It's eight weeks to the day since Glasgow Warriors were thumped 52-0 by Leinster at Aviva Stadium in the quarter-final of the Investec Champions Cup, and yet there's a sense that the Scottish side are returning to Dublin this weekend with those scars fully healed.
In the immediate aftermath of that hammering in April, Glasgow boss Franco Smith kept an even keel.
"For me, we've been winning quite a bit and pushing the players’ boundaries and limits every week but today they found out what is still needed to be competitive in international rugby or the top end of club rugby," he said, after his side were "bullied" by their hosts.
Smith wasn't the first coach to say his side would take their learnings from a big defeat to Leinster, but the evidence suggests those were not empty words.
When they returned to Dublin three weeks ago in the final round of the URC's regular season, they put up a much sterner fight in a 13-5 defeat, and while the game was ultimately a dead-rubber, they frustrated a Leinster side whose confidence looked dented following their Champions Cup exit against the Northampton Saints.
As they prepare to meet this Saturday, all of the pressure is on Leinster, who are desperate to end a four-year wait for silverware.
Glasgow arrive into town off the back of a 36-18 win against the Stormers last time out, arguably their best performance of the season.
"Leinster are the standard setters in this competition," Smith (above) said, after naming his side for Saturday's semi-final.
"They finished top of the standings for a reason, and have consistently out-performed teams across the course of this season while showing their strength in depth.
"It is a challenge that we know we will need to be at our best to meet, and the players are focused on the task at hand.
"Training this week has been sharp and competitive, with every player working hard for each other to put this squad in the best possible position for tomorrow afternoon."
If Glasgow are to retain the title they won last season, they will once again have to do it the hard way.
Just as it was last season, Ireland and South Africa would be their semi-final and final destinations, should they go all the way.
But Smith isn't thinking any further than the Aviva.
"It's a semi-final. The mindset and approach and attitude in a final game is obviously the main ingredient," he said.
"We've got to be on top of our game. They've got a world-class team. They've proven it in the Test match arena, they've proven it in this competition.
"It's a class outfit. It's going to be a tough challenge.
"The only way we're going to get better and keep on growing and progressing is if we challenge ourselves to be the best version of ourselves."
While Leinster are without Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Garry Ringrose, Tadhg Furlong and now Hugo Keenan, Glasgow are also dealing with a hefty injury list this weekend.
Two of their British and Irish Lions squad members, Zander Fagerson and Huw Jones (above), are out injured, while Scotland internationals Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey are also sidelined.
Sione Tuipulotu, who returned from a long term injury in Round 18 against Leinster, looked back to his best in the quarter-final win against the Stormers, and the Scotland captain shifts across to outside centre this week, Tom Jordan pivoting from out-half to first centre, and Adam Hastings coming in at out-half.
"We've had a couple of outings in Dublin already this year, so we know what we’re coming up against on Saturday," Jordan said.
"We fully expect Leinster to bring their best and we know how strong they are across the field.
"We know we need to get our mindset right and just have each other’s back for 80 minutes – we’re loving our footy at the minute and we want to leave it all out there for each other on Saturday.
"All the players know deep down what we have to do.
"We've got to relish these matches and we know what it takes in this competition. Everyone’s excited to get out to Dublin, and we’re ready to get stuck in this weekend."
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Leinster v Glasgow from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on RTE Radio 1
