Ross Byrne laughs that his previous Croke Park visits have been as part of the "prawn sandwich brigade".
Byrne has been there to support the Dublin footballers but has never stood on Hill 16.
He didn't make it to Croker in 2009 as a 14-year-old for Leinster's famous Heineken Cup semi-final win over Munster, though he was at the province's first final win at Murrayfield three weeks later.
READ MORE: Leinster at Croke Park: Leo Cullen urges fans to come out in force for special day
In three weeks time, he will be the Blues' man in the driving seat there for the Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton Saints.
"I’ve been a good bit, like," the out-half said of his previous Croke Park experiences. "Obviously I go to a few Dublin games.
"It’s probably one of the premier stadiums in Europe. Hopefully we get a great crowd. I was never in the Hill, no. Prawn sandwich brigade!"
The 29-year-old understands the significance of the move across the Liffey.
“It’s pretty special," said Byrne. "Look, it doesn’t really happen.
"Hopefully we can get an incredible crowd and hopefully it’s another special day.
“We obviously haven’t had success in the last few years.
"But we’ve gained a huge amount of experience as a group and obviously lads have gained huge experience in international rugby, so we're trying to tap into that as best we can.
"There’s a number of leaders across the team, it’s just important we’re getting everyone to chip in and it probably showed."
Saturday was special for Leinster and their supporters. For Byrne, in particular.
The out-half started the semi-final loss at La Rochelle in 2021, came off the bench for Johnny Sexton for the last quarter in the 2022 final against Ronan O'Gara's side and played the full 80 in last year's final defeat to the same opposition.
When Leinster beat La Rochelle for the first time, in a pool game in December, his brother Harry and then Ciarán Frawley played as the team's pivot.
However Byrne played a major part in this 27-point victory. He scored with six of his seven kicks off the tee, kept the Blues' attack ticking over and was a calm, organising force in defence.
"We're human, (the previous losses) are always going to be in the back of our mind a little bit," he said. "But we did put a big focus on ourselves."
Asked if, given the swirling wind, it was one of his best kicking performances, he grinned: "No, I still missed one!
"They're very important moments. It was pretty tricky alright.
"We were warming up into the other end, they (the kicks) were all over the place. Thankfully they went over.
"It's just trying to do my job, trying to navigate the team around the pitch as best you can.
"The biggest thing was the performance. We had a lot of focus on ourselves and playing the way we wanted to. It was great to be able to do that.
“The lads make my job pretty easy, all the talking they do. They just back themselves.
"That’s something we’ve put a big emphasis on, going out and attacking teams - and we can do it in a number of different ways, which is great."
Byrne doesn't give much away but it has been a tough season for him.
He went to the World Cup but his start against Tonga was his only appearance.
He later had arm surgery that effectively ruled him out of Ireland's triumphant Six Nations campaign.
"It hasn't really crossed my mind too much," he said. "My focus has been on these games.
"It's been a disappointing last few years for us in Leinster, so it's just about delivering the best performance I could and then, hopefully, the team plays well off that.
"It's great to put some games together. It's been a bit stop-start since I've come back, just not having too many games going on during the Six Nations.
"So, good to play a few games in a row. Delighted. It's probably the first time I've missed that many games.
"Physically, actually I feel good whereas normally this time of year I'm falling apart a little bit."
Top of the table in the URC, South Africa-bound Leinster will wrap several frontliners in cotton wool before meeting Northampton.
They've beaten the defending champions but there are two hurdles still to negotiate.
"Yeah, that's 100% it," he said. "There's a lot more work to do.
“We’re going to have to (play at the same level) if we want to win.
Northampton, everyone’s seeing what they’re doing. We’re going to have to be at our best."
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