Leinster's tough test against Ospreys at the weekend was the perfect preparation for a difficult Heineken Champions Cup challenge against Gloucester this Saturday, according to senior coach Stuart Lancaster.
The province had to dig deep to get the better of Ospreys in the BKT United Rugby Championship last Saturday in Wales, with late tries proving pivotal in maintaining their unbeaten run.
Another away trip awaits, this time in European competition, as Leinster head to Kingsholm to face a Gloucester side who will be aiming to prove their mettle after their second-string side was decimated 57-0 in the reverse pool fixture in December.
"In terms of reality checks, I don't think that's the right phrase," Lancaster said of the Ospreys outcome as he spoke to RTÉ Sport.
"We played against an Ospreys team that beat Montpellier away, who just had a good derby win, (and are) full of internationals.
"We changed some of our team and (they are) a proud Welsh team playing at home so we knew it was going to be tough.
"It's probably exactly what we needed going into the West Country this week playing Gloucester at home. We were fortunate to be able to divert from Cardiff Airport to get to watch the Gloucester-Saracens game so it was nice to be able to go there and see that live.
"A lot of our players haven't been to Kingsholm before so to have that tough test away from home was perfect preparation and to come out the right side, to remain unbeaten this season, it meant a lot to us."
Gloucester have won one of their three fixtures since losing to Leinster at the RDS. But they were only narrowly edged out by three points via a last-minute Owen Farrell drop goal when Saracens visited in the Premiership at the weekend.
"I've made it clear (to our players) what to expect and the pressure is on us to deliver," said Lancaster.
While Johnny Sexton and Tadhg Furlong won't be part of the Leinster squad this weekend as they close in on returns from their respective injuries in time for Six Nations duty with Ireland, Harry Byrne did start at Ospreys, featuring for 51 minutes as he stepped up his recovery from a hamstring injury sustained earlier in the campaign.
Lancaster feels that fixture will stand the 23-year-old out-half in good stead.
"It was a tough night for everyone in the first half. Ospreys put a huge amount into the tackle contest, they put a huge amount into the breakdown," he said.
"So for a half-back, both Cormac (Foley) and Harry, it was difficult for them and I wouldn't lay any blame at their door.
"Certainly as a team at half-time, we needed to address certain things and I think we tidied up a lot of areas in the second half.
"It was just great to see Harry start and run the week. No one doubts his ability so we just need a consistent run of games now for him but also consistency in training. He's there now and physically he's in good shape so fingers crossed there's no setbacks."
Watch Munster v Toulouse in the Champions Cup on Saturday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTE Player with live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
Listen to live commentary of La Rochelle v Ulster in the Champions Cup on Saturday from 5.30pm on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
