Munster prop Marcus Horan is hoping he and his fellow Irish Grand Slammers don't fall foul of English referee Wayne Barnes this weekend as they try to keep their hands on the Heineken Cup.
Barnes penalised Ireland 17 times during their Grand Slam victory over Wales in the rousing RBS Six Nations finale at the Millennium Stadium last month and Horan knows Munster cannot afford to concede a similar amount against the Ospreys at Thomond Park on Sunday.
The Heineken Cup quarter-final is being branded as a re-run of that epic Six Nations shoot-out with Ospreys skipper Ryan Jones among 10 of the Welsh squad who went down 17-15 to the Irish in Cardiff heading to Limerick on a revenge mission.
"We have spoken about the refereeing. We were disappointed with t he scrums against Wales," admitted Horan.
"All we can do is analyse that game and learn from the mistakes we made. It is up to us to change our ways.
"We have had Wayne Barnes at Thomond Park this season for the game against Montauban and for the Heineken Cup clash at ASM Clermont Auvergne. Then there was the game against Wales.
"We didn't feel we were doing anything different right throughout the Six Nations. But we let ourselves down against Wales and that's something we y have some great atackers in Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe.ys' scrum because twant to redress.
"I guess we didn't adapt to the referee in that game against Wales. Wayne Barnes had an issue with the scrum dropping down below the hips and, if it collapsed, he was blaming us for it.
"Hopefully, we will be well prepared for Sunday. I know Adam Jones very well - he is very heavy and very strong - and we have had some good battles over years.
"The scrum is a good attacking platform for any team - a solid scrum is key for any back line. We will be looking to upset the Ospreys scrum to try to give our defence a bit of an edge."
Munster needed a last gasp penalty from Ronan O'Gara to beat Montauban 19-17 in their first Heineken Cup Pool match and then went down 25-19 in Clermont with Barnes in charge. The English official also took control of the Ospreys' 15-9 home win over Perpignan in the Pool stages.
Munster coach Tony McGahan also conceded that Barnes would play a vital role in the outcome of the game.
"In all big games the referee certainly plays a part. In the Heineken Cup games against Montauban at home and Clermont away we were on the wrong end of the penalty count," said McGahan.
"But it was more about here we gave away those penalties that concerned me. Then there was that 17-5 penalty count against Ireland in the Six Nations game in Wales.
"We will do our work on the referee as we always do. It means we will have to be totally efficient at the break down and scrum."
