Llanelli Scarlets - 20 Leinster - 18: Leinster were given a timely wake-up call ahead of the final weeks of the Heineken European Cup pool stages with a painful defeat at the hands of Llanelli at Stradey Park on Saturday.
Felipe Contepomi was denied by the width of a post in a dramatic climax to a thrilling contest as he failed to convert Denis Hickie's injury-time try. An accurate kick would have levelled the scores.
Yet Leinster were forced to concede that their performance had scarcely deserved even a share of the spoils and they may yet live to thank Llanelli for the lesson served up in west Wales.
Michael Cheika's side now face vital European games against Glasgow and then at Bath as they bid to book to a place in the European Cup quarter-finals and will do well to learn from this defeat at Stradey Park.
Leinster must pay attention to the defensive lapses that allowed Llanelli to score twice in the space of four minutes, firstly from an interception and secondly from a missed tackle, if they are to succeed over the next fortnight.
They will also hope hooker Will Green recovers from a shoulder injury that saw him leave the field after just 20 minutes while scrumhalf Guy Easterby is seeing stars after losing three of his front teeth during a physical encounter.
"The kick could have earned us two points but we focused all week on going to Llanelli looking for four points, not just two, so we were very disappointed not to win," said Cheika.
"We are looking for consistency from the squad and that was certainly not a consistent performance. We kept giving the ball away to the opposition. If you keep doing that enough, especially against a side like Llanelli, then it is going to cost you. That's exactly what happened.
"We have to give credit to Llanelli for playing well but we know that we made a couple of crucial mistakes at vital times. The interception early on gave them a route back into the game."
On a positive note, however, both Brian O'Driscoll and Denis Hickie continued with their comebacks from lengthy lay-offs after emerging unscathed from a full-blooded game.
O'Driscoll hardly looked on top of his game, knocking on once, kicking out on the full another time as well as being unceremoniously shoved onto his backside after missing a tackle before he was replaced by Hickie after 63 minutes.
"The more games Brian plays the better he will get," offered Cheika.
Hickie's contribution was more telling, saving a try with a goal-line challenge on former All Black centre Regan King before crashing over in the seventh minute of injury time to hand Contepomi the chance to steal two points.
He said: "This was only my second game and it takes a while to get back into it. You slip off the pace after two weeks let alone 10 so it was good to get a run.
"The try was almost enough to get away with a draw but I think the bonus point for losing by less than seven was about all we deserved.
"Some big improvements need to be made before Europe, not in terms of heart or effort but how we play the game in certain areas of the field."
Gordon D'Arcy looked to have set Leinster on their way to a fourth successive win when he scampered over from half-way to score inside five minutes following Keith Gleeson's burst into midfield. However D'Arcy saw his pass, intended for O'Driscoll, intercepted and returned by Matthew Watkins for a try under the posts before Barry Davies finished a stunning attack that began when King scorched past Contepomi in midfield.
Leinster almost snatched a draw after surviving a battery of assaults in either half.
LLANELLI SCARLETS: B Davies; M Jones, M Watkins, R King, L Byrne; M Hercus, D Peel; C Dunlea, M Rees, M Madden, H Louw, A Jones, D Jones, A Popham S Easterby (capt). Replacements: V Cooper for Louw 53 mins; J Davis for Madden 72 mins; C Stuart-Smith for Peel 74 mins.
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll (capt), G D'Arcy, K Lewis; F Contepomi, G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Blaney, W Green, A Byrnes, M O'Kelly, E Miller, J Heaslip, K Gleeson. Replacements: D Blaney for Green 19 mins; B O'Riordan for Easterby 38-40, 60 mins; C Jowitt for Miller half-time; B Williams for Byrnes 60 mins; D Hickie for O'Driscoll 63 mins;
Referee: David Changleng (Scotland)
