European Cup Pool Two: There wasn't a mask in sight but this was larceny on a grand scale. For the second Heineken European Cup match in succession Leinster conjured a rescue act that barely seemed credible when set against their performance for most of the match.

Brian O'Driscoll provided the heroics in Bourgoin; on this occasion the excellent David Holwell and truly outstanding Malcolm O'Kelly were in the van of the last-ditch cavalry charge. There is a perceived wisdom that during the development of a team destined for honours the value of 'winning ugly' finally becomes ingrained in them. The Irish province reached that staging post on Saturday.

It won't camouflage the shortcomings of the performance but it does assure Leinster of a place in the quarter-finals and the likelihood of a home draw should they account for Treviso at Lansdowne Road on Saturday. If they wish to progress further in the competition, though, then they can not serve up the dross offered for much of this game at the Recreation Ground.

In so many areas Leinster were simply second best and nowhere was this exemplified more starkly than out of touch. Bath's lineout is acknowledged as one of the best in the Zurich Premiership, particularly on the opposition throw. On Saturday the pillaged and pilfered to such an extent that a Leinster throw was a liability.

Leinster turnovers in this facet of play almost reached double figures. It is not a new phenomenon for the Irish province this season. Last time out in the Celtic League, Munster plundered a plethora of possession out of touch and in Leinster's first European Cup game against Benetton Treviso, the Italian side recorded seven turnovers.

It represents a collective responsibility and therefore it is the pack who stand indicted. The same malaise that surfaced in the Treviso game was once again prevalent. The deliberate gait, the ponderous preparation and the convoluted shuffling up and down the line militate against successful execution of the throw.

Leinster need to introduce speed and a snap to their delivery so that they are less easy to read. Denied this platform for much of the game the visitors may as well have shredded their own playbook. Time and again territory and possession were cast away and much of the pressure that Leinster endured was self-induced.

Another bugbear for coach Declan Kidney will have been the passive defence, Leinster content to wait for Bath ball-carriers to come onto them rather than seeking out contact in an aggressive fashion. It meant that the home side were able to guarantee momentum in contact and therefore recycle possession ad nauseam.

This simply won't suffice when the calibre of opposition improves. For all Bath's efforts up front, particularly the excellent Steve Borthwick and Andy Beattie, the home side were pedestrian behind the scrum, crabbing across the pitch without much penetration. The honourable exception was Brendon Daniel's try but even that had as much to do with extra numbers as dexterous handling.

The irony of this match from a Leinster perspective is that had fullback Girvan Dempsey held O'Driscoll's try-scoring pass on 25 minutes, it the would have taken the visitors out to a 17-3 lead (assuming Holwell converted) and in all probability they would have cantered away with the match.

Instead the pass went to ground and Bath were encouraged to dog it out.

The visitors had received the ideal opening when Bath hooker Dave Ward, a late replacement for Jonathan Humphreys, overthrew at a lineout inside his own 22 and Shane Jennings gratefully grabbed possession before showing good strength in shrugging off a couple of tackles to cross for a try. The Leinster openside had a fine game despite being hamstrung by referee Joel Jutge's inconsistent interpretation.

Despite their brittle lineout, Leinster edged to a 13-3 lead by the half-hour with Holwell tagging on a couple of penalties. Bath's response was an excellent drop goal from Chris Malone. The home side transformed their afternoon four minutes from the interval when Danny Grewcock was driven over from a close in lineout.

Suddenly the Bath players boasted a different body language, all swagger and menace. Olly Barkley tagged on the conversion and a penalty to make it 13-13 at the interval. In first-half injury-time Bath tighthead Duncan Bell had been sin-binned for an innocuous looking forearm shunt on Eric Miller. This should have been the signal for Leinster to kick-on after the interval but instead Bath continued where they had left off.

Leinster errors continued to abound and Bath remained dominant territorially, a fact that paid off on 58 minutes when after a several phases of play Daniel scooted around O'Driscoll - the latter was trying to defend several players - for a smartly-taken try. Barkley converted and with nine minutes remaining added a penalty to take Bath into a seemingly secure 23-13 lead.

Holwell, though, had other ideas and his superb block on Malone's attempted punt from inside the Bath 22 allowed the Leinster outhalf to regather and canter over for a try that he converted. Within 90 seconds the Irish province had completed the Houdini-like escape. O'Driscoll's chip was partially blocked by Barkley but the Ireland captain won the race to toe the ball on and along with Denis Hickie set off in pursuit.

Bath full back Matt Perry was collared yards from his own line, had possession stripped and when Leinster went wide captain Reggie Corrigan showed good hands to guarantee a try for the supporting O'Kelly. Holwell converted and Leinster had completed an unlikely escape.

Scoring sequence: 2 mins: Jennings try, Holwell conversion, 0-7; 14: Malone drop goal, 3-7; 19: Holwell penalty, 3-10; 29: Holwell penalty, 3-13; 36: Grewcock try, Barkley conversion, 10-13; 39: Barkley penalty, 13-13. Half-time: 13-13. 58: Daniel try, Barkley conversion, 20-13; 71: Barkley penalty, 23-13; 77: Holwell try, Holwell conversion, 23-20; 78: O'Kelly try, Holwell conversion, 23-27.

BATH: M Perry; J Maddock, A Crockett, O Barkley, B Daniel; C Malone, N Walshe; D Barnes, D Ward, D Bell; S Borthwick (capt), D Grewcock; A Beattie, I Feaunati, M Lipman. Replacements: J Scaysbrook for Maddock (half-time); M Stevens for Scaysbrook (45-48 mins); Stevens for Bell (59 mins).

LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, D Hickie; D Holwell, G Easterby; R Corrigan (capt), S Byrne, E Byrne; L Cullen, M O'Kelly; E Miller, V Costello, S Jennings. Replacements: R Nebbett for E Byrne (48 mins); A McCullen for Cullen (52 mins); C Potts for Jennings (66 mins); F Contepomi for D'Arcy (75 mins).

Referee: Joel Jutge (France).

Yellow card: D Bell (Bath) 40 (+2)-52 mins.

Pool Two

... ... P W D L F A BP P

Leinster 5 5 0 0 200 83 1 21

Bath 5 2 0 3 126 108 3 11

Treviso 5 3 0 2 119 124 2 14

Bourgoin 5 0 0 5 81 214 1 1

Remaining Fixtures

Saturday, Jan 15th - Leinster v Treviso; Bourgoin v Bath.

Previous Results

Bath 22 Bourgoin 12; Treviso 9 Leinster 25; Bourgoin 0 Treviso 34; Leinster 30 Bath 11: Treviso 29 Bath 23; Leinster 92 Bourgoin 17; Bourgoin 23 Leinster 26; Bath 47 Treviso 7; Bath 23, Leinster 27; Treviso 40, Bourgoin 29.