Michael Cheika admitted his Leinster side were "broken" after battling to a 6-5 Heineken Cup victory over Harlequins.
Leinster coach left picking up the pieces after triumph in London
Michael Cheika admitted his Leinster side were "broken"in the dressing room after battling to a 6-5 Heineken Cup victory over Harlequins.
A pair of Felipe Contepomi penalties proved just enough to secure a last four tie against defending champions Munster at Croke Park.
But the Magners League club were forced to withstand wave after wave of Quins pressure before holding on for victory and Cheika confesses he is still picking up the pieces.
"That was a pretty tough game. The guys in that dressing room are broken because it was so physical," he said.
Pressure
"We had to do a lot of defending, especially in the second-half. It was mental as well as physical pressure.
"We showed a lot of character to defend that lead being pinned down in our territory for so long.
"Maybe we didn't show a lot of accuracy but there was a lot of character against a quality side.
"This is a tournament we really want to win. It will now be a massive challenge against the best team in Europe."
The late return of Quins fly-half Nick Evans as a blood replacement for Tom Williams caused controversy after the All Black limped off early in the second-half because of a knee problem.
His replacement Chris Malone then withdrew with a hamstring injury and shortly after Williams, who came on for Malone, was forced off with a blood injury, resulting in Evans' return.
Evans missed a drop goal attempt to win the game, but Cheika appeared to protest to the change at the time.
"We'll probably say something. We don't doubt the substitution but we are entitled to check for blood which we weren't given the opportunity to do," he said.
"That's all we were looking for. It's not that big an issue for us, our management will take it up if they see fit."
No regrets
Harlequins director of rugby Dean Richards denied there was anything sinister in Evans' return, though.
"Nick tweaked his knee halfway through the first-half. At half-time he said it was sore," he said. "We gave him 10 minutes then he came off. Putting Nick back on after Chris had pulled his hamstring was the last throw of the dice.
"I was reluctant to do it but decided we had to. Nick will be out for two to three weeks now.
"The options open to us were pretty limited. You have to know your rules."
Full-back Mike Brown crossed in the 67th minute to give Quins hope but, despite vast amounts of possession, they failed to land the decisive blow.
It was the club's first venture into the Heineken Cup quarter-finals and Richards refused to lament the lack of a fairytale ending.
"It's been a lovely journey but at the same time it's come to an end and we have to accept that," he said.
"It's never easy to get as far as we have done and not win but you have to accept it. We'll learn from this. There are no regrets.
"No one left the stadium with five minutes to go. We gave the spectators value for money and we'll continue to try to do that."
