That Dublin date with Bath was the one bright spot.

Garry Ringrose, Luke McGrath and Tadhg Furlong were among the others starting a Champions Cup encounter for the first time but it was Molony who shone the brightest in claiming the man-of-the-match honours from the second row.

Building on that hasn’t been straightforward.

He played five times in Europe the following season but the six appearances banked in the competition in the two terms since have amounted to just 47 total minutes off the bench.

Much was made of the fact that Leinster used 55 players for last year’s double-winning campaign but Molony was among the bulk who found themselves holding tackle bags for the last month of it.

"It’s just making sure that you don’t look too far down the line and maybe get ahead of yourself,” he said.

So for me it’s about focusing on what I can do in Leinster, how I can perform on the opportunities I get. It’s not getting too far head of yourself.

“Towards the end of last season, it became frustrating. It can naturally annoy you, getting left out of the 23 at times.

"You take it on the chin and look to see what you can do better. It’s in nobody else’s control barring your own.”

Tomorrow’s away fixture against Zebre is one that offers fringe players such as Molony their chance to shine even if not’s likely to be where he saw himself after that Bath game, or when he first captained Leinster 22 months ago.

"We can't get bullied - we have to be physically dominant."@rossmolony looks ahead to Saturday's trip to Italy. 🇮🇹⬇️#ZEBvLEI pic.twitter.com/1z2T7YdgcF

— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) February 14, 2019

“You’re always going to get your opportunities. I’ve been quite happy with how this season has gone and the games that I’ve been playing.

"I’ve felt I’ve contributed well so it’s never going to be at a dead end. You can’t think like that or else you won’t end up going anywhere.”