Ella elated to hold on to victory

Leinster coach Gary Ella was naturally happy with his side’s 24-19 Heineken Cup win in Cardiff, but admitted he had been worried in the closing stages.

“Cardiff came back very well and they gave us a few scary moment. But our defence held out well and we won a couple of important turnovers,” said the Australian.

“We’ve got to be pleased to take the points in those conditions. Our experienced players showed a lot of composure on an awful night.

“The Blues scored a good try, with great continuity until we eventually ran out of numbers, but we work a lot on defence and it paid off.”

His Cardiff counterpart Dai Young showed a mixture of satisfaction and frustration.

“I’m disappointed but pleased with the way we showed again that we’re not out-classed at this level,” he said.

“I don’t think many people gave us any chance of qualifying from this group, but we could have won in Sale last weekend and again tonight.

“Last season we weren’t at the races, but we’ve shown here that we’ve closed the gap.

“It’s uphill for us to go through now, but it’s not dead and buried. We’ve got two bonus points and they could be vital.”