Crowd-pleaser rings out the old

Lansdowne farewell:The first game at Lansdowne Road was 130 years ago between the same protagonists and was played in torrential rain. At midday on Sunday, it seemed history was destined to repeat itself all too fittingly. Thankfully, the weather had relented come kick-off.

In their eagerness to decorate the occasion with "Leinster rugby", Michael Cheika's side were, he admitted, nervous to begin with. "It's very important for us that the crowd know we try to appreciate them by playing that style of football," said the coach. "We're hard to beat if we don't make mistakes. When we make mistakes, other teams are in the game."

Summing up the game neatly, Cheika commented: "I really think the key issue was minimising the errors. When we kept the ball ourselves and didn't give cheap ball to the opposition we were able to dominate the game - and so we should playing at home in front of this crowd, in this atmosphere and intensity . . . I was a bit a disappointed not to get the bonus point."

"One thing I'm really happy with is our defence," said Cheika, reflecting on the concession of only three tries in five big games during December. In those games, they scored 11.

This is palpably giving them confidence they can withstand pressure and then, of course, strike through their unequalled firepower in the backs.

The vast majority would have departed well sated. Indeed, Brian O'Driscoll's one-handed pass over Denis Hickie to himself on the loop was assuredly a first at Lansdowne Road and was worth the admission money alone. "An outrageous player," as one of his team-mates observed.

"Myself and Den had done that at training and spoken about it, and said if you're not going to try it in games what's the point in trying it in training?" reasoned The Great One himself. "It worked a treat - only five years ago I might have been actually able to gas them," he said with a self-deprecating smile.

Coach Mark McCall admitted Ulster's self-belief had taken a knock with the crushing Heineken European Cup defeat earlier in the month away to London Irish: "It took the wind out of our sails and we haven't played particularly well since."

He lamented a few wrong decisions in the second period, notably the call to go for an angled shot at goal when still 12-8 ahead rather than go to the corner or opt for their big scrum. All that said, he admitted: "You can't crow about three tries to nil."

The occasion was given added poignancy by the fifth-minute withdrawal of David Humphreys with a suspected broken arm.

"For a player to have graced this ground the way he has graced it over 12, 13 years to have it end like that is sad for him and sad for everybody. And you don't want to lose your kingpin and your playmaker as early as that," added McCall, who noted Eddie O'Sullivan would probably be "delighted" Paddy Wallace should now get an extended run at outhalf for Ulster.

For Hickie, there was the honour of incurring the last yellow card at the old ground - ironically the first of his career - while for Jamie Heaslip there was the honour of the last try.

"It's a nice feeling," beamed the Leinster number eight. "I guess it'll make for a few pub quizzes or maybe even earn someone a million on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?I'll always be able to say I scored the last try at Lansdowne Road before it was redeveloped."

On a good day all-round for Leinster's record league crowd, Felipe Contepomi confirmed he felt no pain in his left knee and mentally far more comfortable than in his comeback in Limerick. On a ground graced by his idol Diego Maradona, the Puma revelled in the sense of history.

"It was a pleasure. I think I'm fortunate. I played the last game in the oldest (Test) stadium. As I always say, I played in the Millennium Stadium but I never played in the (old) Arms Park. My dad was there and when they speak about the Arms Park now it's not there anymore, but in 10 years' time I'll be able to say I had the fortune to play here."

And win.