Is it fanciful to begin thinking of cup repeat?

AFTER THE confidence boost of a clean sweep for Irish provinces in the opening round of the Heineken Cup, this weekend provided a reality check.

With Ulster and Leinster losing to Magners League rivals Llanelli and Edinburgh, once again Munster were the lone occupants of the winner’s enclosure.

The inconsistency that has bedeviled Leinster for so long was once again in evidence in Murrayfield yesterday. While it took an injury-time drop goal from Duncan Hodge to secure victory for the Scottish side, on the overall level of performance it was difficult to deny them victory, particularly as Leinster’s second-half try from substitute Luke Fitzgerald resulted from a blatant forward pass.