Back to the drawing board for Leo Cullen and Leinster

Leinster 16 Toulon 20: The economy is on the up again and a sparkling Aviva Stadium was nine-tenths full, but this had the feel of distant greyer days when the country’s economy was in the toilet and Lansdowne Road was still very much a celebration of concrete.

How many times did an Irish rugby team spring from the traps in the old place only to be reeled inevitably in by bigger and better forces? This was the original of that species: The wince-inducing game of two halves with a quick start followed by a slow and inexorable death.

To be fair, there was more to Leinster than the up-the-jumper stuff we associated for so long with Ireland back in the day. They played with verve, skill, and intelligence in that first 40. The 16-5 lead they claimed through a penalty try and 11 points from Jonathan Sexton was well earned.