Yet Munster have been unable to kick on following semi-final losses in Europe with a PRO12 final loss to Scarlets in 2017 and a last-four exit at the hands of eventual champions Leinster in the inaugural PRO14 play-off series 12 months ago.

This time around, second-row Kleyn is determined to right some wrongs and successfully turn the page from disappointment to glory over a potential three rounds of knockout rugby, starting this Saturday at home to Benetton at Thomond Park.

The former Stormers lock, who becomes Irish-qualified this September, believes playing and beating interprovincial rivals Connacht in the final round of the league campaign last Saturday was an important first step in overcoming the bitter taste of defeat at the hands of Saracens in Coventry the previous week and that it has enabled Munster to properly refocus and give the squad its best chance of vying for the PRO14 title.

“Yeah, absolutely and I think that’s why last week was such a good thing,” Kleyn said.

We all had time to work through our own emotional journeys about it. It’s always tough when you lose a play-off, it’s no fun and there’s not much you can do once the final whistle has gone so you just sit there and sort of wait.

“But we did a lot of work last week. We came in on Tuesday and said ‘look, we’ve lost a play-off, what’s done is done, there’s no use crying over spilt milk. What we do have now is an opportunity to win the PRO14’.

“At the start of the season it was our objective to win two trophies. Now we’re out of one competition so all of our focus is on the PRO14 and we’re literally going to do everything we can to win this competition.

“It’s the small margins that are something we can take away from the Saracens game. It’s the small margins that win you the game, it’s not going to be something massive. It’s going to be a tackle or a cleanout, you know, a penalty here, a penalty there.

"It’s not going to be anything massive so we’re just focused on getting our own processes right and progressing as a team forward for the next three weeks.”

First Munster must overcome a notably stubborn Benetton side, the Kieran Crowley-coached club from Treviso having thoroughly deserved their third-placed finish ahead of Scarlets in Conference B to become the first Italian side in nine years of participation to qualify for the play-offs.

Benetton’s away draws at both Ulster and Leinster since March point to a resilience previously lacking and their ability to put together long periods of ball retention is part of a growing trend in the PRO14, Kleyn observed.

“I think it’s a big thing the last season. We’ve reached 30 phases a few times in both defence and attack, which is a lot. I think we had something like eight minutes’ ball play against a team earlier in the year, I can’t remember which one it was.

“It’s getting ridiculous but we’re training for it, we’re conditioning for it and it’s something we do work towards, training for long, extended blocks of play and I think it is paying off. I don’t think we’re looking lacklustre towards the end of these blocks.

“Our defence has been good and I think we’re the top defensive side in the PRO14 with the least tries conceded and that shows that training for the 20-plus phases, not dropping off, not forgetting to work once you’ve made three tackles in one set of play.”

Whether that demands greater physical or mental stamina, Kleyn is not certain, joking: “I’d tell you but I’m usually too tired to think.

“I think when it gets to that amount of phases it’s very much just instinct, you revert back to what you did on the training pitch. You just work on instinct more than actual thought.

"Fortunately for us there’s usually wingers out the back screaming at us what to do so that does help a lot.

"But I’d say it’s physically more taxing than mentally because your mind switches off after a while, you just go into autopilot.”

As much as coaches tend to put opposition sides on a pedestal when previewing their next match-up, Kleyn was not about to laud Benetton’s physically intense style too much above Munster’s.

“That is part of our DNA as well. Part of what makes Munster tick is our forwards have to dominate the opposition. I don’t think we are too worried about them coming at us.

"It is more we are going to go at them. Enforce our game plan down on them and then make them work hard for it.

“Are they bigger than any PRO14 side? I don’t think so. Are they big? Yes. But we have a couple of big lads ourselves.”

Kleyn is undoubtedly one of those big lads and he relishes the physicality demanded of the professional rugby forward.

“I love a good maul, I love stopping a good maul as well. You get to run into a group of lads as hard as you can, what’s there not to like?

“It’s good. It’s something (mauling) we as a pack are getting better at as well towards the end of the season. We had a bit of a dip in the middle of the season over Christmas, but we are improving steadily.

"A bit of a dip this past weekend against Connacht but we will look to improve on that.”