James Lowe insists Leinster don't feel any extra pressure to complete their Heineken Champions Cup mission having fallen short over the last few seasons.
Leo Cullen’s side lost the final to La Rochelle last May with Ronan O’Gara’s side scoring with the last play of the game.
Considered favourites each season since winning the competition in 2018, Leinster also suffered surprise losses to Saracens (2019, 2020) and La Rochelle (2021) over the last few seasons.
Asked if there was any extra expectation on his team this year, the Ireland international wing told RTÉ Sport: "This year? We probably expected it last year and the year before and the year before.
"It’s a privileged position to be in, don’t get me wrong, we know we’ve got to get our own stuff right.
"It’s knockout rugby from here on in. We’ve got a target on our backs, we know that, we understand that if we are off by a fraction the teams can pip us on the post."
Leicester Tigers, who Leinster beat 23-14 in last season’s quarter-final at Welford Road, are Friday’s visitors to the Aviva and senior coach Stuart Lancaster (below) says that pressure goes both ways.
"The pressure is on both teams because it’s a knock-out game so you don’t build up pressure [season on season]," he said.
"All it takes is a sending off in the first five minutes and you are down to 14, and suddenly anything can happen. Each game starts from zero and each game is a knock-out game.
"Ulster was hugely challenging in terms of pressure.
"I thought we managed that well but it’s completely different circumstances this Friday.
"We don’t listen to external pressure, you deal with it yourself, internally.
"It’s knock-out rugby so that’s pressure in itself."
Leinster overcame the challenge of Ulster on Saturday evening at a rain-sodden Aviva Stadium and Lowe says digging out a win in difficult conditions was the most satisfying aspect of their 30-15 win.
"The fact that we had to play a different style of rugby to what we normally do and then come out on top was pleasing," said the 30-year-old, who is in line for his 71st appearance in blue if selected for the match against the Tigers, who beat Edinburgh 16-6 on Friday.
"It wasn’t pretty, it probably wasn’t made for the spectators but we had to change our gameplan because of the conditions.
"We showed that we can play pressure rugby, that’s probably the way Ulster play, they kick the ball a lot more than us but we got ourselves in good positions and won the territory battle."
Meanwhile, Leicester interim boss Richard Wigglesworth has been speaking of his admiration for the Irish province.
"Leinster are a world-class side, literally, with something like 30 Test capped players providing depth that is the envy of clubs all over the globe," he said on the club's website.
"They are a team who move the ball brilliantly and that comes on the back of the incredible cohesion they have as players.
"This is a group of players that have spent almost their entire lives, let alone professional careers, playing together through the Irish system, from school to Leinster and then even on the international stage for Ireland, where they dominate that squad.
"We know the challenge that is ahead of us, we know the quality of side we will come up against and that excites us; we want to play the big games, be a part of the big moments together."
Watch Leinster v Leicester Tigers in the Heineken Champions Cup on Good Friday night on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
