The province have been cast in, and at times manoeuvred themselves into, the role of underdog since Jesus was making pine-wood dressers, but the out-half 's words were a clear attempt to put the "we'll be lucky to get out of the pool" nonsense firmly in the past.

Munster are the European Cup holders and if they want to say the same thing this time next year, they need a whole new mental attitude.

O'Gara's comments were, at the very least, a start in painting the province's ambitions in a new light. Of course, he could have tip-toed around the issue more sensitively, but it's no harm to put a few noses out of joint every once in a while, even if Leicester coach Pat Howard was downplaying the significance of it all. "That shoulder injury, which I think was concussion, has affected his thoughts a little bit, " said the Leicester coach with a smile. "No, he's got his comments and that's cool. I'm sure it will fire up England when they play Ireland but, as an Australian, I don't really care."

So with that to one side, we can look forward to as interesting a match-up as there is on this opening weekend of the 12th Heineken Cup. The strange thing is that while we're all for Munster talking themselves up and not being reluctant to foist the mantle of favouritism upon themselves, Declan Kidney's side are genuine underdogs, albeit marginally, for this fixture. That wisdom sprouts from two sources, firstly, the fact Leicester's top players have played seven full-blooded games this season compared to Munster's three, and secondly, the venue, Welford Road, where the home side have lost just five out of 32 Heineken Cup games over 11 seasons.

Of course, one of those games was the defeat to Munster in 2003, a game where the visitor's forward dominance, kick-started by a coming of age line-out effort from Paul O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan, earned them a 20-7 victory and sweet revenge for their final defeat a year earlier.

Just like that spring afternoon, that battle out of touch is going to be one of a number of key factors today. Munster's line-out has been strangely out of sorts so far this season but you'd have to back them to get things on track this afternoon. They should gain parity with their Leicester counterparts, even if the home side do boast Ben Kay, Leo Cullen and Louis Deacon as bona fide line-out operators. At least Kidney has the option of bringing either Alan Quinlan or Mick O'Driscoll off the bench to shore things up if things don't go according to plan.

In leaving Quinlan out of the team, and picking both Denis Leamy and Anthony Foley in the back-row, Kidney is obviously expecting a physical battle against a bulky Leicester eight, and with heavy rain forecast this afternoon, the forward battle is going to be crucial.

Munster have, as they've admitted, struggled at the breakdown in recent weeks but there's nothing like a Heineken Cup match to up the intensity in that area a couple of notches.

With the weather likely to make running rugby difficult, the control exerted by the respective pair of halfbacks is going to be key, and it's here Munster hold a crucial advantage. Howard has plumped for Scott Bemand and Paul Burke ahead of Harry Ellis and Andy Goode at nine and 10, and while we're sure he has his sound reasons for doing so, Peter Stringer and Ronan O'Gara have more than enough ability and know-how to play those two off the park. On a wet day, with a greasy ball, there's no better man than the Munster out-half to put a team on the back foot. The fact is Burke's capabilities in this area are nowhere near as good.

Word from Leicester yesterday is that Geordan Murphy, despite being named in the starting line-up, could miss out because of an eye injury sustained in training, which would leave the door open for Johnny Murphy. If that were to happen, O'Gara could have great fun in turning both Murphy and Tom Varndell frequently to see if the pair of exciting young wingers are as defensively cute as they are going forward.

It's going to be a tight game, with no more than five points in it, but for their control at half-back alone, this one is Munster's to lose, despite what the bookies say.

LEICESTER S Vesty; G Murphy, O Smith, D Gibson, T Varndell; P Burke, S Bemand; M Ayerza, G Chuter, M Castrogiovanni, L Cullen, B Kay, L Deacon, L Moody, M Corry (c) Substitutes: J Buckland, J White, J Crane, S Jennings, H Ellis, A Goode, S Rabeni MUNSTER S Payne; J Kelly, B Murphy, T Halstead, I Dowling; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell (c), D Leamy, D Wallace, A Foley Substitutes: A Kyriacou, F Pucciariello, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, T O'Leary, J Manning, L Ma" Referee N Owens (Wales) HEINEKEN CUP POOL FOUR LEICESTER vMUNSTER Welford Road, 3.00 Live, Sky Sports 2