Between the Champions Cup, the Challenge Cup and the URC, Leinster have had 12 major trophies to polish over the last 15 years, but Leo Cullen says they will continue to be motivated by the ones they left behind.
The four-time European champions are big favourites to add a fifth star to their jerseys by the end of May, unbeaten through 20 games across all competitions this season, and set for home advantage all the way to the final in both the Champions Cup and URC should they get there.
They've been here before though, losing finals in 2019 and 2022, with the real missed shot coming back in 2020 when they saw their 23-game unbeaten run ended by Saracens in the quarter-final.
Eleven years ago, Leo Cullen lifted the trophy as captain for the third time in four years, the crowning glory of a great Leinster side. And while six URC titles, and a Challenge Cup have followed, the Leinster coach says he can understand why some would consider their single Champions Cup success in that 11-year period to be a small return.
"There is always that frustration, everyone wants more," he says, as he reflects on Leinster's near-misses in recent seasons.
"That's what makes it so special, everyone wants to win, there are so many teams that are desperate to be successful.
"Jeepers, you think back to 2012 - there was a six or seven year period where we wondered if we'd ever be competitive in the competition again."
"That's what drives us day in and day out, it is so bloody hard to win."
Their last Champions Cup defeat was probably the most gut-wrenching of the lot, losing last season's final to La Rochelle after conceding a try in the final minute, following a 10-minute goalline stand.
"Jeepers, if you think back to Marseille, the game is there in our grasp and there is things in our control that we could have done better in the game," Cullen (above) added.
"And that's... you live with some of that afterwards and for younger players you kind of try to get across to them how hard it is to win.
"It's still the big moments on the big days, that's the difference between the winners and losers.
"The winners go off and lift the trophy and they control the story in many ways.
"The memory of how last season ended is still very fresh for us, we want to get back to that stage.
"That's what makes it incredibly special. Are we still as hungry as ever? Yes."
Should they gate back to the final, their journey could follow a similar path to last year, with Leicester and Toulouse both potential opponents in the next round, with a La Rochelle rematch in the final potentially on the cards, this time in Dublin.
First though, they have to navigate their way past Ulster, who come into this game off the back of three consecutive wins, and five victories in six, getting through a mid-season wobble in reasonable health.
That poor form over December and January was largely caused by Leinster, who came from 22-3 down against Ulster at the RDS to eventually win 38-29, sparking a run of six defeats in seven games which threatened to blow their season apart.
And Cullen says they deserve huge credit for how they've rallied back into form.
"They navigated their way through that well and they have come out through the other side. They had their run, different challenges over Christmas.
"It comes back to that point about trying to navigate your way through the season. They have snuck in there off the back of the pool stages and the way it all played out. They were down here for a game as well."
If Leinster are to win a fifth European title, they'll be doing it without Johnny Sexton, after Cullen admitted it would be highly unlikely for the captain to be recovered from groin surgery in time for a potential European or URC final.
And while that would also appear to signal the end of his Leinster career, Cullen joked that he's already trying to convince the 37-year-old to give it one more season.
"We did laugh about it already. We have already joked about it, well not joked about it, but had a conversation about it.
"So maybe yeah [laughs], never say never. Like, it is not an exact science, any of this stuff, is it?"
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