Heineken Cup champions Leinster are chasing a fourth European title in five years - but accept their scalp is the one all the others crave most.
The 2009, 2011 and 2012 kings of European club rugby start their title defence against Heineken Cup new boys Exeter Chiefs at the RDS on Saturday and also have Top 14 leaders ASM Clermont Auvergne and the Scarlets in a tough Pool.
"When you start winning you become a target for every team and that is something you either accept and rise to or it is something you crumble under," said Irish international centre Gordon D'Arcy, who has 25 tries in 86 tournament appearances.
"The attitude in this squad is to rise to that challenge and defend everything we have with everything we have in our locker.
"It was pretty special winning the Heineken Cup in 2009 because it was the end result of a big trophy-less period in Leinster rugby.
"A lot of us started around 1998 and 1999 and to take 10 or 11 years just to get to a final was to long and to get that win was really something special.
"Then with Joe coming in and everyone trying to figure out how he was going to approach the game we got off to a slow start.
"But once we got out of the blocks we thought 'we have something here' and once we got through the group stages things just seemed to kind of fall into place.
"So to do a Heineken Cup back-to-back in 2011 and 2012 was incredibly tough but the challenge was there, the challenge was set and it is a very hungry locker room.
"Joe sets really high standards and does not accept anything below them. He is uniformally fair to everybody across the squad so if you don't meet his standards you don't play.
"That is really good because then everyone knows exactly where they are, that there is no special treatment and there is no difference from one guy to compared to another.
"Then there is his work rate around the place - he is first in and last out - and that rubs off on everyone.
"He is always challenging you about how you perceive and think about the game and challenging you to be better in so many different aspects.
"You might think you have done well in a game - and he will applaud you for the bits you did well - but he will also point out the two or three bits that could you have worked harder.
"He has a great rugby brain and the way he sees rugby and the way he wants the game played is second to none."
