Leinster forced to dig deep against Zebre

Guiness Pro12

Healy was making his first provincial appearance since September and was one of 13 Ireland internationals fielded by Leinster who had never lost at home to Italian opposition but took longer than expected to shake loose of their latest guests.

The visitors’ stubbornness wilted eventually. Understandable, really, given they needed to call up five amateurs midweek and ended up using a third-choice out-half and with a number of others press-ganged into duties in unfamiliar places.