Glasgow's mighty Warriors can hardly get any closer. When the pain subsides, they ought to take real pride from a performance which confirmed their status as serious contenders for the RaboDirect PRO12 title.
No Scottish team has won it but if they continue next season the way they finished this one, Gregor Townsend's squad will surely be the first.
Beating Leinster at the RDS is always among the tallest of orders but the way the Warriors went about their task will have won them legions of new admirers.
They dared to believe and responded with an exhilarating brand of rugby. Their readiness to strike from deep had Leinster's formidable defence almost at breaking point in the minutes before Mark Bennett finished off their second try five minutes from time.
Reprieved by Stuart Hogg's missed conversion, Leinster refused to be run out of a fourth successive Grand Final. The Warriors, though, had served notice, that their time will come.
They had also left nobody in any doubt as to why they have scored more tries this season than anyone else, not just in the RaboDirect PRO12 but the English Premiership as well.
Leinster have scored 63, Ulster 62, Leicester 60, Northampton 58, Harlequins 53, the Scarlets and Saracens 42.
Glasgow's 68 have been spread among no fewer than 28 players with DTH van der Merwe (10) heading the list ahead of the club's player of the season, scrum-half Niko Matawalu (8) and Tommy Seymour (7).
In retrospect, one more try and the Warriors might well have been preparing for a return to the RDS next week and their first Grand Final.
Had that try come against Leinster at Scotstoun last November it could have made all the difference on a night when the Warriors fired their only blank of the season, undone 6-0 by two Ian Madigan penalties.
In three tilts at Leinster, the Warriors have lost by margins of six, five and two points.
"We have to make sure we learn how to win games when we are under pressure and when decisions are not going our way," said Townsend.
"We created enough opportunities to have won. Leinster defended very well and I couldn't have asked for more from my players. Some of their lads said afterwards that they felt at times it was like playing France in Paris.
"Those sort of comments give us encouragement. All credit to the players because it's tough to get to the semi-finals, never mind win the competition. Good teams like Munster and the Ospreys didn't make the last four.
"There's no doubt we have made progress. The Ospreys came to Glasgow with four or five Lions and Leinster had six Lions. So we've outscored the best teams on tries.'
They also out-tried Ulster 4-1 at home in late February. Since their quarter-final elimination from the European Cup by Saracens at Twickenham early last month, Ulster have reached their first Grand Final on the strength of four straight wins.
The final will be the second all-Irish affair since the introduction of the play-offs four seasons ago. In between losing at home to the Ospreys, Leinster also lost to Munster at Thomond Park in 2011.
Strangely enough, this year's finale is also a 'home' match for Ulster. They made the RDS their choice because Ravenhill, currently in the throes of being enlarged, does not meet the minimum crowd capacity for the Grand Final.
Joe Schmidt, hoping to sign off as head coach by presiding over two more trophies before taking charge of Ireland, will not need reminding that Ulster have done the double over Leinster this season, 27-19 at Ravenhill before Christmas and 22-18 in Dublin over Easter.
In both games, Leinster managed just the one solitary try, from Fergus McFadden in Belfast, while conceding five.
The deposed Heineken Cup holders hope home advantage will help win a third European title in as many seasons, against Stade Francais in the Amlin Cup at the RDS on Friday night.
For a neutral view of the RaboDirect PRO12 decider, nobody is better qualified than Scotland's Townsend.
"It's a hard one to call and a lot could depend on how Leinster fare in the Amlin this week," he said.
"Ulster are playing really well. They have a balanced game even if they probably don't move the ball as much as they did in the opening weeks of the season.
"They put a lot of pressure on the set-piece. Both teams will feel there is a chance for revenge - Ulster because of their defeat by Leinster in the European final at Twickenham last year, Leinster because of Ulster's win at the RDS a few weeks back.
"Whatever happens, it will be a cracking game…"
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