The prize for Leinster this weekend is a big one. Win, and they'll be able to play each of their remaining Champions Cup this season in Dublin.
With a four-point lead at the top of Pool A, and an overwhelming points difference, Leo Cullen's side are within touching distance of being the top seed in the knockout stages, which would provide home advantage for the last 16, as well as quarter-final and semi-final should they get there.
But with the final also scheduled for the Aviva Stadium in May, the province will be hoping that tomorrow's meeting with Racing 92 at Lansdowne Road will be the first of five Champions Cup games in a row in Dublin 4.
Cullen has often spoken about the significance of securing as high a seed as possible, particularly last season when their cancelled pool game against Montpellier saw them have to travel to Leicester Tigers in the quarter-final.
Even before the competition kicked off in December, Leinster were favourites to make amends for last year's final defeat in Marseille, and that tag has only got heavier in recent weeks, following three bonus-point wins from three, and a 100% start to the season in all competitions.
However, while he says the prospect of home comforts is a "significant incentive", Cullen is preaching caution.
"It's not the be all and end all, I know that for certain," he says.
"Think back 20 years ago to 2003, we had a route to the final back in the Lansdowne Road days, we had a quarter-final here where Leinster beat Biarritz but unfortunately then lost against Perpignan in the semi-final, because everyone started talking about the final and this road being mapped out but that's unfortunately not the way it is.
"There are very motivated teams. Even more recently in the URC, we lost a home semi-final against the Bulls so there's no guarantees.
"Teams are highly motivated, as we all know, just like Racing coming this weekend. So we're not really thinking too far ahead at the moment, we're just thinking about Racing, trying to get every single point we can from the game, because we have a huge amount of respect for Racing and again going back to that piece about the resources they have in terms of the quality of players they have, that's what we need to keep our focus on at the moment."
Even if they lose tomorrow, it would take an unlikely set of results to kick them out of the top four in the pool, but despite having a home Round of 16 game all but sewn up, the province aren't taking anything for chance with their team selection.
Johnny Sexton and Tadhg Furlong remain sidelined due to injury, but they've gone full strength with what's available to them, with Michael Ala'alatoa the only member of the starting XV not part of Ireland's upcoming Six Nations squad.
The Leinster coach has also gone for a 6:2 split on the bench, with Scott Penny finally in line to make his Champions Cup debut as one of the replacements.
Penny had been set to play in Europe for the first time in the cancelled game against Montpellier last season, and Cullen says his first Champions Cup appearance is long overdue.
"Scott's been excellent for us this season and hopefully he'll have a good impact off the bench. I think he'll be important for us.
"We're lucky, we've got some competitive backrowers there, but it's similar in other parts of the team as well.
"But again, just that bit of freshness. Scott will have a real point to prove if and when he gets on the field."
Leinster were 42-10 winners when the sides met in the reverse fixture in December [below], an unexpectedly large win against a side who had been among the pre-tournament favourites.
A 30-29 win against Harlequins last Sunday means Racing are still in with a chance of qualification for the next round though, although Laurent Travers' side will likely need a win to advance to the last 16.
And Cullen is expecting them to be at their best this week.
"There's still plenty of edge to it, because Racing are desperate to qualify for the last eight, and for us we want to try put in a big performance, we have that desperation.
"I think there's going to be plenty of edge to the game, I've seen Racing plenty and there's a bit of inconsistency in their form but when they get it tight they have a tonne of threat.
"Finn Russell at 10, he's a constant danger, some of the quality they have; Eddy Ben Arous and Trevor Nyakane, Wenceslas Lauret, Le Gerrac, Fickou, they have tonnes of threats. For us, we need to make sure we're fully focused on us and make sure we put in a big performance."
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Watch Leinster v Racing 92 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.
