On Saturday evening at 7pm, Thomond Park will reopen its doors to the Munster faithful. After an eighteen month facelift operation, the famous old ground will once again play host to some of rugby's biggest games.

Over the coming months New Zealand, Clermont Auvergne and Leinster will all come to the venue, but Glasgow Warriors will enjoy the honour of being the first visiting side to play a competitive fixture in the newly refurbished stadium. It promises to be an emotional and enthralling experience for both players and supporters alike.

Following last week's comprehensive and well-deserved victory over arch-rivals Leinster, this Munster side will look to maintain their 100 per cent start to their Magners League campaign. Glasgow on the other hand arrive on the back of some mixed results with two wins from their opening four games, but Sean Lineen's side will be determined to improve this ratio in Limerick this weekend.

Tony McGahan's early-season promise of squad rotation looks to be paying dividends. Each player is acutely aware of the competition for places and with the opening Heineken Cup fixture against Montauban looming large on the horizon, performance levels have gone up a level over the past fortnight.

European Cup regulars like Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan and Alan Quinlan are now faced with losing their starting positions to the likes of Mick O'Driscoll, Donncha Ryan and Justin Melck. McGahan is enjoying an embarrassment of riches and the province is now capable of challenging for honours on two-fronts. This squad will now see both the Magners League and Heineken Cup as achievable targets.

Last Sunday's performance against Leinster highlighted Munster's capacity to maintain possession in pressure situations. The ability to recycle the ball, as well as playing it out of the tackle, had a firm hand in both scores by Justin Melck and Doug Howlett. With the new ELV laws drastically reducing Munster's attacking impetus through the maul, McGahan has developed a new game plan with which to torment opposition defences.

As ever the battle at the breakdown is critical, as no side can fully operate without quick ball, and this Munster squad compete for possession like few others in the Northern Hemisphere.

Four-wins-from-four in their opening Magners League schedule has propelled the province towards the top-of-the-table, although the Ospreys currently lie one point ahead (having played a game more). However if the Red Army hope to celebrate the reopening of Thomond Park with a victory this weekend, then past mistakes against the Warriors will need to be eradicated. Over the past three seasons, Munster have won only one of the corresponding six fixtures against this opposition. That's a very poor return given the gulf in class that exists between the playing squads.