JOHN O'SULLIVANreflects on Leinster's stirring victory at The Stoop with man of the match Rocky Elsom

LEINSTER’S STIRRING 6-5 victory over Harlequins at The Stoop on Sunday has guaranteed them not alone a place in the Heineken Cup semi-final against Munster at Croke Park on May 2nd but also a top-six seeding for the 2009-2010 tournament. Michael Cheika’s team join Munster (uncatchable number one) as one of the top seeds – for draw purposes the competition is divided into four tiers with six teams in each – a status they will retain irrespective of the outcome of the Croke Park tussle.

Arguably the primary contributor to Leinster’s success in London was Australian colossus Rocky Elsom, deservedly singled out as the man of the match. Clutching a tissue and daubing a nose that was bleeding both inside and out as he sat in the media tent, the extent of the physicality of the Heineken Cup quarter-final needed little elaboration.

Elsom was unconcerned by physical scars when articulating his post-match thoughts on the afternoon, instead focusing on the emotional implications of victory or defeat. “It was tough because it could have gone either way. In a game that tight the referee’s call can cost you the match.

“It was a great result from our point of view. I think the boys are very proud of the effort they put in and it doesn’t always take a lot of ability to get a win like that. I think it was more about wanting to work and wanting to fight for all the little bits. That’s what the game was all about.”

It was an occasion that Leinster demonstrated the intestinal fortitude that they have been accused of lacking in the past. “We have been rightly criticised for that, but we just needed an opportunity to show something different and that was the best opportunity we have had all year.

“They had the ball for a hell of a long time and were really patient with it . . . We needed the opportunity (to show that mental strength),” he said.

On an afternoon where there was literally no margin for error the pressure must have been claustrophobic. It also meant that both sets of players had to ride their luck at the breakdown, where referee Nigel Owen was the ultimate arbiter. “Whenever you go into a game the rules are whatever the referee decides at the time and you’ve got to adapt to that. The worst is when something at the breakdown costs you the game,” said Elsom.

He watched Ireland’s Six Nations matches against France and Ireland in a seat at Croke Park and while he really likes the stadium he pointed out: “I think it’s more the crowd that makes the event. It’ll be a special game.”

Meanwhile, Leinster are still hoping that CJ van der Linde will be available to them for the Heineken Cup semi-final, writes Gerry Thornley. They are believed to have sent scans of his troublesome toe injury abroad.

They are also considering whether to lodge a protest over the circumstances which led to Nick Evans returning to the pitch in Sunday’s quarter-final 28 minutes after being replaced temporarily. Harlequins were entitled to bring Evans back on if they claimed he was temporarily replaced. However, the bloodied player, Tom Williams, could be seen winking at a teammate as he is led off, while Evans was stationed on a bicycle machine by the touchline after being taken off with his heavily strapped knee injury in the 47th minute.