On a calm, crackling night in Donnybrook, Leinster made themselves and a near capacity crowd sweat and palpitate before finally putting 14-man Northampton to the sword. Northampton were reduced to 14 men from the 13th minute after the sending-off of flanker and newly-appointed Scottish captain Budge Pountney for using his knee on a prostrate Eric Miller when hitting the breakdown - the far from angelic Saints were even reduced to 13 men for a spell in the first-half. Yet perversely, the penalty count went heavily against Leinster, and amid their handling errors and anxiousness they found themselves 18-0 down at the end of the first quarter.
Northampton were up for it, but ultimately, Leinster wore them down, finally finding some self-belief, getting their own recycling game going and utilising the space out wide to run in four tries for their wingers, the electric and in-form Denis Hickie and Gordon D'Arcy, who scored a hat-trick.
Miller had his best game of the season, Victor Costello had a remarkable yardage haul, Brian O'Meara became increasingly influential and Brian O'Driscoll had his usual touches of sheer class. But arguably the real boon was the manner Eddie Hekenui came through with a fine all-round second-half.
It was all wonderfully entertaining in a sort of wild, madcap way. "We're the entertainers, we're always exciting," smiled a relieved Matt Williams afterwards. He then hit the nail on the head when observing: "We're still a side that's learning how to win. The first 20 minutes was very ill-disciplined and not our game, but once they settled and did what they can do, the performance speaks for itself".
One of the curiosities of a particularly curious first-half was that until injury-time the penalty count went 10-2 to Northampton as referee Joel Jutge persistently penalised Leinster at the breakdown. Against that though, those two penalties against them left Northampton with 13 men.
Not that it showed on the scoreboard. Leinster could hardly get their mits on the ball, and when they did their anxious backs spilled it. Perhaps, too, their first-up tackling could have been more offensive, although here Miller was as prominent as anyone, but in truth Northampton's ball retention was near flawless.
Ali Hepher had them three up with a second-minute penalty and then set up a try for Grant Seely. Bob Casey snaffled an isolated handling error in contact and also pilfered a Northampton throw only for Hekenui to spill the ball and when O'Driscoll dropped the ball in the face of Allan Bateman's big hit, the centre hacked on from half-way then followed up kicked on and scored.
Hepher converted and added a drop goal from another forward drive and about the only thing going for Leinster was the hour left. O'Driscoll set them and the crowd alight with a kick and follow-up hit, Hickie then covering inside to gather Matt Dawson's chip up the middle, counter and link up on the left with Gordon D'Arcy on halfway. The winger used Hickie as a decoy to swerve inside Mark Tucker and score.
After sin-binnings for Garry Pagel and Malcolm O'Kelly in turn, a drop goal by Horgan and another try off a line-out drive by Jon Phillips, which Hepher converted, Leinster cleverly used a good seven-v-seven scrum to attack from the surprise zone on their 22. Costello's pick-up and O'Meara's transfer put Hickie in space for the winger to skin the first line and then chip Mark Tucker from half-way to score. Hekenui converted, but hit the upright with a penalty on half-time, leaving it 25-17, but Hepher made no such mistake soon after the break.
That Leinster's next comeback coincided with Jutge finally finding fault with Northampton's view of the offside line was, as they say, no coincidence, nor that Hekenui found his range. After the out-half landed a penalty and a long touch find, Leinster set up targets in field, first through Shane Byrne and then Horgan, returning left for O'Driscoll to put D'Arcy over.
Hekenui converted and then, after he had created space out wide, extended his arms in the tackle to find Miller, who put D'Arcy scampering away for his hat-trick. Leinster had finally broken the Saints' resistance, and with that went their discipline as well, an additional extra 10 minutes for dissent as Leinster turned the screw enabling Hekenui to counter a Hepher penalty with another two of his own. Comfy at the end, but never before then.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 2 mins - Hepher pen 0-3; 9 mins - Seely try 0-8; 16 mins - Bateman try, Hepher con 0-15; 19 mins - Hepher drop goal 0-18; 24 mins - D'Arcy try, Hekenui con 7-18; 29 mins - Horgan drop goal 10-18; 34 mins - Phillips try, Hepher con 10-25; 39 mins - Hickie try, Hekenui con 17-25. 44 mins - Hepher pen 17-28; 55 mins - Hekenui pen 20-28; 59 mins - D'Arcy try, Hekenui con 27-28; 65 mins - D'Arcy try, Hekenui con 34-28; 69 mins - Hepher pen 34-31; 73 mins -Hekenui pen 37-31; 79 mins - Hekenui pen 40-31.
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; D Hickie, B O'Driscoll, S Horgan, G D'Arcy; E Hekenui, B O'Meara; R Corrigan, S Byrne, E Byrne, B Casey, M O'Kelly, E Miller, V Costello, L Toland (capt). Replacements: L Cullen for Casey (43 mins), G Halpin for Corrigan (54 mins), P Smyth for S Byrne (64 mins).
NORTHAMPTON: I Vass; L Martin, A Bateman, M Allen, B Cohen; A Hepher, M Dawson; G Pagel, S Brotherstone, M Stewart, J Phillips, O Brouzet, S Thompson, G Seely, B Poutney. Replacements: M Tucker for Vass (8 mins), K Todd for Stewart (70 mins).
