LEINSTER CAPTAIN JAMIE Heaslip believes there was little between his side and Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop yesterday evening, as the English outfit emerged 24-18 victors.
Number eight Heaslip stated that Leinster would take some encouragement from the manner in which they fought back into the tie after Aseli Tikoirotuma’s intercept try left the province 21-12 down heading into the final quarter.
For the second weekend in a row, Matt O’Connor’s men failed to score a try, but Heaslip rejected the notion that the lack of five-pointers is a concern heading into next weekend’s return leg with ‘Quins in Dublin.
“I thought we were applying a lot of pressure and either forcing them to give away a penalty or we were getting gainline. That’s what was happening a lot. Obviously, it was frustrating that we didn’t get a score, but sometimes those kind of games happen.
I thought at 21-18… to be honest I was thinking ‘we’re in here, it’s either going to be a win or a draw for us.’ But I’m the eternal optimist and then we gave a penalty away and they stretched it to a six-point game.
“It was obviously frustrating, but we’ll take the bonus point. I don’t think there’s a lot between the sides.”
Tikoirotuma’s try came directly from a promising Leinster attacking situation, but Heaslip had few issues with the Nick Easter score that ‘Quins built so impressively inside the Leinster 22.
“I can’t knock their try, they took their first very well I thought,” said Heaslip post-match. “They composed a lot of phases together and we soaked a lot of tackles. You can’t do that at this level. Even with that, there was four points between us.
“I thought we’d get down in their half, build pressure and get a return on points. I thought every time we were getting down into their half, we were getting good return. That’s what happened again, they forced that intercept try.
“11 points down, a lot of sides would have dropped their heads,” continued Heaslip, as he looked again to the positives, “but we rolled up our sleeves, got back in the game, a three-point game and it could have gone either way.”
Given Heaslip’s belief that Leinster only lost out on the fine margins of European club rugby, the overriding sense in leaving London last night was one of frustration.
When I came off the pitch I was fairly annoyed and frustrated,” said Heaslip. “When I kind of sat back and thought about the game, got my thoughts together, I was still frustrated.
“The frustrating thing was that we were getting into their half, applying pressure and then forcing a turnover, running into touch or giving a penalty away, letting them exit really easily.
“Then compounding errors in our half; with their kickers they can slot them, which they did. I felt they didn’t do a whole lot, but were still in the game.”
