Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson is preparing his team for a full-court press from Leinster and is equally as impressed with their attack as their miserly defence.
Leo Cullen's side held Harlequins and Glasgow scoreless in the knock-out stages of the Investec Champions Cup, while racking up 18 tries across the two wins.
Prior to that, Leinster, beaten finalists in the last three seasons, conceded just seven tries in four pool victories against Bristol, Clermont, La Rochelle and Bath as the defensive system adapted under senior coach Jacques Nienaber began to bear fruit.
"It’s both the attack and the defence that’s been hugely impressive, particularly over the last couple of games," Saints director of rugby Dowson told RTÉ Sport ahead of Saturday's semi-final at Aviva Stadium (5.30pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).
"I think, from an attack point of view, the variation, the ability to carry, offload, the playmakers at 9 and 10, the threats out wide, the variety of their attack and ability to attack all over the field, from set-piece to turnover ball, makes them incredibly dangerous.
"And the quality of player they have, obviously, is the threat."
Saints lost last year's semi-final 20-17 at Croke Park and Dowson, whose side are the defending Premiership champions but sit seventh in the table, says the experience of running the four-time winners so close will stand to his side.
"We really enjoyed Croke Park for a couple of reasons," said the 43-year-old.
"One was the cultural heritage that it holds and the historical relevance of that stadium and being the first English side to play there, that was very special.
"The way we played reflected that, and the experience we had there was a huge learning curve moving into the knockout games in the Premiership.
"Also, a huge learning curve and experience for players like Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles, to play at that sort of level in club rugby. I think that will hold us in good stead moving into this week.
"We’re looking forward to see where we measure up against one of the best teams in Europe which is why we love this tournament."
This season Leinster have added the firepower of experienced internationals RG Snyman, Jordie Barrett and Rabah Slimani to their ranks for their latest title tilt.
"I think they’ve recruited very well with those characters, the quality of those individuals," said Dowson.
"They’ve always had a very strong squad and their defence has been even more impressive and created more turnovers.
"There’s loads of different contexts, another year for Nienaber to get his teeth into it as well.
"The recruitment strategy, the experience of the players coming through like [Sam] Prendergast and also that press D [defence] has put them onto that next level."
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Watch the Champions Cup semi-final, Leinster v Northampton Saints, on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
