After thumping Connacht in the Pro14 on Saturday evening, Leinster's winning surge this season goes on, with Fergus McFadden keen to point out the "competitive environment" within the squad as a contributing factor in their unbeaten run.
McFadden returned to the starting line up at the RDS, taking his place on the right wing as Leo Cullen's men ran out 54-7 winners.
After conceding 42 points against Ulster in their last Pro 14 game on home soil, the 33-year-old was pleased that the concession was a lot lower against Connacht.
"There was a conversation about the points coughed up against Ulster and our defensive performance on that night," he told RTÉ Sport.
"We focused on keeping things tight today.
"I think you have to respect how good a team Connacht are, they had purple patches in the game and our defence for most of the game was pretty good. Off the back of that we scored a lot of our tries.
"In the second half we tried to force a few offloads and started trying a few things we would not normally do. So there are a few learnings for us ahead of the Champions Cup games."
As things stand, Leinster are on a 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions and are in good shape ahead of Champions Cup dates with Lyon and Treviso.
McFadden highlighted the collective effort within the camp, with older heads and young guns driving each other on to a achieve greater things.
"It doesn't matter what age you are or how may caps you have, we are all pushing each other," he added.
"The environment is very competitive in training, if you're training well you are going to get picked. Every day counts and we want to keep that competitive environment. I'm one of the older guys and I'm seeing this younger crop coming through. There will be changes in the team most weeks and when you do get the shirt you have to grab the opportunity with both hands.
"I think the confidence within the squad is contagious, it's a confidence that is built in how we train and prepare. We have a group of very talented young guys and older, experienced guys, so there is a nice mix of personnel in the playing squad.
"They don't hand out any trophies now. We have been in this position a few times before where things are flying at this stage of the year. It's a cliche, but we're only taking things one week at a time.
"We know if we are right collectively we can beat any team."
