The province may have three Heineken Cups under their belt, but if they were to overcome Toulon in the Stade Velodrome on Sunday, Leinster winger Luke Fitzgerald believes it would be their biggest ever win in European competition.

The Blackrock College man recalled their Heineken Cup semi-final victory against Munster in 2009 as a memorable accomplishment but believes defeating mighty Toulon could surpass that.

“Yeah, I think so [it would be the biggest],” said Fitzgerald. “Clermont in 2012 probably springs to mind in terms of something that’s similar for us. But I think given that these guys [Toulon] are two-times champions, that’s probably why it trumps it.

“Just because they’ve got the pedigree. Clermont are still searching for that first European glory. I think knowing how to win the comp probably gives them a slight edge over that Clermont team. So I’d say it’s probably the biggest in ourhistory.

“Maybe also Munster in ’09. That was a pretty big turning point for the club as well. “But this would probably be pretty close to that as well.”

While many players within the Leinster squad have grown up playing together, their Top 14 opponents have been described as ‘mercenaries’ in some quarters. Fitzgerald feels that this stereotype of Toulon is unfair, and doesn’t think that a group of mercenaries would have matched their achievements of the past two seasons.

“I don’t think that. I think if you look at the last two or three years, I think you can only really judge a team on how successful they’ve been.

“I think a group of mercenaries wouldn’t be able to achieve what they’ve achieved in the last two seasons. They’ve been the outstanding team in Europe, no question.”

However, if the game is still in the melting pot with five minutes remaining, Fitzgerald is hopeful that the Blues will have a greater desire to book their place in the forthcoming Twickenham decider.

“Yeah, we’re hoping that of course. That’s obviously a small factor. Albeit, I think a game like this against such quality opposition, and at the stage of the year we’re at, everybody is going to be putting 100% in for the whole game.

“I think it might matter how tight-knit the squad is, and we’re very tight-knit. I don’t know how tight-knit they are. I do feel it’s going to be a really tight one, no matter what. We’re prepared for that. It might be a factor. Maybe.”

Despite reaching the semi-final of the Champions Cup, there has been a lot of frustration surrounding the performances of the team throughout the season. With just one win from their last six league encounters, their chances of reaching the Pro12 play-offs are slim at best.

Fitzgerald cited injuries to a number of key players as a possible reason for their indifferent form, but now that Matt O’Connor has a larger squad available to him, Fitzgerald feels that they will be primed for a daunting challenge in Marseille.

“I’d think there’s definitely huge belief amongst the squad that we can turn around a lot of ordinary enough performances, littered with a couple of good ones. If I was to be pragmatic, if you look at the squad and year we’ve had, people are talking about up and down performances. Players have been out injured. Sean O’Brien, Rhys Ruddock, Fergus McFadden.

“So getting time together on the training pitch should benefit us. We know we didn’t perform to the best of our abilities against Bath. But we know with a couple of adjustments that we’re looking to make this week, and with a change of mindset in terms of backing ourselves more, we’re more than capable of going there and getting a result.”

Now in his ninth season as a Leinster player, Fitzgerald has become accustomed to success. In that time, the Blues have accumulated seven major honours, including a Challenge Cup and Pro12 double in 2012/13.

A defeat against Toulon this weekend would almost certainly end Leinster’s chances of securing silverware, and Fitzgerald accepts that an underwhelming conclusion to their current campaign would be a major disappointment.

“It would be really, really disappointing. It would be the first time in a long time that we haven’t been competing for a trophy at the end of the season and we’d be gone early.

“So it would be incredibly disappointing for us to not have some opportunity towin some silverware for the coaching staff, for the supporters — who I think have been pretty patient with us this year — and for ourselves as well, because we haven’t done ourselves justice.

“So I think it’s massive for us. I think it would be unbelievably disappointing for us to go out so early and be finished up,” Fitzgerald commented.

• Fitzgerald was speaking in the office of PSG Communications where he was helping to launch Re.Store (Topaz’s brand-new retail concept).