Leinster - 46 Galsgow - 22: Coaches are not easily pleased, even in victory and often adopt the hangdog look for post-match dissertations. The words are measured, the language cautious and the message is often that plenty has been accomplished but there is still much work to be done. It's for public consumption.
Leinster's Michael Cheika, though, had every right to be perplexed after Saturday's Heineken European Cup win over Glasgow, a performance that mixed the sublime with the rank. It's hard to escape the feeling that watching Leinster is akin to viewing two separate teams, one so accomplished in shredding opposing defences and the other that can't work out the difference between tackling and defending. At times they do neither.
While the RDS try-fest was easy on the eye, there were several aspects of Leinster's display that will be potentially calamitous if they resurface at the weekend against Bath at the Recreation Ground.
The scrum wasn't nearly the stable platform it should be. Whether that's down to concentration, application or the absence of Will Green is a riddle that Cheika will have to solve by next Sunday.
There were times when the Leinster line shuffled forward like pensioners and then compounded the error by going high. It's one thing to try to rip and strip the ball, but putting an opponent on the ground, preferably on his backside, should precede it.
The net result was the Glasgow ball carriers were allowed to take the tackle on their own terms and offload. If Leinster adopt the same tactics against Bath they're going to seriously compromise their chances.
Brian O'Driscoll missed about half a dozen tackles on Saturday, probably more in 80 minutes than in a season since his schooldays. A positive for Cheika and Leinster supporters is he doesn't tend to repeat mistakes.
It is predominantly his defence that is flecked with rust. His brace of tries yesterday demonstrated his sharpness in possession.
He was alert to Felipe Contepomi's beautifully judged grubber kick for the first and on the second occasion cut sharply against the grain, eluding the corner flagging traffic. He demonstrated great reflexes and hands in the build-up to Contepomi's try but was guilty of a careless pass that led to Rory Lamont's try.
The Scottish winger's score encapsulated Leinster's defensive frailty, Lamont slaloming his way past three tackles and an attempted tap tackle.
There is some mitigation in that they had the win and bonus point gift wrapped before the interval.
Obviously in crossing for eight tries Leinster also managed some excellent rugby and within a decent team effort were some outstanding individual performances, none more so than secondrow Malcolm O'Kelly.
He carried a huge amount of ball, made plenty of tackles and this apart from the usual excellence he brings to his set-piece duties. He was arguably Leinster's best player, a short head in front of Keith Gleeson, Guy Easterby and a brilliant 40-minute, two-try cameo from Cameron Jowitt before he limped off with ankle ligament damage.
Gleeson's industry was staggering and aside from a couple of missed tackles he had a hugely positive impact. Quite apart from his groundhog duties, he ran superb support lines and isn't afraid of the open spaces.
Losing Jamie Heaslip before the match to influenza could have unsettled the backrow but Jowitt is becoming an increasingly indispensable member of the unit and showed why he is being chosen ahead of Eric Miller. The latter filled in at number eight for Heaslip.
Easterby showed strength and vision, and was probably the team's best defender to boot. Contepomi had an off day with the boot, a rare occurrence, but didn't let it interfere with the rest of his game. He's still prone to the odd howler but he's still a class act and the fulcrum of the attack.
The midfield cobbled together their fair share of line breaks, Gordon D'Arcy doing more of the spadework, O'Driscoll reaping the rewards. Girvan Dempsey, making his 100th appearance for Leinster, showed adhesive hands to claim a deserved try while of the two wings Shane Horgan was by far the more industrious.
Leinster had four tries by the 39th minute, a reward for invention and precise execution. The first and the province's fifth just before the interval were largely attributable to the pack.
Leinster's season is about 80 minutes at the Recreation Ground on Sunday when they will have to make a case for the defence.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 7 mins: Jowitt try, 5-0; 17: Horgan try, 10-0; 22: Lamont try, Parks conversion, 10-7; 30: Dempsey try, 15-7; 35: Parks penalty, 15-10; 39: Contepomi try, 20-10; 40(+3): Jowitt try, 25-10. Half-time: 25-10. 52: O'Driscoll try, Contepomi conversion, 32-10; 76: O'Driscoll try, Contepomi conversion, 39-10; 79: Roberts try, 39-15; 81: Hickie try, Contepomi conversion, 46-15; 86: Barclay try, C Gregor conversion, 46-22.
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll (capt), G D'Arcy, D Hickie; F Contepomi, G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Blaney, E Byrne; B Williams, M O'Kelly; C Jowitt, K Gleeson, E Miller. Replacements: N Ronan for Jowitt (h-time); R McCormack for E Byrne (63 mins); D Blaney for B Blaney, A Byrnes for O 'Kelly, B O'Riordan for Easterby, K Lewis for Horgan, R Kearney for Dempsey (all 73 mins); E Byrne for Gleeson (84 mins); Gleeson for Byrne (85 mins). Yellow card: R Corrigan 75-85 mins.
GLASGOW WARRIORS: G Staniforth; H O'Hare, G Morrison, A Henderson, R Lamont; D Parks, G Beveridge, K Tkachuk, S Lawson, E Murray; D Turner, C Hamilton; S Swindall, J Barclay, J Petrie (capt). Replacements: T Barker for Turner (h-time), F Thomson for Lawson, M Roberts for Staniforth (all h-time); S Pinder for Beveridge (56 mins); G Hayter for Swindall, C Gregor for Parks (both 63 mins); L Harrison for Barker (66 mins). Yellow card: J Barclay 40(+2)-49 mins.
Referee: Joel Jutge (France).
