Doris does the slaying but Leinster learn that their demons are stubborn things 

The late scares at the Aviva encapsulated Leinster’s unpredictable journey to a ninth final in Europe’s premier club competition because this has not been the way Leo Cullen’s side have generally gone about their business.

BLUE RELIEF: Tommy O'Brien, left, and Joe McCarthy of Leinster after the Investec Champions Cup semi-final match between Leinster and RC Toulon at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

It was 13 minutes before full-time that the 38,555 inhabitants of Aviva Stadium allowed themselves a communal exhalation of breath and with it banished their Champions Cup demons of the year before.

Leinster’s semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints on the same pitch and on the corresponding weekend 12 months ago had haunted their every action in a difficult season that had been peppered with surprising defeats and concerning performances. Yet while this was no absolute resumption of previously imperious service, Saturday’s 29-25 victory over Toulon, effectively secured by that 67th-minute try from captain Caelan Doris, buried those painful memories as emphatically as the No.8 had crashed over the tryline to give his side a 29-11 lead.