Munster's twin wins on South African soil should be seen as a broadside across the Bok bow ahead of Ireland's much anticipated two-Test series here in July.
The defending United Rugby Championship champions' wins at Loftus Versfeld and Ellis Park were no fluke as they maintained their unbeaten run on South African soil.
What made their wins more remarkable was that they achieved both at altitude, a rare feat for visiting teams.
It was an achievement not lost on their straight shooting coach Graham Rowntree who expressed his delight at the results.
Back in the days of Super Rugby it was a feat that was difficult to achieve initially as the Bulls (and its forerunner Northern Transvaal) and the Lions (then Transvaal) never toured concurrently. It meant there was a much smaller window for visiting teams to beat them on the same trip to the highveld.
In later years it was achieved, but Rowntree knows the muscle memory that has been stored in achieving those wins.
Unlike Leinster, who opted to tour without several of their brightest stars in preparation for their Champions Cup semifinal against Harlequins, Munster came with their team loaded with Irish internationals. Their focus is very much the retention of their title and they are happy to throw the kitchen sink at all comers.
Munster have become one of the competition's most astute travelling teams. Last year it was their form on the road that helped them surge to the title.
Winning away from home against redoubtable adversaries is a sure way of imbuing confidence.
Among others, Munster captain and lock Tadhg Beirne, scrumhalves Conor Murray and Craig Casey, loose forward Gavin Coombes, props Oli Jager and Jeremy Loughman and perhaps most significantly, flyhalf Jack Crowley, would have benefited hugely from the experience and confidence gained on the highveld.
Munster stalwart and Ireland's Six Nations winning captain Peter O'Mahony has not indicated whether he will step away from international rugby, but he too will likely be a tourist when the perennial Rugby World Cup quarterfinalists arrive here in June.
O'Mahony has had a decorated career for club, country and the British & Irish Lions, but a series win on South African soil is one of two significant jewels missing from his crown.
It is a goal he'll be desperate to achieve.
The win at Loftus would particularly have emboldened Munster's Ireland contingent. The Bulls are the South African Shield pacesetters and downing them at their fortress would have put a spring in the Munster men's step. Ireland open the Test series against the Springboks at Loftus on July 6 before the teams clash again a week later in Durban.
The way in which they adapted to the conditions and the manner in which they limited the debilitating effects of altitude were keen features in how they reached their tour objectives. Standing up to the challenge in the collisions, unremitting defence, bringing clarity to the chaos they create at the ruck, a well thought-out and executed kicking game as well as a fit for purpose game plan were hallmarks of their performances in Gauteng.
Munster beat the effects of altitude by basing themselves in Cape Town before flying up for the matches on the Reef. It worked a treat. They did not run out of steam as one might expect visiting teams to do in the highveld's rarefied air. They also cleverly tailored their game so as to avoid expending unnecessary energy. They don't play at a hundred miles an hour, they simply turn it on when opportunity beckons, proving ruthless opportunists in both matches.
Munster's exploits here certainly served to amplify all the pre-series hype.
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