Tonight will be his fifth appearance since returning from the World Cup and his fourth consecutive start, all in as many weeks.

Rory Scannell will provide cover there, and in the centre, from off the bench at Musgrave Park and Tony Butler will surely add to his three seniors caps to date as the province ploughs through this snowdrift of winter fixtures that lies in wait. 

But for now it is Crowley’s ball game.

Still relatively inexperienced, he is maturing in front of our eyes, and with every game, and he did so much so well again last week when Graham Rowntree’s men claimed a losing bonus point against Leinster in Dublin.

The Munster coach speaks of a playmaker who has composure, is tough in contact and in the tackle, and a man who even found time for one outstanding poach in his own 22 just when Leinster were threatening the ascendancy.

That can’t be an easy sight for a coach with such a light roster in that key position and a bulging fixture list, but then Rowntree played with a man who was for so long the poster boy for unsmiling out-halves that liked to roll their sleeves up.

“I want him to be himself,” said the Englishman. “Not every ten is like that. I want him to be himself and if he likes that aspect of the game, good for him. Just keep his head out of rucks and mauls! I like his attitude in that regard, he is a tough cookie.

“He has got all these silky skills, good composure, good in the moment, proven clutch kicks, but is not afraid of the graft. It will do him good. I played with a great fly-half in Jonny Wilkinson and he loved the physical stuff as well.” 

Munster are light in other areas for this evening’s clash of URC champions and league leaders with Peter O’Mahony, Jack O’Donoghue and Simon Zebo ruled out earlier in the week and both Jean Kleyn and John Ryan joining them in casualty due to ‘knocks’.

Kleyn’s absence means Edwin Edogbo will partner Tadhg Beirne in the second row, summer signing Alex Nankivell returns to the midfield after missing the Leinster tie, Sean O’Brien is added to the wing and Shane Daly shifts to full-back.

Tom Ahern starts on the blindside for the second week in a row while Oli Jager, the big tighthead who arrived long-haul via Christchurch and the Crusaders late last week, will make his Munster debut off the bench.

Rowntree twice shooed away questions about next week’s European opener against Bayonne in recent days but his counterpart Franco Smith clearly has one eye on Glasgow’s Champions Cup opener at home to Northampton Saints seven days from now.

It’s true that the Warriors have named a XV with ten internationals. It’s also true that they have opted to leave the likes of Richie Gray, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson and George Horne at home while Fraser Brown and Kyle Steyn are among the injured.

Rowntree has expressed a liking for these Friday night lights affairs in Cork.

The team will meet a few hours before kick-off in the usual hotel, do some prep, have some meetings and travel en masse to Musgrave Park to play on a 4G pitch that is in no way foreign given their access to another one in Limerick.

“I actually really like the atmosphere down there,” he said.

And well he might. Rowntree’s first experience of a home tie in Cork was a two-point loss to Edinburgh when he had just started as assistant coach to Johann van Graan this time four years ago. 

Munster are seven for seven since with an average of 44 points scored per game.

The Warriors have beaten both Leinster and, last week, Ulster on their own 4G surface in Scotstoun already this season. They also lost to Connacht on another artificial track in between but Rowntree hasn’t forgotten the pasting they gave the men in red last March.

The visitors were 31-0 up in Thomond Park before Munster fought back to salvage some pride and a four-try bonus point. Revenge was then taken in early May with a ferociously-fought quarter-final victory in Scotland.

“They have got threats across the board,” said the Munster head coach. “They have probably got more setpiece threats than most teams. They love playing off a scrum. Their lineout is very functional, very good lineout maul, as we saw last week as well.

“And they are abrasive, they are tough. They are one team that loves a choke tackle. They love to try and hold you up so that they can get a scrum and play off that scrum. We are well aware of that. It’s always been a physical encounter with them.” 

Munster: S Daly; C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell, S O'Brien; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, D Barron (C), S Archer; E Edogbo, T Beirne; T Ahern, J Hodnett, G Coombes.

Replacements: S Buckley, D Kilcoyne, O Jager, F Wycherley, B Gleeson, C Murray, R Scannell, A Kendellen.

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay, K Rowe, S Tuipulotu, S McDowall O Smith, D Weir, S Kennedy; N McBeth, J Matthews, L Sordoni, S Manjezi, S Cummings, S Vailanu, R Darge, H Venter.

Replacements: A Fraser, O Kebble, Z Fagerson, G Peterson, M Williamson, T Gordon, B Afshar, T Jordan.

Referee: M van der Westhuizen (SARU).