Sean Cronin has called on his Leinster team-mates to play the best game of their careers when they face two-time champions Toulon in the Champions Cup semi-final on Sunday.
Leinster, winners in 2009, 2011 and 2012, face the daunting task of handing the Top 14 leaders a rare home defeat.
The stats are against Matt O’Connor’s side with only 14 of 38 European semi-finals won by the visitors.
However, hooker Cronin, who has 29 appearances in the elite competition, is adamant Leinster can do the job and book a final berth against either Clermont or Saracens, who play on Saturday.
“I believe that each individual is going to have to play their best game, maybe in their careers, if not the season to get a result over there on Sunday,” Cronin told RTÉ Sport.
“It doesn’t get much bigger than this. It’s going to be a huge challenge, going over to the two-time champions [who] are looking for their third.
“It’s a daunting task but I think we’ve got the group of players here to go over there and get a win. There’s a lot of experience here, having gone to France before and won.
“We’re under no illusions how tough it’s going to be. We just need to focus on our group of players and getting the best out of ourselves.”
"They are an absolutely fantastic team, packed full of superstars, not just stars"
Asked what the mantra has been around training, the 28-year-old said it was all very well talking about what needs to happen during the week but they must walk the walk in the Stade Velodrome.
He said: “Belief would be one word, and then intensity and desire. They are easy words to say but they are hard to bring to a game or to your life in general.
“There’s a lot of intensity there [in training]. The leadership group are driving everything and it’s building nicely. You don’t want to peak too early in the week.
“You just want to try and start building and getting your stuff right, your detail when it comes to the game plan. You can forget about that as the week goes on and start building up the intensity that you’re going to have to bring.”
The Blues fell to Toulon last season, in a quarter-final that was decided well before the final whistle blew.
Cronin is quick to admit that Bernard Laporte's men deserve all the plaudits that come their way.
“They are an absolutely fantastic team, packed full of superstars, not just stars,” he said.
“We have to give them the respect that they deserve and that they’ve demanded really in terms of the level of performance they’ve brought to the tournament.
“You can’t pay a team too much respect. You’ve got to go into it as 15 on 15 on a field of grass, no matter where it is.
“We have to get our stuff right and we need to bring a level of performance that we haven’t brought this season to Marseille on Sunday.”
In team news, Leinster look set to again be without Kane Douglas, who remains out with a back injury.
Fergus McFadden has returned to training and should be available for selection.
Follow a live blog on Toulon v Leinster on the RTÉ website and News Now App from 3pm, with commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra.
