La Rochelle wing Raymond Rhule has fired a warning shot to anyone who thinks the European champions will take their foot off the pedal this season.
Ronan O'Gara's side begin the hunt for three in a row in the Investec Champions Cup on Sunday, when they renew rivalries with Leinster at Stade Marcel Deflandre.
It's the fourth season in a row that the pair have met in this competition with the French side winning all three, including back-to-back finals in 2022 and 2023.
A Champions Cup three-in-a-row has only been done once before, with Toulon's iconic team of 2013-15 completing that feat.
And Rhule says La Rochelle still have plenty of their story left to tell.
"I think we're more focused on building the legacy, and then, after a couple of years, being able to look back, rather than trying to get too much ahead of ourselves and pat your back prematurely," the South African wing told RTÉ Sport.
"I think we understand we have something special, but we’re still busy writing our own legacy, or putting it together.
"The support we get from the city itself and the fans, sometimes it's not always going well, but they stick it out, and they understand, and we understand that it’s bigger than us. Everyone looks forward to celebrating. One doesn’t always get it right but in the last two seasons we’ve been able to do that.
"When I first got to La Rochelle, the older guys who had been here who had won the ProD2 said the one thing that they all wanted was for us to have that feeling of bringing everyone to the port and celebrating something, and we’ve been able to do that twice."
While La Rochelle have reached three European finals on the trot and won two of them, their lack of silverware domestically is keeping them honest.
Their Champions Cup wins of 2022 and 2023 were offset by losing both the European and French finals to Toulouse in 2021, whom they were also beaten by in the Top14 decider in June of this year.
"I think there's a triangle; that's us, Leinster and Toulouse. We have not been able to get one over Toulouse, Leinster has not been able to get one over us, but neither have Toulouse been able to get one over Leinster. It’s pretty interesting.
"We’ve been robbing each other of trophies, so there’s a rivalry there.
"But I think it’s also nice to be able to challenge us and see where we are at the beginning of the competition because we are the head that everyone wants to cut off. To be able to go back-to-back-to-back is a tall feat, and we need to do something special this season to be able to do that," he added.
Rhule has started in each of those previous wins against Leinster, and scored the opening try of the 2022 Champions Cup final against the province in Marseille.
The former Springbok has been with the French side since 2020 where he's worked under O'Gara (above), and he says the former Ireland international's relationship with the tournament has brought out the best in the La Rochelle players.
O'Gara is banned for Sunday's game after picking up a one-game suspension from French rugby authorities.
"He plays a huge role. I think it's very infectious, his love for that competition and the game, and his viewpoint on everything.
"There’s a shift, definitely, to a certain degree, when it’s Champions Cup time and it gives us a new lease of life. No matter how our season is going, once it’s Champions Cup time you pitch up and show up. That’s a way for us to use as momentum, going back into domestic competition.
"I think the best thing I can say is for me, he’s more than a coach, he’s more of a manager, and I think he’s able to manage his squad well. He’s able to adapt to the different personalities and put everything together, and that’s what makes a special coach. You transcend coaching, you become a manager."
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