Standing just inside the tunnel that leads to the committee rooms under the East Stand, Felipe Contepomi produces a typically Latin, shoulder-shrugging response to what had just transpired. His partner Paula patiently waits with their new-born daughter Catalina in her arms as pockets of the Argentinian's performance are scrutinised.

On 25 minutes Ronan O'Gara nudged Munster 13-3 clear after Cameron Jowitt was penalised for pulling Paul O'Connell from the sky at a lineout. The Contepomi restart went about seven yards. Within 60 seconds, some decent field position for Leinster was reversed after the future doctor became embroiled with Denis Leamy off the ball. O'Gara made it 16-3 and the blue segments of the crowd went mute.

"The restart? It's one of those things. It's easy to kick the restart long and high. We wanted to get the restart back so you have to be really accurate. It didn't work. It's just one of those days. If you want to blame me that's okay. I take responsibility for what I did wrong." The last two lines are delivered with a disarming smile.

"There is noting you can really say when you are beaten like that. Here in Lansdowne it is tricky, what with the wind and sun, but it's not an excuse, you know. I wasn't that worried about the kicking I was more worried about the game. You can win games with a missed kick but today we didn't lose because of a kick.

"Munster were just better all over the pitch. I just think we didn't perform from one to 22. That's what we must look at."

The Leinster season has many positives - okay, getting spanked by Munster in Dublin is going to come up at every drinking session these players engage in over the next 40 years. And yet, wallowing in self-pity isn't Contepomi's style. Orchestrating an attractive brand of rugby is. Or at least trying to. "That's what we are trying to do. One thing that we can take from today, and this year, is that we didn't give up. I remember in October, when we lost to Bath, people said we will never make it out of the pool but suddenly we are in a semi-final.

"Beating Toulouse in Toulouse. Beating Bath in Bath. Playing some of the best rugby of the competition. We have had just eight months with this coach and it is quite an ambitious game (we are playing). One thing we have been lacking throughout the year is consistency. We have been playing some good rugby, but week in week out? We haven't been doing that this year so hopefully we can build on that."

Two more questions before Felipe retreats home. Was this defeat down to a lack of experience? "I don't know. It could be experience. We have some players, internationals, who have that. It's much more difficult to develop an ambitious game plan on days like this. It's much easier to disrupt the opposition."

Will Munster finally get the European monkey off their back on May 20th? "They are capable of it. It all depends if they can take the ball off Biarritz. Munster have a great lineout and Biarritz are not playing great either. They have played very conservative, much to my surprise. Remember this is Biarritz's first final. Munster have been there twice and lost both so it might count for the third one."

Inside, the scoreline sits uncomfortably with Brian O'Driscoll: "No one ran out the gates," he said, regarding his team-mates' courage. "The scoreline flatters them. They were in a far tougher game than the scoreline suggests." So Munster to find their Holy Grail? "You'd be mad to bet against them."