Celtic League/Leinster 35 Dragons 13: Felipe Contepomi beat the Newport Gwent Dragons at Donnybrook. It's only a slight exaggeration. Quite apart from his 25 points that included two tries and another masterful place-kicking display, his uncanny knack of baling out his team-mates was priceless on a night where Leinster's aptitude to perform the basics was borderline negligent.
The standing joke is that the Argentinian changes in a telephone booth rather than more conventional surroundings and it was given legs on Saturday night with another superman performance.
The man himself would be appalled at the suggestion, his innate modesty making it difficult for him to accept the verbal bouquets thrown at him in the aftermath. Compliments stick about as well as tacklers to his Teflon veneer.
Contepomi observed: "It was a good win for Leinster to put us back on track. I am enjoying playing rugby with Leinster and their style of play suits my game.
"It's difficult to judge my own performance when you're out there. It was a team effort. The forwards did their bit and for me it was just a case of running straight and going forward."
It was like saying Newton's Law of Gravity has something to do with apples.
Contepomi played at inside centre to accommodate Warner at outhalf with a view to next week's match against Glasgow, when Leinster will be without the Argentinian's services.
When asked if he had found a new vocation, Contepomi smiled shyly and pointed out he normally played inside the best two centres in world rugby - Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll - and was pretty happy with his lot.
Leinster coach Michael Cheika enthused: "He plays on a different speed level to others. He was brilliant and Argentina is a lucky country. It's one thing having ability, it's another having that hunger. He loves the game, he loves playing it and he understands when his team needs him. Leinster needed him tonight."
They certainly did because once again their set-piece play was unacceptable, particularly the restarts, when general organisation was rank and players stood largely rooted to the spot, on a couple of occasions in different post codes from the ball.
Leinster performed adequately out of touch, but the scrum, strong in the first half, struggled after the interval. There is some mitigation in that Scottish referee Graeme Hannah might well have shouted, "Crouch, hold and wheel," rather than just "Engage." He allowed far too much latitude and the scrum was rarely set for more than a nanosecond.
Leinster's Samoan newcomer, Fosi Pala'amo, did well at tighthead prop in the opening 40 minutes and certainly carries ball aggressively while hitting rucks in the same vein. He needs game time, something he's likely to be afforded in the short term.
Keith Gleeson and Jamie Heaslip both played to the requisite level as did the nuggety Cillian Willis at scrumhalf. Devon Toner was underused at lineouts but showed up well around the pitch, Owen Finegan brought a ball-carrying presence while the rest of the pack contributed in cameos.
One vignette Brian Blaney will want to forget. Having chosen a sumptuous line off a short pass in midfield he careered through a gap but instead of drawing the fullback, Gareth Wyatt, and giving Gary Brown a run-in, the hooker dithered and was eventually grounded in possession.
It wasn't coincidental that Blaney was replaced less than a minute later.
It captured the essence of Leinster's overall performance; they eschewed the simple in favour of the convoluted.
Behind the scrum, Brown took his try brilliantly and looked sharp, while Luke Fitzgerald periodically reinforced his exceptional potential.
With several players though, it was difficult to escape the feeling they'll have to produce more if they wish to retain slots in the squad, a point to which Cheika would later allude. But first he didn't mince his remarks about the team's display on the night.
"The performance wasn't good - we played poorly. The basics of the game have to go well and we didn't do that. We made so many breaks but then threw the ball away looking for the magic pass. You have to hold back at times."
He tore into them at the interval, and the post-match tone would have been moderated only a scintilla: the result does not justify the means.
The highlight of the first half was Contepomi's brace of tries, a homily to footwork, strength and determination.
The Dragons managed a couple of their own through Gareth Wyatt and Richard Fussell, both the result of enterprising back play.
In first-half injury-time, Contepomi was harshly sinbinned for illegally playing the ball. He returned in time to set up a try for Warner (winning his 50th cap for Leinster).
Brown's subsequent effort - after Leinster had turned over a Dragons scrum and Willis made the initial charges - underlined the Blackrock player's pace.
Victory and a bonus point, but unless there's a marked improvement to compensate for Contepomi's absence next week, Leinster will be in trouble.
Time to find the Pollyfilla.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 8 mins: Wyatt try, 0-5; 16: Contepomi pen, 3-5; 25: Contepomi pen, 6-5; 28: Hercus pen, 6-8; 33: Contepomi try, Contepomi con, 13-8 38: Contepomi try, Contepomi con, 20-8; 40(+4): Fussell try, 20-13. Half-time: 20-13. 55: Warner try, Contepomi con, 27-13; 60: Brown try, 32-13; 84: Contepomi pen, 35-13.
LEINSTER: L Fitzgerald; G Brown, K Lewis, F Contepomi (capt), D Hickie; C Warner, C Willis; R McCormack, B Blaney, F Pala'amo; D Toner, O Finegan; S Keogh, K Gleeson, J Heaslip. Replacements: R Corrigan for Pala'amo (half-time; M Berne for Warner (56 mins); H Vermaas for Blaney (64 mins); R McCarron for Hickie (66 mins); N Ronan for Gleeson, R Leyden for Heaslip (both 71 mins); A Dunne for Willis (75 mins). Sinbinned: F Contepomi (38 mins).
NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS: G Wyatt; N Brew, P Emerick, A Smith, R Fussell; M Hercus, A Walker; A Black, K Crawford, L Harrison; A Hall, P Sidoli; J Bearman, J Ringer (capt), N Fitisemanu. Replacements: B Daly for Fitisemanu (30-36 mins); C Charvis for Fitisemanu, B Griffiths for Sidoli (both 56 mins); J Ireland for Walker (58 mins); A Brew for Emerick (62 mins); C Warlow for Hercus (64 mins); Daly for Crawford (73 mins); I George for Harrison (75 mins). Sinbinned: K Crawford (25 mins).
Referee: G Hannah (Scotland).
