Leo Cullen had plenty to smile about after Leinster's 34-19 bonus point win away to Munster, as they moved 10 points clear at the top of the United Rugby Championship.
But the head coach said the attitude shown by his players was the most pleasing, as they put together arguably their most fluid performance of the season at Thomond Park.
Cullen was afforded the luxury of bringing eight of Ireland's Six Nations contingent into his starting team, and a further three off the bench for the trip to Limerick.
And he says the returning internationals hit the ground running.
"The big thing is the attitude of the guys coming back in here.
"The lads who were here [during the Six Nations window] played seven games in nine weeks and I thought they worked really well and were improving week on week; so it was great having all those international boys come back in.
"That creates competition. They gelled well together but that is on the back of working hard during the week."
The defending champions settled the game in the third quarter, with tries for James Lowe and Jimmy O'Brien giving them a 17-point cushion, and while Munster did rally to cut the lead to 10, a further Lowe try in the final 10 minutes secured the bonus point.
It leaves them 10 points clear at the top of the table, with three regular season URC games to go, while they're also among the favourites for the Heineken Champions Cup which resumed next week.
And Cullen says their desire to compete on both fronts is what's keeping them sharp as they enter the business end of the season.
"They maybe look back on days when we have come unstuck – La Rochelle last season as an example – it is trying to get ourselves ready when we get into that type of scenario against that type of team, so it is a case of us getting ready for that type of game.
"I'm sure if they had their time back, and they had to replay the La Rochelle match, there are things they may do slightly differently in that game. Everyone wants to be involved in the biggest days particularly now when you see the crowds come back.
"Over the last couple of seasons we have seen games take place in empty stadiums. Now the crowds are back, everyone wants to be involved in big days. For a lot of the younger players who have come through, they have not really been involved in those big days.
"So, in many ways, you have some older guys who want success because when you get to the tail end of your career, you want to have as much success as you possibly can, then you have the younger guys who want their first medal," he added.
Focus now turns to their Champions Cup Round of 16 double-header with Connacht, the first leg of which is next Friday at the Sportsground.
And Cullen says there is still plenty for them to work on, despite the impressive nature of their win in Limerick.
"Some of the defensive bits in the first half were areas where we could improve. We soaked metres a few times.
"I thought we were much better in the second half; some of the kicking was good because there was a fair old breeze, it was a lot harder for us kicking in the first half for that reason.
"Ross [Byrne] was good in particular at identifying the space in the backfield and we were much better at our kick chase, which forces them to kick the ball out, which gives us lineout, possession, territory.
"We were much more clinical in the second half in terms of taking those opportunities."
