Magniers League/Leinster 24 Cardiff 17:It would be an exaggeration to suggest it was a patchwork team but shorn of more than half a dozen front-line players, Leinster appeared vulnerable in taking on their nearest pursuers in the Magners League.
Cardiff boasted a starting side with a much greater representation of first-choice players, and when they raced into a 14-point lead at the RDS after just 10 minutes it appeared the home side were about to be ripped asunder.
The disaster never materialised, and for several reasons, the principal ones the character and work ethic of several Leinster players who inspired a revival on the coat-tails of sheer graft.
It was facilitated by a Cardiff game-plan that - though initially precise and, executed at speed, and using power, depth and width, pulled Leinster hither and thither - foundered on an escalating error-count and a lukewarm appetite when the match eventually became a contest.
The team from the Principality began at a high tempo, offloading in the tackle and powering through a Leinster defensive cordon that lacked the requisite line speed in defence.
The home side offered too many soft shoulders and Cardiff punished them with tries from their blindside flanker Maama Molitika and outhalf Nick MacLeod, both converted by fullback Ben Blair.
Leinster coughed up their first two lineouts - overthrown and crooked in - were penalised on their opening put-in at scrum time and lacked composure when trying to wrest a foothold.
Coach Michael Cheika insisted he was the picture of serenity in his lofty gantry at that point, but only because he was preoccupied with addressing his team's shortcomings.
He admitted: "That (the start) was a lesson to us. You can't give teams of that quality that type of start . . . we were able to tonight but only because we showed that sort of courage and fight and grit to stay in it.
"We have to take it (the win) in context and recognise how important it was for us in the context of the league and the squad that was available to us (for this match). We want to be positive about it but we can't ignore that first 20 minutes either.
"We have to look at the good bit, which was the last 60, in terms of our team confidence and morale, but I wouldn't like to plan on too many more (games) like that.
"When we went 14-0 down I was really calm. Things were going wrong and it was obviously in our defence so I was thinking about changes in structure and possibly personnel.
"I was calm and clear at that point because there is no point in getting uptight. When we were 17-16 down I was kicking the wall and bashing the desk because it is a little bit of a different type of psyche. When you get back you don't want to give it away.
"When we got back to that point in the game, we stopped playing again, lulled and let them get a foothold in the game. They got a couple of penalties but we showed great character.
"It was a big win for us in the context of the league."
Individuals galvanised Leinster into action, notably the excellent Ollie le Roux, playing at hooker initially, Felipe Contepomi, who contributed 14 points with the boot, Stan Wright, Cameron Jowitt, Keith Gleeson and young Kevin McLaughlin when he came on as a first-half replacement for the injured Leo Cullen.
Behind the scrum Luke Fitzgerald underlined his ability with far more than simply the beautifully taken try in the final throes of the contest. He invariably beat the first tackler on the back of excellent footwork and balance, and generally worked hard, as did the rest of the three-quarter line.
Christian Warner displayed his innate footballing skills in running some great lines in the unfamiliar outside-centre position, while Michael Berne demonstrated singular strength and determination in powering through Jason Spice's tackle for his side's first try.
Having suffered that calamitous start, Leinster trailed by just 17-10 at the interval. Contepomi converted Berne's try and posted a penalty to match a similar strike from Blair.
The Argentinian added two penalties, the second of which accompanied the sinbinning of the Cardiff flanker Molitika, and though the visitors enjoyed a 10-minute spell of dominance a Contepomi penalty nudged the home side 19-17 in front.
Blair saw a long-range penalty drop short, and MacLeod snatched at a drop-goal attempt before Fitzgerald applied the finishing flourish with a brilliant kick-ahead, chase down the touchline and diving touchdown just short of the deadball line.
In the context of their curtailed selection it was an important night's work for Leinster, one that remained upbeat with the news that Cullen's arm injury was not thought to be serious.
Scoring sequence: 3 mins: Molitika try, Blair conversion, 0-7; 10: MacLeod try, Blair con, 0-14; 20: Contepomi penalty, 3-14; 33: Berne try, Contepomi con, 10-14; 39: Blair pen, 10-17 (half-time: 10-17); 46: Contepomi pen, 13-17; 51: Contepomi pen, 16-17; 65: Contepomi pen, 19-17; 80: Fitzgerald try, 24-17.
LEINSTER: L Fitzgerald; S Horgan, C Warner, M Berne, G Brown; F Contepomi, C Whitaker; C Healy, O le Roux, S Wright; L Cullen (capt), T Hogan; C Jowitt, K Gleeson, S Keogh. Replacements: K McLaughlin for Cullen (34 mins); B Blaney for Healy (36 mins); C Healy for Le Roux (64 mins).
CARDIFF: B Blair; J Roberts, J Robinson, G Thomas, T James; N MacLeod, J Spice; J Yapp, G Williams, T Filise; S Morgan, P Tito; M Molitika, R Sowden Taylor, X Rush (capt). Replacements: G Powell for Filise (63 mins); T Rhys Thomas for Williams (70 mins); T Selley for Roberts (75 mins). Sinbinned: M Molitika (Cardiff) (51 mins).
Referee: Peter Allan (SRU).
