Munster's salvage job needs more of the same as they ride the emotional tide of Peter O'Mahony's farewell. The Reds great was in inspired form as he said goodbye to Thomond Park with a magic display capped by a brilliant try against Ulster last Friday night. Stephen Archer and Conor Murray also got the Limerick send-off they wanted as the bonus point try restored the province to the URC's top eight. The stage was set by the decision to host their pre-match meeting on the pitch, not in the hotel as is the norm. "We made everything about Thomond Park and I think the crowd really sensed that, and probably captured in that moment where Peter scored," said the Reds' interim boss Ian Costello. The night reached a crescendo in the 58th minute as O'Mahony rolled back the years, leaping high above Nathan Doak and slamming down his final try at Munster’s theatre of dreams. "There wasn't a rugby player in the world that was going to win that ball, nobody had a chance," exclaimed Costello. It was a foregone conclusion once it bounced and it went into the air. "It was special for the crowd. At home, to have that connection, that atmosphere was brilliant." But Munster need to repeat the trick against Benetton on Friday night to ensure a play-off berth - and guarantee Champions Cup rugby next term. Both sides are on 46 points and just inside the play-off cut mark. That their final regular season fixture takes place in Cork helps the cause as O'Mahony and Archer face their final hometown curtain. "It's really, really important we don't look beyond this week," said Costello, who is refusing to look at potential play-off seedings yet. We came into this expecting to need two wins. But the job is literally 50% done. It's half-time. "We've got to have as good a week leading into Cork as last week and then we've got to finish the job in Cork - and then we've got a week to think about play-offs or think about travel arrangements. But that will be irrelevant if we don't do the job this week." Costello points to the other emotional touchstones that will play a part this week. Dave Kilcoyne is also retiring, Craig Casey is on 99 Munster caps and Rory Scannell is on 199. "There's a lot of things and that's what is important," said the interim boss. "Of course League tables are important but it's how much the group care for each other, how connected they are and how we want to make these occasions special. "This season, especially the last couple of weeks, hasn't been where we'd like it to be after a really good run before that. So now it's about getting to the stage where we're able to win those big games when we're under pressure - that delivering under pressure is key. "And if we do a job, we can look forward to the play-offs then. But we'll give the boys hopefully a really good send off in Cork." The vital 38-20 victory against Ulster underlined how influential O'Mahony remains to Munster. Aside from a ferocity in defence and at the breakdown he came up with two try assists and that try of his own. "You're naming all the incidents and they all accumulate, but it's Peter's presence," Costello remarked. "Peter makes people around him better. He makes coaches better. He holds people to account. "He drives standards – as other great players at Munster have done before him. The opposition fear him when they see in the team sheet. He frees up other people around him by doing a lot of the dirty work, and some of the flashy stuff with the assists. "But what an opportunity now for the rest of the group to model his behaviour and kick on, and that’s what’s exciting. We’ve a lot of caps leaving the organisation but what a great opportunity for other great leaders within the group to push n now and drive the club forward.” Costello is adamant that O'Mahony, who has stated a firm intention to take an extended break from the game, will make a top-class coach if he decides to take that path. "We’ll definitely try at some point to lure him back in," he said. "We might drip feed him back in slowly, see how he gets on. But yeah, I’d be very disappointed if there isn’t a big role for Peter within the game.” Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.