Once bitten, twice shy as Leinster set record straight

FOR Joe Schmidt, the unhappy memories of defeat to Treviso in September of last year were consigned to oblivion when Leinster hoisted aloft the Heineken Cup.

Yet still, he was relieved to have avoided another harsh Italian lesson when the sides clashed Saturday.

Fourteen months on from that ill-famed night in the Venetian outpost, Leinster wiped the slate firmly clean with a composed performance to see off Franco Smith’s Benetton-backed side.