While Leinster would have been odds on to get back to the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup, nobody would have expected them to be so dominant in the round of 16 and quarter-finals.
In the space of six days, Leo Cullen's side swatted Harlequins and URC champions Glasgow Warriors aside, scoring 114 points and conceding none.
While they came up against a disinterested Harlequins at Croke Park last week, the same couldn't be said for Glasgow, who pitched up correctly at Aviva Stadium on Friday night but were thoroughly outplayed by the four-time champions, with Jordie Barrett putting in a performance for the ages in a 52-0 win.
"They're two good performances in six days which is great. Two very different opponents," the Leinster head coach told RTÉ Sport.
"It was a great day in Croke Park [last week], there was quite a bit of anticipation for that for some time.
"We reflected off the back of that and then it was about getting a bit of freshness into the week, hence why we made some changes and chopped things up a bit. I thought all those guys added in their own different way today, and the bench came on and all made impacts.
"It's a pleasing couple of weeks for the group. The beauty of playing on a Friday night is you get to sit back and watch everyone else in action now over the rest of the weekend."
The province will face either Northampton Saints or Castres for a place in the final next month, with the pair doing battle at Franklin's Gardens this afternoon. In this form, it's hard to see either side stopping Leinster from reaching a fourth final in a row.
While they scored 10 fewer points this week, it was arguably an even better performance, and Cullen was coy when asked what impressed him more in the last week: scoring 18 tries or keeping their opponents scoreless?
"It depends who you're talking to, Jacques [Nienaber] or Tyler [Bleyendaal]!
"They're good from a stats point of view, but the only thing that really matters is making sure we get through to the next round.
"It's enjoyable to watch and I'm sure for the players it's enjoyable to play in the games where everyone is working hard for each other and it makes life a lot easier when you get a bit of scoreboard separation.
"Overall it's been a great couple of weeks, but it's only just about getting into the next round.
"Now we have a few weeks building toward a knockout game, which is something we should all get excited for and look forward for. We'll watch Northampton-Castres, how they get on tomorrow."
Having nilled Glasgow and Harlequins, Leinster have now gone roughly 190 minutes without conceding a point, with Bongi Mbonambi the last person to put points up against Leinster, when he scored after 50 minutes of their URC meeting last month.
And Jack Conan says they take more pride in that statistic than they do in their 114 points across the last two games.
Jack Conan has some positive injury news for Leinster after taking a bang to his shoulder against Glasgow. #RTErugby pic.twitter.com/7iJUtQkm9d
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 11, 2025
"Our defensive system is something that's really clicked this year," he told RTÉ Sport.
"It took a while last year just to get on board with it, to get across the detail of it, and to see it paying dividends out there.
"The detail of Jacques, and the buy-in from the lads, it's something we've grown so much over the last while with. I know the lads absolutely love it.
"We have the athletes that we do, to go out there and physically dominate collisions, it gives everyone a lift, and I think we did that incredibly well from the off."
Conan's night as captain ended after just 14 minutes when he departed with an injury, although the back row said it isn't a serious issue.
"I just took a whack to my neck during the week and another in the warm-up, so I knew I was on borrowed time a little bit. It should be fine, I was disappointed to come off as early as I did but I don't think the lads needed me out there in the end.
"Great win, great to hold them to zero as well. We know how dangerous Glasgow can be with their attacking style. There's lots of work-ons, but a great outing for us."
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