This term though, following the 41-7 victory over Treviso on Friday, Townsend's troops are on course to make amends and perhaps go one further according to the boss.
"You've got to aim to get wins every week. Our goal is to perform and to get those wins and to get into the play-off position and that has not changed this season," said Townsend.
"When we played Leinster and Munster after the November break we realised they are two of the best teams in Europe.
"We lost 6-0 to Leinster, so that was very competitive. We weren't as competitive over at Munster but it's the only game that we have lost by more than eight points this season so we have been really pleased by the effort week in, week out and by the progress made by this squad.
"In the 1872 Cup games [against Edinburgh] you know you are up against potential rivals for a position in the Six Nations squad and we did exceptionally well."
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