Munster second row Paul O'Connell believes Munster will have to be smart when they take on Toulon this  Sunday.

The French side will be favourites in Marseille and O'Connell told Dave McIntyre that a clever gameplan will give Munster a chance.

"You have to be clever. You have to try to find a way. That's what we did last year [against Clermont]. We got around them a little bit once or twice but by and large, we struggled. When ROG adapted a bit of a kicking game, we found opportunities and that's what we'll have to do this weekend - look for opportunities against them because they have very few weaknesses," said the experienced campaigner.      

The Ireland captain has re-watched Toulon's 29 - 14 win over Leinster three weeks ago and believes Munster will have to show similar resolve to that shown by their provincial rivals in the first half.

"Leinster hung in in the first half, similar to what we did [at Clermont] and that's what we have to do against these teams. They have such incredible power, talent, skill, speed. And they do certainly have purple patches."

He admits that France centre Mathieu Bastareaud will be a tough man to stop.

"The first thing to do is make sure you carry well, place well and don't give them an opportunity to get locked in. After that you've got to get him out of there before it becomes a ruck. And if he does get locked on it, you probably do need two or three people to get him off the ball. It's as simple as that."