Ospreys coach Steve Tandy insists the coming few weeks during the international period will be make-or-break for his side if they are to have a successful Guinness PRO12 campaign.

The south Wales outfit travel to Irish Independent Park to take on Munster this weekend, who have lost just twice on home soil since mid-January against Ospreys themselves and Cardiff Blues.

The Welshmen have won just two of their last dozen encounters against Irish provinces, but the last six meetings between the two sides have been evenly split with three wins apiece – whilst Ospreys have lost on just two of their last six visits to Munster.

And although Tandy goes into the trip without 12 of his Wales internationals – who will be preparing for their clash with Australia – he believes his charges will stand and deliver in Cork.

“Going away to Munster is always one of the most difficult challenges in the Guinness PRO12,” he said.

“There’s a good vibe in the squad. They understand what they are walking into and are ready to go. We’ve seen time after time how they thrive in adversity and that spirit will have to be there again if we are going to get something out of this game.

“We’ve made a good start to the season but international windows go a long way to shaping how the season pans out.

“The bonus point win last weekend against the Dragons gives us some momentum for the two away games coming up in the Guinness PRO12, against Munster and Glasgow, but we realise that we can lose that momentum quickly if we aren’t on the ball.

“You look at any year where we’ve done well in this competition and you’ll see that we’ve picked up points in these periods.

“That’s the challenge that we face and, whatever players are pulling on the shirt, they know what standards are expected of them, regardless of any outside factors.”

Flanker Rob McCusker makes his first start for the Ospreys, while Tom Habberfield leads the side at scrum-half, and Tandy was given a huge boost when starlet Keelan Giles was released from Wales training – and he makes the starting XV.

Meanwhile, Munster’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has made four changes for the clash, with new signing Rhys Marshall named in his first matchday squad.

The New Zealand-born hooker joined from Super Rugby side Chiefs in the week, and signed a three-year deal with the Irish province.

Elsewhere Stephen Archer comes in to join Dave Kilcoyne and Niall Scannell in the front row, while Darren O’Shea and Robin Copeland form a new partnership in the engine room.

There is no change in the back row with captain Peter O’Mahony, Tommy O’Donnell and Jack O’Donoghue all keeping their places, but Tyler Bleyendaal returns to partner Duncan Williams in the half-backs.

And after a remarkable come-from-behind victory at Ulster last weekend, Erasmus is desperate to maintain that level of performance.

He said: “This is a very important week for us to keep the momentum going.

“We don’t want a rollercoaster kind of season. In Ospreys we are playing a team that has scored most tries in the competition and has one of the best defences.

“It is going to be a severe challenge.”

Overall Guinness PRO12 head to head record:
Played 29, Munster won 13, Ospreys won 15 with 1 match drawn.

At Irish Independent Park, 7.35pm.
Live on TG4 and BBC Wales
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 57th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Stefano Pennè (FIR), Oisin Quinn (IRFU)
Citing Commissioner: Peter Ferguson (IRFU)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (FIR)