RUGBY:HARDLY A classic, though wincingly compelling viewing, and a grand occasion too, save for the needlessly deafening din over the PA system until kick-off and the post-match darkness which prevented Leinster from saying thanks to their supporters.

Did nobody tell them that Leinster and Munster supporters have tended to generate atmosphere all by themselves just fine in the good old pre-Palindrome days? As expected, this latest demolition derby bristled with naked intent. There'll have been enough claret and bruises to have made full use of the Aviva's state-of-the-art medical facilities. The minor miracle was that both sides appear to have emerged relatively unscathed physically, though the psychological scars will run deeper in Munster.

"I think the battlefield that is our changing room at the moment is a good indication of the rivalry," said Joe Schmidt after experiencing this derby for the first time.

"I don't think there's anyone without ice somewhere. It's going to be a case of a couple of days to get ourselves together. The atmosphere was fantastic tonight. Certainly I hope the fans that came to support the team today feel like they got their money's worth and that they'd love to come back and support us again. They certainly helped - the 16th man tonight."

It's going to be a long World Cup year and perhaps some of the players are mindful of that. Even so, in rediscovering their hunger and desire, as well as their mojo with Jonathan Sexton's delayed but stunning first 25 minutes of the season, Leinster owe their new coach an apology.

Portrayed, incorrectly, as passing the blame and the buck on to his players, Joe Schmidt retained the same calm equilibrium in the wake of victory as he had done in defeat. Even so, his relief was both understandable and palpable.

"I'm delighted. I think that we only just hung on in the first half. Territorially, we were dominated. We struggled to get out of our own half and I thought the second half performance showed some character and some confidence that grew as the half went on.

"As I said to the players after the game, I felt we started to break their defence down. We went very close sometimes with a few line-breaks and it was great to see Drico get over the line with about nine minutes to go."

The Leinster coach said conditions were much tougher than they looked, the firm but slippery surface affecting players' footing.

"It meant they weren't quite balanced when they were making passes, so it made things harder to string things together. On top of that, the ball comes slowly when you're trying to clear it when there's a lot of pressure at the ruck and at the fringes of the ruck, so when you're getting ball under pressure on a drizzly night with a slippy surface, I think you're going to get errors and maybe we tried to over-play it a little in the first half and created problems for ourselves."

Schmidt was particularly happy with the efforts of his pack, not least in the way their lineout held firm after Ronan O'Gara pinned them back, and with their defence. "I thought there were some real defensive leaders out there. Some guys were getting off the line and really putting some defensive pressure on. I thought that kept us in the game and gave us a little bit of momentum."

The nadir of all the razzmatazz was the changed announcement over the PA system crediting the conversion to Brian O'Driscoll's match-winning try to Sexton rather than Isa Nacewa. (Hardly a case of separated at birth). But Schmidt agreed that Eoin Reddan and Sexton helped Leinster create more options off the ball and space.

"I think Eoin Reddan came on probably just as we were beginning to get a little front foot, and front foot and Eoin Reddan means you're getting some pace into your game," said Schmidt, who admitted that Sexton's quadriceps strain was a factor in Nacewa retaining the place-kicking.

"He looked okay running. His first touch created a little bit of space for us. That's what Jonny brings - as much as anything, good decision-making and that's why we wanted to get him out there, and also just to get him out there in preparation for next week, with Racing Metro. They're a very, very big side - I watched them against Toulouse today, but that's another story."

Racing's losing bonus point in their 28-23 defeat means Leinster will be hosting the Top 14 leaders next Saturday. They're better primed for them now.