For Leinster's Jamison Gibson-Park, Saturday's 38-16 defeat of Scarlets signaled "the best team performance" he has had the pleasure of being a part of.
Gearing up for a Champions Cup final against Racing 92 in Bilbao, the New Zealander was speaking to The Rugby Pod about his Leinster experience since joining the province in 2016.
Having played Super Rugby with the Blues and Hurricanes, the stringent approach to things in Leinster has not been lost on Gibson-Park; particularly the phenomenon of 'Stuesdays.'
With a say in "pretty much the whole shebang" when it comes to training, Stuart Lancaster was singled out as a harbinger of much distress for Leinster's players:
Ya it is pretty difficult, especially when Stu first showed up ... it kind of blew the boys away a little bit because we weren't really used to that kind of intensity in training.
He likes it to be uncomfortable for us.
However, for the results that are being demonstrated on the pitch, Gibson-Park is happy to comply. Identifying the former England head coach as "without doubt the best coach I've had," the 26-year-old highlighted Lancaster's ability to improve the whole squad with his pastoral approach.
The exacting nature of Leinster's training exercises were further explored when James Tracy joined in on the podcast.
Discussing the preparation that went into keeping Munster-bound Tadhg Beirne quiet during their semi-final battle with Scarlets, Tracy highlighted the one unlucky combatant in the build up:
We've had a poor lad wearing a blue scrum-cap all week battering the crap out of him just trying to prepare for [Beirne].
Looking to claim Leinster's first Champions Cup victory since 2012, Leo Cullen's men will be confident that they can do the business in Bilbao on May 12.
