Final try scorer Heaslip in dreamland

JAMIE HEASLIP has every reason to remember his last appearance at the old Lansdowne Road.

When stories of glory, heartbreak or otherwise are recalled, Heaslip will be in the history books as the last man to score at this famous ground before the bulldozers move in.

He ploughed over for a 76th-minute try to push Leinster clear of Ulster in a crucial Magners League tie yesterday.

The importance of the occasion was evident to Heaslip before the game but the number eight admitted: “Not in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be the last guy to score at the ground before demolition. From a personal point of view, it was the icing on the cake, but it was more important because it ensured we won the game.”

He expected a vigorous challenge from Ulster and wasn’t disappointed.

“It was always going to be a tough physical battle. There wasn’t much between us in Belfast some time back and not much between us again today.

“I think we made too many mistakes in the first half and felt that if we could cut down on them we had a good chance. I thought we played much better after the break. We got our game going up front and the backs are always capable of doing damage to any opposition.”

Heaslip paid tribute to man-of-the-match Stephen Keogh for “doing a lot of the donkey work. He was all over the place and made it easy for the players around him”.

The number eight added: “I think there was a lot of passion in that performance. We were all disappointed at the way we played against Munster and didn’t want a repeat of that.”

Leinster coach Michael Cheika was happy with the second-half display, noting: “I think we certainly learned from our mistakes in that opening 40 (minutes). We made too many of them, missed some line out calls and we must realise that conceding penalties can be painful.

“I’m really happy that we have put the defeat by Munster behind us; this was just the result we needed. We had a good December up to the Munster game, and we face some huge games in the coming weeks so this result was a good boost for us.”

He welcomed the return of Felipe Contepomi, who came on late for Jonathon Sexton. The coach admitted, however, that he left the change until later than intended, because he was so impressed by the youngster.

Not for the first time, the Australian expressed amazement at the weather conditions thrown up at Lansdowne Road.

“We were nervous in the morning that it would be a rotten day, but the sun came out and the wind whipped up — just to keep us all confused. In the end, it wasn’t too bad although the conditions were difficult for everyone.”

Leinster captain Brian O’Driscoll admitted the conditions weren’t perfect. “But they weren’t the worst I’ve ever experienced at Lansdowne Road. We knew it wasn’t going to be good but expected it to be worse. The wind made handling a bit difficult but we can’t use that as an excuse for the mistakes we made in the first half,” he said.