Ireland back-row CJ Stander had admitted that the "fear factor" will not be an option for Munster when they take on Connacht this weekened.

Munster are at a lower ebb in comparison to previous eras.

They face second placed Connacht in the Guinness Pro 12 and are down in sixth this season, lowest of the Irish provinces this season and five points outside the playoff spot. 

"That fear factor that teams had before isn’t there," Stander told The42 ahead of the Connacht match.

"We can’t play on that name any more. The atmosphere up there [at the Sportsground] picks [Connacht] up. Big players like Bundee Aki get a few runs and the crowd gets behind them and you mustn’t let that get into your head. It’s a small stadium with a lot of noise and a lot of people … there are a lot of factors, you don’t know what the weather is going to be like."