Damian de Allende believes Munster can end their trophy famine before he leaves in the summer and begin a new era of success for the club.
De Allende could be on his way back to Saitama Wild Knights in Japan, the club he left for the Reds in the summer of 2020, after yesterday confirming he would depart the province - and European rugby - at the end of the season.
The 30-year-old World Cup winner would love to leave behind a legacy in terms of silverware - it is almost 11 years since Munster last lifted a trophy.
"Some time it has to break," de Allende said.
"And when it breaks it will be that team that breaks it this season and hopefully it will bring a lot more success to Munster."
Munster have come close but have failed to fire in semi-finals and finals, with last year's URC decider against Leinster at the RDS a classic case in point.
Speaking ahead of the rivals' Thomond Park clash on Saturday, de Allende recalled: "It just felt like we didn’t want to make a mistake in the game and when you play rugby like that you’re limiting yourself.
“We chatted about it as players.
"Sometimes we just maybe creep into our shells when it should just be another game where we can express ourselves and try to execute like we have been doing the last few months.
“Obviously we're going to make mistakes. I don’t think there’s a team in this world that can play a perfect game.
"So we’re really just looking forward to the opportunity - not to say that we’re going to throw the ball around like we’re playing sevens or anything like that.
"But if we express ourselves and really enjoy the occasion it’s at least going to be special.
"I think we’re more than capable of handling what Leinster bring on Saturday.”
The prospect of leaving Ireland on a high is exciting for the world-class Springbok, though he imagines it would elicit an even deeper feeling from the province's veteran stars.
"It would be incredible," he said.
"It would be great for me but I think it would be special for a lot of guys who have been at the club for a very long time - guys like Keith (Earls) and Pete (O'Mahony) and Killer (Dave Kilcoyne) and Conor (Murray).
"I know Keith and, I think, Conor won a title when they first started but it would be a lot more special for them now to win it.
"Not that they're finishing off their careers any time soon but at this stage and with the amount of effort they have put into Munster and Irish rugby, for those guys it would be incredible and it would be even more special.
"But I would love to win something in Ireland, especially playing for Munster.
"Obviously I wanted to play in Europe and that’s why I wanted to come to Munster, to a team which was very professional and very competitive, not just in Ireland but in Europe as well.
"It would be nice to leave Ireland on a high like that."
