The 12th Heineken Cup tournament is poised to explode on the European club rugby scene with a glittering array of Round 1 matches at the start of the long haul to Twickenham and the London '07 final on Sunday, 20 May, 2007...
There are 24 teams from six nations in contention for the coveted title and 78 matches to be played before the finalists run out at Twickenham but over 17,500 tickets have already been snapped up for European club rugby's showpiece occasion.
And if anyone thought Munster's elevation to 2006 Heineken Cup champions was going to be the end of their great European quest, think again.
According to the man who has been there for the majority of the Irish side's great emotional and often roller-coaster journey the pulsating victory over Biarritz Olympique at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in May was merely the start.
"We worked bloody hard to win this tournament and we don't want to be the nearly men when people talk about great sides in the Heineken Cup," said the tournament's leading points scorer, Ronan O'Gara.
"There is absolutely no way we are going to take our foot off the pedal now that we have finally won the title.
"We want to go on from here - you can only be called a great side when you win this tournament on more than one occasion. We respect how difficult it is to win the Heineken Cup, you need a bit of luck and the real key is to stay injury free.
"But we have a great bunch of lads at Munster and some very fine players. Paul O'Connell has taken over as captain and he will bring a great attitude to the job because he is a great performer who sets very high standards."
Munster will kick-off their defence of the title at Welford Road against former double winners Leicester Tigers. The Irishmen lost their opening Pool game on their way to the Cardiff '06 final last season when they were beaten by Sale Sharks.
They also tasted defeat in their first game at Gloucester in the 2002/03 season before going on to reach the semi-finals.
They know how difficult it is to win on English soil having won four and lost five Heineken Cup games at Guinness Premiership grounds.
"Playing Leicester is going to be hugely difficult - it will be a massive challenge. They have been the driving force for the last 10 years in England and European rugby circles," said O'Gara, who has scored a phenomenal 764 tournament points.
"Welford Road is a very tight ground with a small pitch. But the atmosphere is electric and these are the sort of games everyone looks forward to."