Peter Jackson: Leinster’s unexpected demise may do deeper damage

Jonathan Sexton queries a decision during the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final against Saracens. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Of all the painful images from a Champions’ Cup weekend of double Irish capitulation, the most revealing centred on Leinster’s unmasking as the best team in Europe.

Johnny Sexton, arms stretched wide in supplication, a bewildered look on his face, may have been doing more than appealing for justice, having taken a shot to the head in the course of Saracens doing to the Dubs what Buster Douglas did to Mike Tyson in Tokyo 30 years ago.