Leinster coach Michael Cheika paid tribute to opposite number, Brive's Ugo Mola, after the Irish team's 27-10 victory.
Leinster keep Heineken Cup defence on track
Leinster coach Michael Cheika paid tribute to opposite number, Brive's Ugo Mola, after the Irish team claimed a 27-10 victory at the RDS.
The reigning Heineken Cup champions were made to work hard for their fourth win in Pool Six, which has them move five points clear of chief rivals London Irish ahead of their visit to Parc y Scarlets on Sunday.
Despite having nothing but pride to play for, Brive put in a spirited effort throughout and were rewarded with second half tries from Retief Uys and Scott Spedding.
But Leinster put themselves within reach of the bonus point with a penalty try and second half touchdowns from Isa Nacewa and Gordon D'Arcy, while Brian O'Driscoll - brilliantly teed up by Shane Horgan's flipped pass - crossed for the fourth score in the dying seconds.
Cheika said: "Brive came with a lot of fight and I thought they played very well and it's a credit to their new coaches - they've brought them forward.
"At half-time we spoke and said 'this is European Cup football and nothing's easy, don't expect anything...you have to earn everything you get and it wasn't going well for us'.
Physical
"But I think it's a good learning opportunity for us and probably what we needed - a good physical battle before next weekend."
Leinster will watch how London Irish get on in Wales before preparing for a mouth-watering pool decider with Irish at Twickenham on January 23.
Reflecting on the drive his side showed to net that late bonus point, Cheika said that that was typical of the spirit which exists in the province's squad.
"Hopefully that's what Leinster Rugby is all about - we believe in ourselves and when it needed to be executed right, they backed themselves and got it done," he added.
The Australian noted that a win next week would guarantee Leinster a home quarter-final, something he is yet to achieve with the province.
"I still haven't delivered a home quarter-final to Leinster and our fans and we're really committed to deliver that," he said.
Meanwhile, Mola said he thought Leinster were already looking towards their next match in the competition and that may have explained why the home side left if late to secure the bonud point.
"They were already thinking about London Irish more than us tonight," he said.
Squad ethic
Discussing his new role, Mola said he has tried to bring a squad ethic to the club.
"We made a lot of changes today but for us the most important thing is not the team, but the squad," Mola said.
"We worked hard to get to the Heineken Cup and if we want to have a good squad spirit it is very important to have 35 or 36 players playing a lot."
He indicated that he may not play his strongest side in their next game against the Scarlets.
Mola explained: "Because we are playing Montauban shortly after that, it is a more important game for us because maybe we can get into the top six, but we don't want to finish the pool with no points because the players deserve a point."
