Whereas Scarlets’ scheduled encounter with Bristol will go down as a 28-0 bonus point victory for the latter, ex-Leinster winger Fitzgerald believes Munster are capable of at least emerging with their heads held high.

“I’d always give them a chance. There’s no doubt, it’s going to be a difficult day at the office for them. In terms of who is going to be available, I can’t shed any light on that. I just don’t know. Of course, they’ve got an opportunity. I still think there’s enough experience and quality there to put up a good fight and represent the team well,” Fitzgerald said.

“I had them tipped to get a win [before the South African trip]. I still feel like they might nick a bonus point over there. That would be my possible sense of it. I think they’ve enough experienced campaigners to maybe get them that and I think that would be a great result. Given how tumultuous the last couple of weeks have been.

“It’s good to see the competition, from Munster’s perspective, having that little bit of flexibility in allowing them to widen the field in terms of the selections available. To allow them to play the match safely. We’re not through this [the pandemic] by any stretch. I think we’re going to have to keep dealing with situations like this unfortunately for the remainder of the year.”

Fitzgerald feels Sunday’s showdown with Wasps could be a golden opportunity for a number of Munster Academy hopefuls to kick-start their professional careers in style. Having made 18 senior appearances for Leinster while still a teenager, he fully understands the value of selecting young players alongside more established performers in a big game environment.

“What I thought Joe Schmidt did unbelievably well in Leinster was, he integrated some young guys in. Two or three young guys in with some experienced heads at a time. What you ended up getting was people playing with some experienced players around them. They ended up flourishing and really showing what they were about at the top level.

“That might not be the case for Munster. We just don’t know what the squad is going to look like at this point, but I think there’s loads of opportunities to possibly see people play against top class players with top class players alongside them.”

Fitzgerald – who was speaking yesterday at an event hosted by AIB to help encourage communities across Ireland to take part in the GOAL Mile during the Christmas season – is of the opinion that Scarlets should have found some way to fulfill their fixture against Bristol at Ashton Gate.

At the same time, however, he can appreciate why they ultimately took such drastic action.

“I’d have played the game. I’m not sure what the thinking behind that is. If I could field academy players, I’d field them. Provided it’s safe to do so. If you had a couple of young front-rowers against a fairly gnarly pack, you might say ‘you know what, that’s probably not safe to do that maybe’. Otherwise, I’d be putting people out and taking the chance.

“It’s not like an exam where there’s negative marking. If you get zero, you get zero. Obviously, there’s the points difference and maybe that was a consideration. I’d rather play the game and take a chance. You learn a lot from looking at some of these younger guys.

“You’re always looking for these opportunities where you fit people in. Particularly with the URC competition having less games available, particularly during that Six Nations period. I would have taken that shot to be honest, but I can see the other side of it too,” Fitzgerald added.