8,000 to 10,000 roaring French supporters creating a stir.
'I've been to places like Biarritz and Toulouse during my time with Leinster, but nothing, nothing compares to this. They are very passionate.'
So a compilation of very distinctive French sounds were extracted from various match videos for yesterday's session.
'We wanted to create an enviroment where it would be hard to hear calls and construct passes.
'It's easy to do that when it's calm and still,' he argued.
The noise was as much a distraction as a help on a biting cold Limerick afternoon as the final touches were put for the first of Munster's two make-or-break fixtures in the competition.
If Gaffney wasn't sure about the pressure before this week he is certain about it now.
A recall for Mick O'Driscoll ahead of Mick Galwey for the Paul O'Connell was the only real talking point.
But this morning the management have one of those difficult calls when they must opt for either Eddie Halvey for the promising Denis Leamy as they cut the squad from 23 to 22.
O'Driscoll was surprised and baffled at his omission from the squad for last weekend's Celtic League win over Ulster.
But yesterday he leaped ahead of Galwey again who reverted to the bench after his 20 minute cameo on Friday night.
Decisions like these don't come easy on Gaffney and he wasn't looking forward to this morning's squad refinement.
'It's not an easy call to make every week, in fact it's the worst part of being a rugby coach.'
O'Driscoll didn't enjoy his call last week but Gaffney explained: 'We pick a side depending on who we are playing.
'This week we feel Micko is the best option, last week we went with Gaillimh for a variety of reasons whether they were right or wrong.
'He came on with 20 minutes remaining and he played well. He scored the try but what a lot of people would have missed was his steal four phases before that. He wasn't just hanging around out there, he stopped the original ball.
'Micko suffered by being left out of the 22 last week but he has a chance to show us what he is made of now. We believe we need a more effective line-out this weekend so Micko steps in.'
Whether it was O'Driscoll or Galwey, Gaffney would still lament the loss of O'Connell who was confirmed as a six to eight week absentee after breaking his thumb against Ulster.
'Paul is a class player. I didn't realise how good he was until I came to Munster. What he has done in the three weeks since he came back from surgery has been quite outstanding.'
CAPTION(S):
HE'S UPBEAT: Munster coach Alan Gaffney; MICK MY DAY: O'Driscoll is back in the Munster side to face Perpignan; FIGHT GAME: Munster outfought Ulster on Friday night - now they face Perpignan in Europe
