Leinster want to finish with a flourish

THE padlocks on the gates of Lansdowne Road dictate that a ‘home’ Heineken Cup quarter-final draw is beyond their control but Leinster are adamant that their final Pool 2 game at Kingsholm next Friday is anything but a dead rubber.

The atmosphere around Donnybrook after Saturday’s defeat of Edinburgh was that of a schoolyard on the last day of term but Michael Cheika knows their group campaign is still a work in progress.

The trip to Gloucester may no longer be a case of do-or-die but a win would still have far-reaching effects on Leinster’s ambitions of emulating their compatriots to the north and south and lifting the Heineken Cup.