Michael Cheika's Leinster had lost two titles on two consecutive final days and Cheika was - at the time - still a relatively inexperienced coach, but any questions that arose about his leadership were answered conclusively by the season's end as the GUINNESS PRO12's most successful side clinched their second of four titles.
With 3.79 tries per game, it was then the lowest scoring edition of the Celtic League, but Munster - who finished third behind Cardiff Blues and Leinster - claimed the European crown, showing the quality inherent to Celtic rugby.
The Early Winners:
Despite their off-season acquisitions, defending champions the Ospreys failed to fire when they kicked off with two Welsh derbies against the Blues and the Scarlets.
Nicky Robinson's four penalties exacted a measure of revenge for the Blues' own Ospreys-induced end-of-season travails in a 17-15 win before Scarlets compounded the Liberty Stadium gloom through an Adam Eustace try.
By the turn of the year, Ospreys had only three wins, claiming just three more by the end of the season to finish a disappointing sixth.
The Welsh sides had kicked off before the rest of the league began and by October 12, Dai Young's Cardiff side already had five wins from six under their belt and looked in ominous form as they looked to go one better than the previous year.
Leinster had a topsy-turvy start to the season. When they arrived at BT Cardiff Arms Park in round two, the Blues were unbeaten in 17 successive league games at home, but Leinster showed every inch of the ruthless finishing that would come to be their trademark over the coming years in toppling them 30-19.
It was a glimpse of their future in many ways - Luke Fitzgerald crossed twice, Jonny Sexton racked up two penalties, two conversions and a try for 15 points and future captain Jamie Heaslip also scored.
In the next round though, Cheika's side looked a shadow of themselves against the Scarlets. They lost 52-23, thanks largely to a ten-minute second-half blitz that saw Jon Edwards cross twice, along with Regan King and James Baxter - it was the Welsh region's first ever win away to the Irishmen.
Their form seemed a distant prospect again in losing to Glasgow Warriors and drawing 16-16 with Ulster in successive weeks, but two late Gordon D'Arcy tries against Connacht in round six sparked a run of ten consecutive wins that would carry them to within touching distance of the trophy that had proved so elusive in the previous two years.
Run-in:
The Blues' early-season form deserted them just as Leinster well and truly hit their straps. They could muster only one Ben Blair penalty to Hook's 17 points and a Huw Bennett try as they fell to a badly out of form Ospreys side 22-3 on New Years' Eve before a last minute Phil Godman drop goal gave Edinburgh a rare victory at BT Cardiff Arms Park five days later.
Cheika's Leinster could not stop winning. They routed bottom-placed Ulster 29-0 on boxing day before Shane Jennings, Fitzgerald, Heaslip and Stephen Keogh helped them to a five point cushion at the Celtic League summit with a 26-15 home win against the Ospreys.
By the time Brian O'Driscoll and his men claimed a 21-12 win over Munster at the RDS courtesy of six Felipe Contepomi penalties and a Jonny Sexton drop goal in round 15, they were within one victory of the title.
Edinburgh managed to put a brake on any premature celebrations after the old Leinster nerves began to creep in at BT Murrayfield.
Contepomi struck the post with an injury-time penalty which would have sealed the league with two rounds to spare, but instead they had to wait another week to clinch the crown in front of a full house at the RDS.
Newport Gwent Dragons were the victims that day as Leinster turned on the style for a 41-8 triumph and a first league title since 2002 - though the Men of Gwent did turn over this result against the same opposition in round 18. South Afrian prop Ollie Le Roux opened the scoring within four minutes on his final Leinster appearance and had another inside ten minutes before O'Driscoll's offload sent Shane Horgan over for a 20-3 half-time lead.
Jennings, Chris Whitaker, Cameron Jowitt all scored after the interval as Cheika's side ran out comfortable victors and at long last took a well deserved second league title, condemning Dai Young's men to second-place for the second year running.
Top Scorers:
And top spot goes to? Dan Parks. The Glasgow Points machine racked up 159 points and was 29 clear of his nearest rival - Connacht's Paul Warwick. Contepomi showed why he accumulated such a vast number of points in such a short period of time for Leinster, finishing third with 126.
Ospreys' Shaun Connor did well in a team that never really took off, scoring 116 points for fourth position, while a young Rhys Priestland made his presence felt for the first time, clocking 107 for the Scarlets.
Recently recalled Wales winger Tom James, who returned to Cardiff Blues from Exeter Chiefs in the summer, crossed nine times for Young's side to be named top try-scorer. King and Jamie Roberts both ran in seven tries for joint second, while champions Leinster were represented by Horgan and Fitzgerald - whose six tries apiece was good enough for joint fourth.
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