Leinster ran out resounding 36-7 winners over the Vodacom Bulls to retain the BKT URC title, but not all of Andy Farrell's Ireland call-ups came through the match unscathed.
Captain Caelan Doris, who had overcome a knee issue to start, unfortunately had to come off the Croke Park pitch after just six minutes having injured his right foot.
That was just after Tommy O'Brien had capitalised on a Handré Pollard fumble to dink the ball past halfway and retrieve it for the opening try - his fifth in four knockout games.
However, winger O'Brien sustained damage to his ankle when landing awkwardly after competing for a kick from Jamison Gibson-Park. He was replaced by Garry Ringrose just before half-time.
Both players would be big losses if they are forced out of the upcoming Nations Championship Southern Hemisphere Series, especially with Ireland's injury list already numbering ten players.
"We'll see, I'm not sure. We'll see how it unfolds over the next 24 hours," said Doris, when asked about the extent of his injury at the post-match press conference.
The Mayo man missed last year's URC decider against the Bulls due to a shoulder injury, so it was cruel luck for him to be sidelined so early on in tonight's rematch.
His team-mates' ability to build on O'Brien's sixth-minute opener was just the tonic, as he watched them push 22 points clear of the South Africans by the 32nd minute.
Sin-binnings for Springboks duo Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux - both for deliberate knock-ons - proved very costly for the Bulls, who conceded 17 points in their absence.
Moodie did cancel out a Sam Prendergast try on the hour mark, taking advantage of a James Lowe yellow card, but replacement Harry Byrne wrapped things up with Leinster's fifth late on.
Making sure to praise the efforts of the entire squad and the coaching staff too, Doris said: "Unbelievably proud. Yeah, obviously very disappointed going off.
"Battling the knee a little bit. It was fine in the end, but my foot got the better of me. But it was class watching on.
"Not how I would have hoped the game went for me personally, but absolutely loved sitting on the side watching the lads front up physically. It was a class watch, similar to last year in some ways.
"Delighted for the group, the lads leaving, but also for the coaching staff. The effort that they've put in, Leo (Cullen), in particular, is Leinster through and through, and wants the best for the group and has desired this more than anyone.
"Not for himself, but for the group and the collective. I'm glad we were able to get it done."
Leinster managed to repeat their home run through the URC play-offs from last year, but this time getting a favour from the Bulls who overcame table toppers Glasgow Warriors at the semi-final stage.
That meant that Cullen's side, having finished second in the table, got to host the title showdown for the second successive year, and Croke Park proved a happy hunting ground once more.
They have won on six of their seven appearances at GAA headquarters, with their only defeat coming in last October's round 4 derby against provincial rivals Munster.
Leinster also boast a superb record in league finals - their one loss in their last eight such games came against Connacht back in 2016 at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.
They have made the most of home advantage, particularly in recent weeks when scoring a combined 16 tries against the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions, the DHL Stormers, and the Bulls, and conceding just four tries in 240 minutes of knockout rugby.
Doris never doubted that they had the physicality and mental strength to bounce back from the bitter disappointment of Bilbao, a day when their Investec Champions Cup dreams were crushed by Bordeaux-Bègles.
"Yeah, there's been a lot of resilience on display. The performance we got against the Lions obviously the following week, and then (that) carried into a pretty good performance against the Stormers.
"Good work has gone in over the last couple of weeks and the way the lads showed up today. I mean, we talked a lot about if you want to beat the Bulls, you've got to beat them physically.
"I think for large parts of the game, we showed that we were capable of doing that.
"But they've got other strings to their bow, their kicking game, some of their backs, the way they attack as well.
"So, I think some of our backs stepped up massively, like Hugo (Keenan) and Sammy (Prendergast) probably are the two are the fore of that. I thought they were class today," he added.
