EVEN IN the wake of defeat against London Irish, another 80 minutes of keeping their try-line intact ensured that Leinster’s continuing faith in each other and in their defensive system would be the bedrock for their trek to the Limousin region of southern France.

“It gives us a great platform,” said Eoin Reddan afterwards in the melee that was the crowded mixed zone outside the dressing-rooms. “The defence has been excellent. One-on-one tackles are very rarely missed. People are just reading it very well – when to come hard, when to come soft, just mixing it up really well. That bodes well. It’s always a great place to start.”

“They’ve got a few very exciting backs who could break the line from anywhere,” said the Leinster scrumhalf of the home side, “and in fairness I don’t think we could have switched off at any stage.”

Reddan’s customary speed to the breakdown and sharp service was instrumental to Leinster’s recycling dominance in the first half and the ex-Munster and Wasps player is beginning to look more comfortable with every outing. So are his team-mates with him, though they’ll become even more aware of breaks like Reddan’s late snipe which foundered for lack of support.

“I’m really enjoying it. It’s a good tempo here, the guys all like to play at a high tempo. Everyone’s been really good, the coach has been brilliant. It’s been an easy place to settle in for me. Everyone’s been very good to me, I mean that. Brilliant.”

“We knew we had to start well to get ourselves into the game and to try and keep the crowd as muted as possible and we did that,” said Michael Cheika. “Everyone knew their role, we changed the team around for certain reasons and everyone was committed to going through whatever it took. It took a huge work rate, that got us our prize.”

Cheika also praised the set-pieces, though he would have liked his team to put more pressure on the Brive throw. The return of CJ van der Linde for his first outing since January was also a positive, as was the improved work at the breakdown.

“It was a bit lower, we didn’t really turn over too many. We were disappointed to concede the try with the fellah coming through the ruck,” said the coach in reference to the first try conceded by Leinster in three matches.

“We were just consistent in what we knew we had to do, and if you want to be successful down here you have to do that. Emotion won’t get you through, you’ve got to be on the grind, working hard for the whole 80 minutes or otherwise they get a look in.”

“What we had to do was to try and shut down any threats. Like the way that Brian (O’Driscoll) and those guys were defending around the outside there. They were very aware of the wings and the fullback, so any time there was a threat, guys were coming inside to make sure that didn’t happen.”

Cian Healy’s claims for the Irish number one jersey against Australia in four weeks’ time were surely enhanced by the events of the weekend. “He’s just learning every day a little bit more,” said Cheika, adding: “I still think there’s lots of improvement in him, like around the field; it’s just getting to know things. But obviously, given his age and where he’s coming from, we’re really happy with his progress.”

As for Nathan Hines, Cheika’s smile suggested even he has been a little surprised as to how quickly the Australian-born Scottish player has settled in. “He’s really become a very valuable member of the team in a very short period of time. Now that he’s got one game at six under his belt, hopefully we might be in a position to give him a few more.”

Andy Goode bemoaned Brive’s discipline and especially the two penalties conceded just before half-time. “Against a good team like Leinster you give them momentum and you’re in trouble. We saw what a good side they were there in the second half. The Heineken Cup is about small margins. Every time we made a small mistake Leinster killed us and that’s why they’re champions of Europe.”

“We need to look at a team like Leinster and see the precision they attack with. We can learn from them and raise our game, they’re a good, good side. They’re not unbeatable by any means. We saw London Irish beat them last week. But they were in the mood to atone for that defeat against London Irish.”