Just hours away from the derby semi-final between Leinster and Munster, Alan Quinlan spoke on OTB AM on Friday about Munster’s chances.

Quinlan thinks that the southern province has talent and quality players, but needs to have a passion and desire to win tonight.

“They will have an edge and an anger about them, but then they’ve got to be shrewd in the way that they play in the right areas,” Quinlan said.

He mentioned that Johann van Graan’s men were good in several areas key areas and will be looking to continue that tonight.

“They were very effective in the breakdown the last day,” he said.

“Leinster will expect them to come at them again, but that doesn’t mean Leinster are going to repel that, that it’s a guarantee.

“The way that you go after that situation is you do it again.”

Quinlan focused on the tempo of the game, saying that Munster need to slow down Leinster’s ability to play the ball.

“If Munster get a penalty or two early on or they start slowing Leinster’s ball down, then that might create a little bit of doubt and stop Leinster’s flow,” he said.

“The challenge for Leinster is their ball presentation, the way they carry the ball.

“I’m sure they’ve worked a lot on that.”

But one of the biggest areas that Munster used to their advantage in their last game was the kicking battle.

Jordan Larmour looked very shaky under the high ball two weeks ago, which Quinlan thinks could still be an issue tonight.

“The aerial battle is going to be key as well,” he said.

“Munster profited a lot form that in the last game, I’m sure Jordan Larmour is going to be really determined to make sure that he wins those high ball.”

“We’re going to see Munster kick the ball and put him under pressure again.”

Shane Daly of Munster in action against Rónan Kelleher of Leinster during the Guinness PRO14 Round 14 match between Leinster and Munster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

The men in red will have their work cut out for them, but Quinlan still thinks there is a chance.

“How do Munster win it? Well, they probably have got to get an eight or nine, or 9.5 out of 10 performance and push Leinster back to a six or seven performance,” he said.

“The only chance that you have against Leinster is you have got to be in their face, and you’ve got to play sensible rugby.”

Quinlan highlighted the coolness under pressure that Leo Cullen has instilled in his chargers.

“The biggest strength Leinster have in my opinion is they have a real calmness about their performance,” Quinlan said.

“Even though sometimes they may not have a lot of possession, they just know when to strike

“When they get into that attacking zone, they’re accurate and you just feel… the opposition knew what was coming.

“They knew that we were not leaving here without a score, and Leinster have that.”

Van Graan’s men will need to shore up their goal line defence if they are to stop the blue wave in their own 22.

“Munster have got to be really resilient in those areas, when Leinster get into their 22, that they don’t give up easy opportunities, and maybe they force a big turnover or make a big play.” Quinlan said.

Munster need to be physical

He added that the Leinster appear to have more going for them regarding the big men up front.

“[Munster] have a lot of good players, but the concern is maybe in their front 5 area,” Quinlan said.

“Leinster probably have a bit more experience and quality there, and that’s the problem for [Jeremy] Loughman, [Stephen] Archer and [Niall] Scannell.

“I think Archer and Scannell probably dropped the ball a few times in the first game, so they’ve got to make carries and have good positive involvements.”

Chris Cloete of Munster tussles with Quinn Roux, left, and Bundee Aki of Connacht during the Guinness PRO14 Round 15 match between Munster and Connacht at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Quinlan said that, apart from the passion and desire to win, it will boil down physicality.

“They’ve got to be really physical, get in Leinster’s faces and take their opportunities,” he said.

“They can’t afford Leinster to have this ten or fifteen minutes in which they just change gears, which they are so good at doing.

“If they can win those moments, and take the sting out of the game and control the tempo a bit better, then they’ve a good chance.”

Ultimately Quinlan does not think that the small chance will be enough for his former team to break Leinster’s incredible unbeaten streak.

“But you just suspect that it’s going to be the same old story.”

The match will kick off at 7:35pm in an empty Aviva stadium.

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.