South African Jean de Villiers admits being dropped by Tony McGahan was the kickstart he needed to find his form in a Munster shirt.
The centre started on the bench for the crucial Heineken Cup ties with French champions Perpignan and believes looking on from afar helped him settle in better at his new club.
De Villiers wasn’t alone in producing below par performances. The Magners League champions were beaten six times in 14 games and were hammered 30-0 by Leinster.
However, ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Cup game against Benetton Treviso and with the quarter finals in sight, the centre is confident things are looking up.
"I struggled at the beginning when I arrived in Ireland and my form has been patchy. It didn't help that the team weren't playing well as a unit to begin with," de Villiers told munsterrugby.com.
“But being dropped to the bench for the two games against Perpignan helped me to turn the corner. Now it's all about digging deep and working hard, but I feel much closer now to where I was as a player before I arrived than when I first started.
De Villiers has scored five tries in 11 games to his name. It's an impressive return for a man off form, but it hasn’t only been on the pitch where he has found it tough.
“It has been a difficult December and start to January, especially with the weather. My body is used to starting pre-season training at this time of year. I got a picture message from one of my former team mates at the Stormers the other day showing the temperature gauge in his car.
“It was 39 degrees, which is in stark contrast to the weather we've been having in Limerick."
The Springbok has also been impressed by his captain and the Munster faithful.
“Our victory in Perpignan was the best game we have played this season,” he said. “It was a really strong collective performance - a great team effort. It was a performance that revealed a lot to me about the Munster culture. Paul O'Connell is a great leader, but he gets so much support from the other guys around him as well. Then there is Munster's 16th man, their incredible fans.
“We didn't think we'd have much support in Perpignan, but it was amazing to see, and hear, so many of them in the ground. They really are full-on supporters and they back their team in bad times as well as good.”