Jennings: defence starts anywhere in the pitch

SHANE JENNINGS made a triumphant Heineken Cup return with Leinster on Saturday — against the side he abandoned to pursue his dream of regular international rugby.

The open-side flanker had to make do with an unusual role on the blind side of the scrum after Stephen Keogh was ruled out of Saturday’s clash, and Keith Gleeson filled the open side slot, with Jennings reverting to six. It didn’t matter, as he, Jamie Heaslip and Gleeson had a profound impact.

“It was nice,” said Jennings, “We, as forwards, were up against some seriously good players; we had to perform in all of the set piece areas and do a lot more than that to keep ourselves in with a chance of winning.