Hines: early errors will be punished

LEINSTER lock Nathan Hines has warned that the province’s hopes of retaining their Heineken Cup title will evaporate if they repeat their awful start against Clermont Auvergne in Toulouse on Saturday.

The champions found themselves 10-0 down after the first quarter of their last-eight tie against Les Jaunards three weeks ago before a two-try burst from Jamie Heaslip turned matters on their head.

Even then, Leinster were fortunate to squeeze through with a one-point victory – courtesy of Brock James’ nightmare with the boot – but a similar storyline on Saturday will hardly result in such a favourable result for the Irish visitors.