There's more than a hint of irony that the first thing the Leinster fans saw as they walked through the doors of Shannon Airport was the sight of three of Munster's finest.
The six-metre tall statue of Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan and John Hayes stands proudly just inside the departures lobby in Shannon, and although it depicts the trio in Irish green from the famous Croke Park win against England in 2007, it's a timely reminder of the days this airport would be heaving on a Champions Cup final weekend.
Sixteen years ago, the people were wedged in tighter than a rolling maul to greet the Munster fans home from Cardiff after their maiden win in 2006, and a funny twist of fate saw some Leinster fans re-routed from Dublin to Shannon for their Friday trip to Marseille, after some staffing issues in Dublin Airport.
Three of Munster's finest making sure the Leinster fans get off safely from Shannon Airport... pic.twitter.com/Twg3qfUYIE
— Neil Treacy (@neil_treacy) May 27, 2022
For the weekend that's in it, O'Connell, O'Callaghan and the Bull are a far sight better than a bronzed Ronan O'Gara.
The inconvenience of a last-minute airport switch was largely appropriate for this Marseille final, which at times seemed cursed in its hosting of the decider.
Originally due to stage the final in 2020, Covid-19 meant that was initiallly postponed for a year, but even by the summer of 2021 the crowd restrictions forced it to be pushed back by a further 12 months. Now, Stade Velodrome finally gets its day in the sun, even allowing for a few final hiccups. The two-minute stroll through a quiet airport security is enough of a silver lining.
The year-on-year postponements do raise questions on the size of crowd we'll see. Tickets bought back in 2019 remain valid today, how many of those who made plans three years ago will see out the journey remains to be seen.
The Leinster fans who bought tickets back then probably had a fair chance of putting them to use - Leo Cullen's side looked the best of the bunch after the pool stage in 2020, so not much has changed in that regard.
The Champions Cup final isn't just one for those with a vested interest, with a stroll around the port area of the city on Friday night showing up club colours from Ireland, France and Britain.
It was largely blue jerseys, but the pockets of yellow and black from Stade Rochelais stood out. So too the spatterings of neutrals; a Munster jersey here or there, Leicester, Wasps, Rotherhham, Toulouse, Agen, and a healthy selection of those wearing their British and Irish Lions colours.
The Toulon jerseys were scarce, even though we were only down the road from the three-time winners' city, for they were at the Friday night dress rehearsal at Stade Velodrome, taking on Lyon in the all-French Challenge Cup final. In spite of defeat, hopefully they'll hang around for the weekend.
For some of the traveling Leinster fans, Marseille is familiar for the wrong reasons. Eight years ago, they were here to take on that great Toulon side in the semi-finals, with the stadium still getting the finish touches on its pre-Euro 2016 renovations.
They'll hope for a better result, Leinster beaten in agonising circumstances after extra-time against the French, who went on to complete the second title in their three-in-a-row.
They may struggle to play the same game that tore Toulouse to shreds in the semi, final, with temperatures of up to 31C expected in the south of France, even for the 5.45pm (local time) kickoff.
When they triumphed over Racing 92 four years ago in Bilbao, it was a day for the kickers, although that might not be the case this evening. The wind is set to blow in from the north-west, with gusts if up to 50km per hour at times. Not what you'd want standing over the tee in the championship minutes.
On top of the conditions, Leinster have to put aside their poor record in France. They may have routinely picked up wins in this country in the pools down the years, but their knockout record is far from enviable, with just two wins from seven against French teams in France down the years.
In the 2020 quarter-final defeat to Saracens, and the 2021 loss against La Rochelle, they can partially fall back on the disruptions caused by Covid-19, but this year there are no excuses.
They've been able map their team selections since early April, and put all their chips in on winning a fifth Champions Cup.
Now they have 80 minutes to do it.
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