Last season's semi-final was either a lucky one-off or a big change in the dynamic between Leinster and Munster.
The Reds capitalised on a gamble by Leo Cullen and edged it on the day, or the 16-15 success was a statement win, a bloody nose and a promise that’s there plenty more where that came from.
They can deny it all they like but there was insurmountable evidence that the famous rivalry, to that point, was not what it once was.
The record shows that the animosity that characterised the meetings between the sides from the start of the professional had faded, Munster barely able to land a punch in their last three knock-out meetings prior to May.
Leinster were 12-point favourites before the teams were named yesterday and that handicap has been pushed out to 15 after the match-day squads were known.
You can see the reasoning.
Leinster's starting XV is every man an Ireland international and the caps tally is 600. They welcome back Robbie Henshaw and Jack Conan for the match.
Today's visitors, meanwhile, missing Peter O’Mahony and Jack O'Donoghue through injury, start with 129 caps, five of which belong to ex-Ireland player Jean Kleyn and seven of which belong to World Cup winner Jean Kleyn of the Springboks.
Tighthead Stephen Archer starts and becomes Munster’s most-capped player of all-time with 269.
You get the sense that revenge is on someone’s mind.
All the talk is about how Leinster will be feeling after last season’s semi-final loss, which was a first defeat in four games against Munster.
It was a tie in which Cullen decided to rest some of his frontliners, who were held back for the Champions Cup final a week later.
When the Blues went 17-0 after 11 minutes against Ronan O’Gara’s defending champions it appeared to be a gamble that had worked.
But by the time of the final whistle, Leinster’s season was over. A week later Munster were the URC champions after a thrilling victory over Stormers.
Hugo Keenan (above) volunteered the word "revenge" earlier this week in reference to those two defeats ahead of rematches with Munster and La Rochelle in a 14-day period.
Garry Ringrose, the Leinster co-captain, reckons they owe their supporters, who will be in the majority of today’s expected near-sell-out at the Aviva Stadium, a performance after the last two outings here.
The pendulum is certainly on the move but how far it has swung remains to be seen.
Leinster’s theme this week has been about "putting things right" while Munster have, in comparison, kept their power dry.
While Caelan Doris and friends may look at their erstwhile obliging rivals differently, it’s more important that Munster view themselves in a different light.
Rowntree has already had cause to read his charges the riot act following their loss at Ulster two weeks ago, while they also needed a late score to snatch a draw in Benetton in round two.
Not exactly what’s expected from defending champions.
It’s early days in the championship and we are nowhere near must-win territory, but Rowntree will want to see more of the same grit and fight that resulted in a 10-3 win over the Stormers (above) last week.
They can’t expect any let-up from a team filled with Irish team-mates as they face off for the first time since an epic four-month World Cup journey.
On paper it looks like Leinster, who have gone with a 6:2 split on the bench – perhaps incoming coach Jacques Nienaber has had a say – will have too much power for the holders but they still can’t afford to go be as "flat" and "loose" as they were for a spell last week.
An extremely limited Scarlets outfit out-scored Leinster 5-0 over a 34-minute period either side of the break last Saturday.
They eventually ran out 54-5 victors but Munster won’t be near as wasteful if they get the hosts on the ropes.
Verdict: Leinster by 10
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose (co-capt), Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O'Brien; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (co-capt); Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Jack Boyle, Michael Ala'alatoa, Ross Molony, James Culhane, Ben Murphy, Ciarán Frawley, Scott Penny
Munster: Simon Zebo; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Rory Scannell, Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron (capt), Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Tom Ahern, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Scott Buckley, Dave Kilcoyne, John Ryan, Brian Gleeson, Alex Kendellen, Conor Murray, Tony Butler, Shay McCarthy.
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