Paul O'Connell believes that playing behind closed doors won't affect Ireland's rugby stars when they return to action in exactly a month's time.
Leinster and Munster are set to meet at the Aviva Stadium on the resumption of the Guinness PRO14 on August 22, with Connacht and Ulster clashing at the venue the following day.
However as has been the case in the GAA since returning over the past couple of weeks, there will be a strict limitation on numbers at the stadium due to Covid-19 restrictions.
"I wouldn't struggle to play in an empty stadium," said O'Connell, the former Munster and Ireland great.
"If you're playing Leinster in the Aviva Stadium, which is probably going to happen pretty soon for the Munster guys...I think the way things have gone in the last few years, with Leinster dominating Munster, it wouldn't be a struggle.
"It's not ideal when they go back in front of small crowds or no crowds at all, but it's just something that they have to get on with.
"It has to be done for the game."
O'Connell does see what will be a five-month break from competitive action as a positive for experienced pros who have been soldiering in the trenches for a number of years.
"I think the break has probably been great for a lot of the guys because a lot of them have been on the road a long time, playing in big matches which are physically tough but also mentally tough as well, trying to get up for it every single week," he told Virgin Media's Ireland AM.
"So I think the break will have been great for a lot of the seasoned professional players that we have throughout the country".
