THERE MIGHT HAVE been a bit of lovely spring heat in Limerick as Munster trained today, but it was nowhere near the conditions they experienced in South Africa over the past two weekends.

The southern province returned home after two defeats in the United Rugby Championship against the Bulls and the Lions, having learned plenty about the difficulty of playing at altitude in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

With the sun beaming down as their lungs struggled to cope with the relative lack of oxygen, Munster wilted in the final quarter against the Lions last weekend.

After seeing a possible Alex Kendellen try chalked off for a forward pass, Munster gave up a 21-10 lead to lose 23-21.

“We put in an amazing effort for 60 minutes, some beautiful tries in that first half, unlucky with that try in the second half to be taken away from us,” said Munster senior coach Stephen Larkham today.

“And then you could clearly see we had kind of spent ourselves at that 60-minute mark and it was really hard.

“The boys kept pushing and pushing but we just couldn’t quite hold on there. I think if we had a little bit more time on the clock, we started to find our rhythm right at the end but it was too late.”

While Munster flew home frustrated not to have picked up a win, there were more promising signs from the young players in the touring squad.

Alex Kendellen on the ball in training today. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

Loosehead prop Josh Wycherley and back row Alex Kendellen were among those to impress.

“Josh Wycherley, particularly in that Lions game, was outstanding,” said Larkham. “Some of the effort he put off the ball… for their two tries, he was the one right there at the end chasing them. Then his set-piece detail, his detail around the paddock, the energy he brings to the team, it was tremendous.

“Likewise with Alex, I thought he had two tremendous games. He was cramping in that last game but he put everything into every minute he had out there on the field and I thought both games, he was tremendous for us.”

Larkham and co. believe that the physical demands of playing at altitude will have Munster in good shape for the tests that lie ahead, starting with Friday night’s URC clash with Benetton at Musgrave Park in Cork.

The southern province currently sit fourth in the URC table but would love to grab a top-two spot ahead of the play-offs.

They may be able to welcome back South African lock Jason Jenkins this weekend, with Leinster-bound second row having returned to full training from his abdominal injury.

A powerful presence at 6ft 8ins and around 125kg, Jenkins has only been able to make one appearance for Munster since joining last summer but he could provide a big impact in the closing months of the season.

“He’s a quality player, that’s the reason we brought him here in the first place,” said Larkham. “It has been very frustrating for him, I guess similar to RG [Snyman], we haven’t seen him on the park.

Jenkins is back in full training. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“He trained really well today and we are kind of in desperate need of second rows. Fineen [Wycherley] and JK [Jean Kleyn] have played just about every minute of the last couple of games so, with Thomas Ahern being injured, RG being injured, and some of the younger guys being injured as well, it’s really good to have him back.

“He obviously has to get through the rest of the week but it’s good to have him back training.”

Jenkins will depart for Leinster this summer, while it was recently confirmed that 22-year-old out-half/fullback Jake Flannery will join Ulster ahead of next season.

“Jake has improved out of sight,” said Larkham of the Tipperary man. “He has a really good skillset as a five-eight, really good composure on the field, and the boys are all around him. We haven’t really spoken about it too much in terms of his move.

“He’s definitely part of the team and he will stay part of the team until the end of the season, no doubt about that.”