The South African hooker admits the first half of Leinster's Heineken Cup triumph over Northampton Saints was the toughest 40 minutes of his career.
Northampton dominated the opening half and stormed into a 22-6 lead at the interval after Leinster were steamrolled by the Saints' juggernaut pack.
But the Leinster pack rallied after the break as the match was turned on its head.
"I got a full massage yesterday but I'm still a bit stiff in the neck and shoulder area. We got taught a lesson in the scrum in the first half and that's something we have to learn and hopefully we all did. The second-half showed we can sort that out.
"We've gone through some tough times, they're great guys. It's easy to become good mates and you form that bond."
That bond will once again by tested in Saturday's mouth-watering all-Ireland clash .
"I don't think the scrum went as well as we wanted the last time in Limerick. I'm sure they've been looking at that and will have plans.
"They've been clear by 13 points in the league and are in really good form. We et ourselves down there last time out.
"Hopefully we can go out and play for a full 80 minutes."
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