The back-rower is only in his first season out of the Leinster Academy and has come a long way since his GUINNESS PRO12 debut in a 20-3 win over Zebre last season.
In all likelihood, the 22-year-old will be involved again this Sunday when Leinster travel to Munster, looking to leapfrog their Irish rival into third place in the table.
And after suffering consecutive losses to Toulon, Van der Flier acknowledges that it is a lot more fun being part of a winning side.
"It's kind of hard to be pleased playing well with the team losing," he explained. "The Ulster game is probably the most satisfied I've been after a game because we won as well, and then I was happy with my performance.
"Individually it's been going well - I've been very happy. But it's hard to be pleased whenever the performances aren't quite going our way.
"I think it helps a lot that I'd been playing in the system for a lot longer when the internationals came back, learning all the moves and had all the pre-season, then six or seven games under my belt at that stage, so it obviously helped a bit and gave me a bit of momentum going into that period.
"I've absolutely loved it, loved every minute of it. I've been really enjoying my rugby. I've been very fortunate to get a good bit of involvement, even after the World Cup.
"In terms of the way it's gone it's just been very surreal. I've had to pinch myself a bit being able to get involved in the European games."
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