JACKSON COLUMN: Leinster lead the cavalry in Europe

As triple winners of European's blue riband trophy, Leinster's presence in the last eight of the inaugural Champions Cup may be no more than expected but that ought in no respect lessen their achievement in getting there, not least in defiance of a long casualty list.

In the end, after six pool rounds of unrelenting ferocity, qualification came down to the finest of fine margins. Nobody came closer than Glasgow Warriors, ultimately denied in the last minute of the last pool match at Bath when one last desperate tackle stopped Sean Maitland fractionally short of the line at a time when a converted try would have put the Scots into the knock-out stage.

Leinster had to endure the sight of Andy Goode going for goal with the last kick against Wasps before securing the draw which proved just enough to ensure them qualification with the priceless advantage of a home tie to boot.

That Goode's drop goal sailed wide spared the PRO12 champions the trauma of losing a match which they ought to have had won by half-time after outplaying their English opponents over the first 40 minutes. Now they can look forward to meeting another once the dust has settled on the RBS 6 Nations.

Bath know all about the hazards of European survival in Dublin. When they were last there, on the grand stage of the Aviva Stadium for a pool match in December 2011, Leinster overwhelmed them in suitable response to a crowd of more than 46,000.

The holders, then on their way to another victorious final, against Ulster at Twickenham, ran in seven tries from Luke Fitzgerald (2), Rob Kearney, Jonny Sexton, Eoin Reddan, Rhys Ruddock and Ian Madigan in topping 50 points.

When the competition resumes during the first week of April, Leinster will hope to resume what has become the normal business of winning a quarter-final in Dublin. They have done so most recently three times in a row, starting against Clermont in 2010 (29-28), followed by Leicester (17-10) and Cardiff Blues (34-3) in each of the ensuing seasons.

This will be Leinster's sixth quarter-final in the last seven seasons when their one defeat came last season, at Toulon 29-14. If they beat Bath and if their successors as champions see Wasps off down on the Mediterranean, then the draw decrees a semi-final between teams who have monopolised the trophy since Leinster beat Northampton in 2011.

As the GUINNESS PRO12 champions take their customary seat at the top table, last season's finalists went desperately close to joining them. The nearest of near misses left Warriors' head coach Gregor Townsend pinpointing precisely how close his team had come to making it - two inches.

Having taken six points from a maximum ten from the home-away matches against Bath, the Warriors can look back in the cold light of day and realise where they fell short, ironically against another non-qualifier.

The back-to-back matches against Toulouse before Christmas proved costly on each occasion. Failure to pick up the consolation of a losing bonus point in Toulouse was nothing compared to the narrow defeat (9-12) at Scotstoun in the return six days later.

Four more PRO12 teams have made it into the last eight of the secondary European tournament, the Challenge Cup. Connacht, semi-finalists five years ago when they gave Toulon a serious run for their money, will travel to Gloucester after clinching their qualification with a great 30-20 win at La Rochelle.

Edinburgh go to London Irish on the strength of an entertaining 38-20 home win over Bordeaux-Begles at BT Murrayfield where scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne accounted for all but ten of his team's points from two tries, three conversions and four penalties.

For ancient rivalry, no quarter-final in either competition can hold a candle to the Dragons' home tie against the Blues, Newport against Cardiff in old money. The reward of home advantage is no more than the Dragons deserve for a campaign featuring five wins out of six, including the double over Stade Francais.

The East Wales neighbours once generated a world record attendance for a club match - 48,500 at the Arms Park in 1951. But there will be no question of this tie being transferred to the capital and the Millennium Stadium.

Dragons' chairman Martyn Hazell was adamant all along that it would be staged at Rodney Parade, guaranteeing a full-house 9,000.

"After a lot of speculation, we as a board have made a unanimous decision to play it our home ground," he said. "The players have worked very hard to earn home advantage so it doesn't make sense to throw it away by playing it at a neutral ground."

The Blues, safely through with a decisive win at Grenoble built on four tries without reply, have won the Challenge Cup before, which still makes them the only Welsh team to have won a European trophy.

Of those among the cast responsible for the unforgettable win over Toulon in Marseilles, only five are still there - props Scott Andrews and Gethin Jenkins (the latter following a season in Toulon since then), the veteran Tongan Taufa'ao Filise, centre Dafydd Hewitt and Wales captain Sam Warburton.

Amlin Cup Final, May 21, 2010:

Cardiff Blues 28, Toulon 21.

Blues: B Blair; L Halfpenny, C Laulala, J Roberts, C Czekaj; C Sweeney, R Rees; G Jenkins, capt., T Thomas, B Filise; B Davies, D Jones; M Molitika, M Williams, X Rush.
Substitutes: S Andrews (for Filise), P Tito (for Jones), D Hewitt (for Laulala), J Yapp (for Jenkins), G Williams (for Thomas), S Warburton (for Molitika).
Tries- Roberts, Davies, Halfpenny. Conversions- Blair 2. Penalties- Blair 2, Halfpenny.

Toulon: C Marienval; G Lovobalavu, T May, S B Williams, J Sinzelle; J Wilkinson, M Henjak, capt.,; S Taumoepeau, P Fitzgerald, D Kubriashvili; E Lozada, R Skeate; J van Niekerk, J Fernandez Lobbe, F Auelua.
Substitutes: M Kefu (for Wilkinson), P Mignoni (for Henjak), L Emmanuelli (for Taumoepeau), S Bruno (for Fitzgerald), T Ryan (for Kubriashvili), J Suta (for Lozada), T Sourice (for Auelua).
Tries - Sourice, Williams. Conversion- Wilkinson. Penalties- Wilkinson 2, May.

Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12