Heineken Cup: We ran out of petrol, says Leinster coach

Leinster coach Matt Williams blamed a draining travel schedule for the 43-7 Heineken Cup defeat away to Toulouse.

"It's been a difficult 10 days travelling to the north of England and then down to the South of France," he said.

"I can't fault the efforts of the players - but we ran out of petrol today.''

He added: "We had a lot to play for and we did not lack motivation. But Toulouse had been tucked up in their beds over Christmas, and we had three of our top players out injured."

Even so Williams was happy to give credit where he felt it was due.

"Toulouse were superb. They are a great club and scored great tries," he said.

Brian O'Driscoll, playing his first game at fly-half in the tournament, said: "It is the same story of making basic errors and getting punished. This time it was against a side who are on top of their game - and we weren't.

"When the opposition play as well as Toulouse did today you can only acknowledge that and give them credit."

Toulouse captain Emile Ntamack said: "It was a tough game, especially in the first half, and it is still incredible that we could score 40 points in a match which was so difficult.

"Leinster could still win the Heineken Cup, and we proved today we are still good enough to play with the best. Now we concentrate our minds on the French championship."