The heat is on Munster in Durban - but Calvin Nash says the Reds have to hit it face on.
Graham Rowntree's side are going into the Sharks' den tomorrow against a gathering of Springboks. In Nash's case, he is coming head to head with World Cup winner Makazole Mapimpi.
The 32-year-old winger is famous in his home country for scoring the Springboks' first ever try in a World Cup final, when England were put to the sword in Japan three and a half years ago.
READ MORE: Ireland's Grand Slam 'special and deserved' says Siya Kolisi, who predicts Sharkfest for Munster tie
But Mapimpi has come under the spotlight for some indisciplined behaviour of late - he expressed anger with the officials during the Champions Cup pool game against Bordeaux Begles in January and, in the same game, was cited but later cleared of an alleged gouging offence.
Previously, in the Rugby Championship last year, the veteran grabbed Australian opponent Marika Koroibete by the throat after Mapimpi scored the winning try in Sydney.
Nash has stepped up this season, starting all four pool games after his only previous experience in Europe came three years ago against Ospreys.
Having made the Emerging Ireland tour and been called into Ireland camp in November and during the Six Nations, this will be another test of the Limerick man's credentials - so is it a matter of fear mixed in with excitement, coming face to face with Mapimpi?
"I don't know, the fear hasn't kicked in yet if there is going to be fear anyway," smiled Nash.
"It should be exciting, you're playing against one of the best players in the world and, in European competition now with the South African teams coming in, there's even better players involved.
"You should just be excited about the challenge and about what's going to happen.
"Like, URC is a great competition but obviously when there's that European buzz around, teams go to another level.
"So especially the games that we've had, the Toulouse games and Northampton games, they were some of the hardest games I've played physically, and you're out of breath a good bit more than some of the URC games that you might play.
"But yeah, look, our training this year has gone to another level as well so that could potentially have made it a tiny bit easier of a transition, but I wouldn't say it's a massive difference."
Munster boss Graham Rowntree this week cited the game in Toulouse as a great example of the kind of cauldron that the Reds can expect in Kings Park.
Nash vividly remembers that game. "Yeah, especially the first 15 minutes was crazy intense, it was like a massive shock factor," the 25-year-old said.
"Obviously they had home advantage, they had their fans and all that kind of stuff, which made for an incredible atmosphere and experience and we'd probably expect something similar to that in Durban.
"They'll be all guns blazing, especially the first 10, 15 minutes there'll be a lot of emotion.
"It's a massive privilege to go down to South Africa to play for Munster and hopefully get a first win there as well.
"Look, it will be our first time playing a South African side in a knockout game down in Durban, so a massive challenge for everyone."
Munster will need returning Grand Slam winners Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray at their best for this one. Having sat out last week's poor performance against Glasgow, the Reds need everything going in their favour.
"Yeah, it is good having the boys back because the experience that they have, they're probably two of the most experienced Irish rugby players," said Nash.
"It's class having them back because they bring a different kind of outlook to the game that when you're stuck in this environment, you kind of get laser focused on one thing but then when they come back it's like, 'oh, we can work on this' or 'we can fix this'.
"Then obviously Pete's leadership skills are just incredible, he's a great leader and he's a good man to follow when you're going over to play a big game."
READ NEXT:
Conor McGregor responds to Carl Froch's claims that he could beat the Dubliner in an MMA fight
Katie McCabe thanks fans for support as she awaits news on injury
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
