Ryan Baird says Leinster's recent Interpro wins against Munster and Connacht have been the perfect preparation for his side ahead of their daunting Investec Champions Cup opener away to La Rochelle on Sunday.
The Pool 4 meeting at Stade Marcel Deflandre is the standout game of the opening weekend, where Ronan O'Gara's defending champions host the team they beat in each of the last two finals.
As well as those two deciders in Marseille and Dublin, Leinster were also beaten away to La Rochelle in the semi-final of 2021.
And while many would suggest it would be a significant monkey off the back for Leinster to gain some revenge in this weekend's pool meeting, Baird wasn't in the mood to look back in anger when he spoke to the media earlier this week.
"We'll be happy if we win," was his short response to being asked if a victory on Sunday would be a "significant" one for his side.
The Stade Marcel Deflandre may only hold 16,000 supporters, but the defending champions boast a formidable home record, winning all eight of their games at the ground in their two title-winning seasons.
But after coming through two big derby wins against Munster and Connacht in recent weeks, Baird (below) believes his side will have no issue getting to the emotional pitch of the game.
"I'll tell you, the last two weeks have been incredible preparation for us.
"Pretty much sold out Aviva against Munster and then playing in the Sportsground last week against Connacht was incredible, an incredible atmosphere, very hostile away from home, which is what we'll experience against La Rochelle.
"We've been tested, for sure, this season. We're really looking forward to this challenge.
"I think any game away from home in a hostile crowd is going to be a challenge, but we've played Connacht away last week and they showed no mercy for us when we were out there and we responded incredibly well towards the end of the game. We didn't start particularly well, we'll learn from those mistakes. They put a lot of pressure on our breakdown, the scrum was a bit scrappy, the crowd got behind them but as a squad we came together and showed great resilience.
"After they [Connacht] scored their last try, we were so calm and said 'we will go and win this game', and that's what we did. Everyone did their role, we showed great execution under pressure and came away with what was a great win," he added.
Baird started in the second row for Saturday's win against Connacht at the Sportsground, the first game the province have played since the arrival of new senior coach Jacques Nienaber (below).
The double-World Cup winner with South Africa will be tasked with running Leinster's defence, something his South Africa were famed for, and Baird says he's confident he and his team-mates can take to it just as the Springboks did.
"You're just trying to bring in some of what he's learned, and what he brought into that squad. You clearly would have seen our linespeed increase, and that's one of the main things, we want to put teams under pressure. We want to test their back skills, so will be coming off the line with a lot of speed.
"We're incredibly smart rugby players in this building. I think that's one of our points of difference. As Irish rugby players we pride ourselves in being smart rugby players. Here in Leinster we took to a system very well, everyone is enjoying it and it's a new voice and a new energy. There's going to be teething problems, of course, but that's only natural when you're bringing in something new. If everyone has the focus and commitment to Jacques and the new system, than I'm sure more times than not we'll get it right.
"A lot of his defensive system, it's not technical, it's mental. It's an attitude to get off the line or hustle back to get off the line again."
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