From Castres to Croker: How Leinster turned it around

FIVE months ago, an injured Leo Cullen cut an agitated figure in the Stade Pierre Antoine press box as he watched Leinster’s storybook start to the Heineken Cup begin to fray around the edges with defeat against Castres.

No-one could know it then but Jonathan Sexton’s try shortly before half-time, his side’s second that evening, would be their last in Europe for five long months. Until Gordon D’Arcy’s opening touch down on Saturday, to be precise.

It was a painful and bewildering turn of fortunes for a side renowned for its dash and verve, one that had scored 13 tries and tripped the light fantastic in their opening three games against Edinburgh, Wasps and Castres, at the RDS.