Munster coach Tony McGahan has sent a chilling warning to the reigning champions' Heineken Cup rivals: "We're getting better".
A second European crown in three seasons, secured with a nail-biting 16-13 triumph over Toulouse, has helped establish the Irish province among the favourites for this season's title.
Toulouse and Stade Francais may be held in higher esteem by the bookmakers, but Munster cast an equally ominous shadow over the competition.
Unbeaten in the Magners League this season, their 18-0 triumph at Irish rivals Leinster on Sunday was a clear statement of intent to their Celtic rivals.
Munster's chances of successfully defending their crown have been improved by the lack of any outstanding team from England, with France seemingly set to provide their greatest rival once more.
McGahan, who replaced new Ireland coach Declan Kidney over the summer, believes his side are reaping the benefits of a strong pre-season.
He said: 'Without a doubt we're getting better and we should be. We've put a lot of work into where we've been going. In the last couple of years we've tried to evolve the way we play and this year we've gone towards having a number of ways we can approach games.
'It's been a great start and full credit to the players, they came back in the pre-season and applied themselves - as you would be, coming back from winning a championship.
'We've been very fortunate in having the international players available, we had a great trip to Boston and the whole thing has flowed from there.'
History suggests Munster do not cope well as champions with their success in 2006 followed by an inglorious quarter-final exit inflicted by Toulouse the following season
But McGahan is adamant the lessons of that experience have been learnt.
He continued: 'You pick up experience and you're hard on yourself after a loss. That day, in the quarter-final, we didn't turn up to play when it mattered, so this year we're taking the approach that we're just going to do our best every week.
'We've built a very strong squad over the last couple of years and now we feel we have real sense of urgency and a sense of pace on our part.'
Munster open their defence against unfancied French outfit Montauban, who face a daunting trip to redeveloped Thomond Park a week on Friday.
Montauban coach Laurent Labit knows the size of the challenge facing his underdogs.
'It's rather difficult talking about Munster's strong points - it's more important to try to find a weakness,' said Labit.
'They've got a fantastic set of forwards who are strong and very physical, particularly at the contact area, where they've become world experts at offloading the ball.'
