Leinster head coach Leo Cullen believes his side still have plenty of fuel in the tank as they look to cap off their season with silverware.
The five-in-a-row chasing URC champions welcome the Bulls to the RDS tomorrow in the semi-finals, for what they hope will be the penultimate game of a long season.
Leinster aren't far off full-strength for the visit of the South Africans, with Jack Conan and Robbie Henshaw both drafted into the team following last week's hammering of the Glasgow Warriors in the quarters.
They can also call on captain Johnny Sexton who has recovered from an ankle injury to take his place among the replacements.
However Hugo Keenan misses out again, with the full-back recently returning to training from a minor injury. And while Cullen maintains the 25-year-old is fit enough if needed, the six-day turnaround ensured a reluctance to make too many changes.
"We just wanted to see Hugo train, and I thought the other guys did quite well last week," said Cullen.
"It was just him getting through the week's training, and he ran around with the guys again today. It was one of those tight calls, but he's good to go.
"It's a semi-final, so you don't know if you have a next week or not, but he got through the week well.
"It's a short week also, so there's always that bit of a challenge on short weeks. The Bulls face the same challenge. The guys acquitted themselves last week, but a couple of changes to keep a bit of pressure on.
"The group are working well, a couple of guys were unlucky this week, because of the importance of the Monday and Tuesday part of the week and getting guys out there, so that's the balance of stability."
While both sides are dealing with a day's less prep time than usual, the Bulls have also had to take on the challenge of a long-haul flight.
"That's the tournament, isn't it?," added Cullen, whose Leinster side ensured home advantage through the play-offs having finished top of the regular season standings.
"It does have an effect [the travel], that's the mental toughness part as well. It affects certain individuals more than others. How you've slept on a flight, the time of flights, there's all those different variables.
"They have a lot of quality and a lot of stability, their team doesn't change that much if you look at their selections, and they're very well led by Marcell Coetzee who understands Irish rugby particularly well. He's still a real physical presence and a huge talisman for them."
"So it's trying to accumulate as many points as you can because then players sleep in their own beds, and you don't have to deal with any of those variables.
"But there is strength sometimes as well. There is strength in the collective of being together as well, so it depends on how you use that."
Bulls head coach Jake White has stuck with the same XV that came through last week's quarter-final against the Sharks, with former Ulster and Munster back rows Marcell Coetzee and Arno Botha joining Elrigh Louw in an explosive pack.
In total, 12 of tomorrow's line-up started against Leinster when the province were 31-3 winners against the Bulls in Round 1, but Cullen says while the Pretoria franchise haven't changed much in personnel, they've banked a lot of experience through the season.
"They're very well organised, and a very well-coach team for starters. If you're trying to put yourself in their shoes, it's the growth, familiarity, understanding of traveling to the northern hemisphere to play, dealing with the conditions and teams, getting better all the time and you can see that in their results.
"They have a lot of quality and a lot of stability, their team doesn't change that much if you look at their selections, and they're very well led by Marcell Coetzee who understands Irish rugby particularly well. He's still a real physical presence and a huge talisman for them.
"The Bulls DNA is a strong kicking game, set-piece, very physical and abrasive in the contact area, that's in their mindset. That's what they'll default to in big games. It's a great challenge for our guys.
And although Leinster are playing their 28th game of the season, the head coach believes they have plenty of rugby left in their legs, after managing the workload of their key players in the final third of the season.
"The season is long but we're making sure we have that stamina.
"Our guys have been well-managed during the season, a huge amount of work has gone in both from players, all the players we used to make sure we are at home.
"The home comforts, we want to make it a point of difference for us."
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