Irish fly-half O’Gara is ruled out of Saturday’s clash with the Neath Ospreys after sustaining a broken bone in his hand against Leinster last weekend and Burke will slot in at No 10.

“Paul will play,” Gaffney told the Evening Echo. “Obviously Paul will start having played some great football in the Celtic League.

“One of the great things that happened us this year was that Paul came over to join us.

“Ronan being out is a loss, but obviously with a player of Paul’s calibre coming in, it makes me feel very relaxed.

“Paul plays the game we like to play. I’m quite relaxed with Paul playing,” Gaffney enthused.

Burke has been one of the stars of the show for Munster in the Celtic League as he played the role of understudy to O’Gara, but on Saturday he gets his first chance to step out from under the Cork man’s shadow.

“It’s very unfortunate for Ronan to injure his hand last week and it is a loss for the team because Ronan is a class player and has been playing some great rugby this season.

“Fortunately for me, I’ve been involved in every game with Munster this year, be it on the pitch or on the bench and I’ve the confidence of the team and the management and to me it’s just another game.

“Yes, it is a Heineken Cup game and it is a big game for Munster, but my focus will be the same as it has been for Celtic League games.

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to. It’s these games are the ones that I wanted when I made the decision to come back to Munster.

“Unfortunately for it to happen in these circumstances with Ronan getting injured is not ideal, but we’re a squad, we’re not a team of individuals.

“Guys will get injured and it’s all about guys stepping up and performing at this level, which I’m very confident I will,” said Burke.