Leo Cullen has hailed the enormously positive impact Scott Fardy has had on the side after the Aussie second-row agreed a contract extension until the end of next season.
The ex-Brumbies man arrived in Dublin at the start of last season and played his part in a silver-lined campaign in which Leinster scooped a Champions Cup and the Pro14.
He turned down an offer from Japan to stay on Irish soil, and stay on until the end of the 2019-2020 campaign.
"Scott has made an amazing impact since he's come in," Cullen said ahead of tonight's RDS clash with the Cheetahs.
"It feels like he's been here a long time. He's a great influence around the dressing room an dour team meeting environment.
"He adds so many facets of our game, the way we're trying to play, the experience he;s built up with the teams he's been involved in. It's great news he's been able to sign on again. He's had plenty of interest I'm sure. I think lots of people see the impact he's had here."
Leinster are 22 points clear of Benetton Treviso at the top of Conference A.
They'll be expected to swat aside a struggling Cheetahs side at the RDS but Cullen insists the focus is not necessarily on results.
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"We're not that worried about the Conference and where we sit," he said.
"It's about making sure we're focused on our performance so we produce good habits. It's a competitive group. The players know what's at stake.
"It's important they deliver and give everything they have of themselves when they have this moment in the team. The competitiveness in the group hopefully drives our levels of performance. It's a great chance for guys again to showcase what they ca do.
"With so much rugby going on at the moment it was great to have such a positive crowd last week at the RDS. Hopefully we get another good crowd because it means a lot to the guys."
