The Ospreys were crowned champions of the inaugural RaboDirect PRO12 league but they had to a rely on a finish of five straight wins - starting with a nail-biting 23-22 win away at Leinster - to even get there.
In the end, they reached the top four with room to spare, finishing in second spot, behind Leinster, who eased into top spot with a final tally of 81 points - winning 18 of their 22 matches.
Third were Munster, who had won the Celtic League 12 months previous, while Glasgow Warriors, under the stewardship of Sean Lineen, completed the top four.
Indeed, the Warriors gave Leinster a considerable run for their money at the RDS, eventually going down 19-15 while the Ospreys laid down a marker of their intent with a crushing five-try 45-10 win over Munster, ensuring Tony McGahan's tenure at the Irish province ended on a low note.
Star turns
As has become the norm in the RaboDirect PRO12, Edinburgh's Flying Dutchman Tim Visser topped the try-scoring charts while it was Ospreys fly-half Dan Biggar, who was to have the season's most telling say, that scored the most points (257).
Visser was also named Players' Player of the Season for his try-scoring exploits while Glasgow Warriors' then 19-year-old full-back Stuart Hogg picked up the Young Player of the Season award.
The final
As hosts and having just defended their Heineken Cup crown, Leinster were understandably buoyant and raced into a 17-9 lead at the break thanks to tries from Isa Nacewa and Sean Cronin.
Ashley Beck scored an early second-half try to reduce to gap to one however and while Jonny Sexton kept Leinster's noses in front, Shane Williams, in his final appearance for the Ospreys, grabbed a try to keep his side in the hunt.
Nacewa scored his second on 61 minutes and Sexton's conversion gave Leinster a 30-21 lead - trimmed by three when Biggar landed a penalty soon after.
And with just a minute remaining on the clock, Williams ensured a fairytale ending, dotting down his last ever try for the Ospreys before Biggar held his nerve to slot the match-winning conversion from the touch line.
Man of the Match
Isa Nacewa's opportunistic double had put Leinster on course to become the first team to claim a European and domestic double since Wasps in 2004 and he did not deserve to be on the losing side.
What they said:
Opsreys' Shane Williams: "I have had a blast but it is time to do something else now. I have had a lot of fun and will miss it, but to go out with a trophy was everything I could ask. We dug deep and I knew I had to do something at the end. It was not our best performance of the season, but we never stopped fighting and we deserved to get something from the campaign."
Leinster head coach Joe Schmidt: "I am pretty gutted obviously. We knew that it was going to be tough and we had to be in front in the back half of the game. We fell off a couple of tight tackles and maybe just didn't have things bounce our way.
"I thought it was a superb kick by Dan Biggar from the edge and it was pretty much the same thing he did to us last time to get a one-point win (here back in March)."
Teams and scorers
Leinster: Kearney R, McFadden, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Nacewa, Sexton, Reddan, van der Merwe, Cronin, Ross, Cullen, Toner, McLaughlin, Jennings, Heaslip
Replacements: Strauss, McGrath, White, Thorn, Ryan, Cooney, Madigan, Kearney D
Ospreys: Fussell, Dirksen, Bishop, Beck, Williams, Biggar, Webb, James, Hibbard, Jones A, Jones AW, Evans, Jones R, Tipuric, Bearman
Replacements: Baldwin, Bevington, Jarvis, King, Smith, Fotuali'i, Morgan, Isaacs
Leinster:
Tries: Cronin (26), Nacewa (35, 61)
Conversions: Sexton (28, 36, 63)
Penalties: Sexton (11, 44, 51)
Ospreys:
Tries: Beck (42), Williams (59, 78)
Conversions: Biggar (43, 79)
Penalties: Biggar (8, 22, 34, 73)
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