A memorable day for Irish rugby

JAMIE HEASLIP sauntered down the steps at the Millennium Stadium, busily stuffing a sandwich into his mouth with one hand while the Heineken Cup was being carried nonchalantly in the other.

The scene barely did justice to the titanic effort he and his Leinster team-mates had put in to turning this dramatic final on its head, delivering the province a second European title in three seasons in the process. And yet it said so much about the extraordinarily high levels this group of players has reached under new head coach Joe Schmidt this season.

Leinster had refused to be denied and success, in their minds, was as inevitable as that sandwich being demolished by the ravenous No. 8.