Lethal Leinster have stamp of champs

Leinster ceased playing catch-up on Munster in Europe when they won their second Heineken Cup last season but that doesn’t mean they can’t still learn a thing or two from their southern brethren.

Saturday’s 31-point defeat of Cardiff Blues at the Aviva Stadium was the biggest victory enjoyed by any team in a Heineken Cup quarter-final since Munster eased past the Ospreys with 34 to spare in 2009.

It was, in fact, the joint-fourth largest win for any side in the last eight in the entire history of the tournament but none of the teams above them in that particular list went on to claim the crown come May.