James Lowe jokes at the start of his answer but by the time he finishes giving his thoughts, it's clear that more clarity would be very welcome in Leinster’s bid to get over the line.
The Champions Cup is gone again for another season. Gone but not forgotten.
The heartbreaking semi-final loss to Saints is now stored somewhere in the back of the mind, keeping the memories of the previous three finals company.
"Northampton is there, La Rochelle is there, Toulouse is there, it’s all still sitting there bubbling away, don’t you worry. Cheers for the reminder again," an upbeat Lowe tells RTÉ Sport ahead of Saturday’s BKT URC quarter-final against Scarlets (3pm, live on RTÉ).
It’s a loss that lingers and will do so until they earn that fifth star. That’s the benchmark and standard they demand and don't deny.
Winning the URC title, their first since 2021, would be a "step in the right direction," according to Robin McBryde, the forwards coach.
So how do they go about that? What does 'taking the learnings’ mean in a practical sense?
It’s the most leaned-upon post-match cliche in Irish rugby but if you take into account the times where Leinster refused to take their learnings over the last few seasons – not taking kicks against Ulster, Toulouse and Northampton in crucial games – will it be different in the URC run-in?
The lasting image from Leinster's most recent gut-wrencher was the sight of on-field captain Jack Conan, a Lions Test starter times three, looking to the sideline for advice over a late kickable penalty when they were three points down against Saints.
In the end, out-half Sam Prendergast kicked to the corner and Leinster failed to get a winning try.
Given that senior coach Jacques Nienaber was part of the double World Cup-winning Springboks management team that utilised a ‘traffic light’ system to relay unambiguous messages to players on the field, it wouldn’t seem too much of a stretch for Leinster to do something similar.
In the white heat of battle, immense pressure in the end stages of a knock-out tie, captain off the field, surely a diktat from up high is the way to go.
"Yeah, I think we’re bringing in that traffic light system that they...I wouldn’t have a clue if we are bringing that in," said wing Lowe, who will tour with the Lions in summer, with a smile.
"I’ll pass that on to the powers that be but, look, above my pay grade but the old traffic-light system would be a nice wee thing."
On the topic of taking points when they are on offer, even early in games, the 32-year-old added: "I understand exactly the point you are making.
"Like I said, 3-6-9, build a bit of scoreboard pressure, keep teams away, keep it a two-score game, especially if you get an early penalty, I don’t see why you wouldn’t take the three and reset, get a good exit off that and go again from set-piece.
"I would never question anyone who has that responsibility, but it is knockout rugby and we if we can accumulate scoreboard pressure, I’m all about that.
"Those decisions are above my pay grade."
McBryde (above), an old-school former Wales hooker, believes that calls like that will still be made by those on the ground.
"Yeah, ultimately, it’s up to the players," he said.
"Whatever the players decide is a reflection of how they've been prepared during the week and the conversations they've had with coaches
"We’re all in it together at the end of the day.
"If the players feel they’ve got a sniff of a try, whatever, then as coaches we’ll back them.
"In this day and age it’s very hard to get any messages onto the field anyway unless there’s a stoppage in play.
"It really is on your alignment during the week between coaches and players, so that whatever decision they make, they make it the right one.
Leinster assistant coach Robin McBryde says everyone at the province has "looked at themselves" after their Champions Cup semi-final exit and are keen to re-establish their knockout credentials in Saturday's #URC quarter-final against Scarlets pic.twitter.com/2CP9rPLWXN
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 26, 2025
"Towards the end of the game there was any number of options but whatever you choose you’ve got to do it well and if you don’t do it well enough then it’s not going to pay off."
Leinster will be without Robbie Henshaw for the remainder of the domestic season, with the centre carrying a knee injury.
Prop Tadhg Furlong misses the Scarlets match with a calf strain, not related to the injury that saw him miss most of the season.
The 32-year-old's involvement with the Lions this summer is not in doubt, Leinster said.
Watch the URC quarter-final, Leinster v Scarlets, on Saturday from 2.30pm 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
