Leinster were left with a hollow feeling following the disappointing conclusion to last season but Leo Cullen said it has "sharpened the focus" as they prepare to return to competitive action.
Three months since their five years of domestic dominance was halted by the Bulls, Leinster travel to Italy to face Zebre Parma in their BKT United Rugby Championship opener, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Cullen admitted there was a "flatness" to Leinster towards the end of last season and has been working hard to avoid a repeat in this campaign.
"There was a lot of really good stuff [last season]," said the Leinster head coach. "You get to a European Cup final and are ahead going into the last couple of minutes. You've clearly done a lot of good things to get to that point. You're not there by accident, but you lose the game and everyone thinks that's a catastrophe.
Luke McGrath says Leinster will continue to reference last season's defeats to La Rochelle and the Bulls as they look to make a strong start to their URC campaign
"There are definitely parts in the game [you can improve], and you can see with some of the guys even on tour in New Zealand and the adjustments they made in terms of decision-making, either for the team or individual decisions in game, it's ever-evolving.
"You've good players coming into the team and you want them to grow. Even the most experienced guys, there's always parts of their game that they can improve and learn.
"At the end of last season, there was a little bit of flatness in the air. It was playing rugby in June. We tried to address that.
"This season we went on a 12-county tour of Leinster. We wanted to connect more with the clubs around the province, because we need to grow that support base all the time.
Josh van der Flier: "The lads who were over in New Zealand are coming off a great finish to the season but you have to be quite sensitive with it. The other guys in the changing room, the last game they played was losing against the Bulls." #RTERugby pic.twitter.com/tXCbAuc53G
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) September 6, 2022
"Have we taken our eye off the ball there? Potentially, yes. We didn't have great crowds in June. It's very unusual for us to play rugby then. We won't have it this season but we will in future seasons, and we want to make sure we're doing more.
"Covid has had a huge amount of challenges for everyone, as we well know, so we haven't had any of those open days. That was one part we really want to address, to get out and connect with the fanbase more. We got an amazing response when we went out to train at the different venues."
Leinster played just the one pre-season fixture, a comeback win away to Harlequins, but Cullen is content as they head into a seven-week block of URC fixtures.
Charlie Ngatai and Jason Jenkins, the two summer signings from Lyon and Munster respectively, both played 40 minutes at the Stoop and could make their competitive debuts against Zebre.
"Quins started [their season] against Newcastle away last weekend, they'd a good win there, so they were probably a bit ahead of us in terms of their pre-season," said Cullen. "For us, with a lot of young guys and other guys coming back from injury, it was pleasing.
"Jason and Charlie both got through 40 minutes, which was good to see, getting a Leinster jersey on their backs and start to build some of those connections.
"Charlie has got a wealth of experience, different environments, teams he's been involved in. He played with the All Blacks, granted it was only one cap, but he has been away in France for the last number of years so he has experience in Europe, he gets the game there. He'll hopefully add a lot.
"As I said it was a pretty young group that travelled over [to Harlequins] and he was a very important voice in that group.
"Jason missed a lot of pre-season, he had a finger issue when he arrived here. That needed to get tidied up so he had a procedure on that.
"He only started full team training the week before the pre-season game, but in terms of physical size and presence, it was great for him to get 40 minutes under his belt. Hopefully the two of them will push on."
Leinster's upcoming opponents were much busier during the close season. Twenty-six players left Zebre while 21 were brought in as head coach Fabio Roselli attempts to improve the perennial strugglers' fortunes.
"We've struggled at different stages against Zebre," said Cullen. "We played out a 3-0 classic a few seasons ago. Even last year in the game at the RDS, they were very aggressive defensively. It's making sure we're ready for the threats that they bring.
"They've had a bit of a disruptive pre-season as well. They were due to play against Cardiff at the weekend. I understand they had a training scenario piece instead of the actual game. It's been hard to get exact footage.
"It probably means we have to focus a bit more on ourselves, which is sometimes not a bad thing - you can a little bit bogged down sometimes in the opposition. We've a fair idea of some of the comings and goings of players, some footage from the end of last season as well.
"They're a team we have struggled against in the past. It's a good opportunity for our guys to showcase what they've done over the course of pre-season."
Follow the 2022/23 BKT United Rugby Championship across RTÉ radio, TV, RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
Watch live coverage of Cardiff v Munster and Zebre Parma v Leinster (17 September), Stormers v Connacht (24 September) and Dragons v Munster (25 September) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
