Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says his side "dug themselves out" of a hole, after a late flurry of tries saw them beat Racing 92 36-10 at the Aviva Stadium.
The province secured the top seed in Pool A after a fourth bonus point win from four in the Champions Cup season, but it took four tries in the final 15 minutes for them to pull clear of the French side.
The hosts trailed 10-7 early in the second half after Christian Wade scored Racing's second try of the game, while they could have been further behind had Finn Russell not missed both conversions, as well as a long-distance penalty.
But after Hugo Keenan's try sent Leinster back in front on 52 minutes, they finally put daylight between themselves and Racing when Josh van der Flier touched with a quarter of an hour to go, eventually running in three more scores to put a gloss on the win.
"You've got to be very respectful, it definitely didn't feel like a 26-point win," Cullen said.
And while the Leinster coach was frustrated with his own side, who conceded 10 penalties in the opening half, he gave Racing credit for how well they frustrated Leinster in the middle third of the game.
"We were trying to say before the game that questions would be asked of us, contrary to the narrative that's out there" - Leo Cullen reflects after Leinster's hard-fought win over Racing 92 in the Aviva Stadium#HeinekenChampionsCup #rterugby pic.twitter.com/l0ATMuz2NC
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) January 21, 2023
"We had some opportunities early, just snatching at things, not quite accurate enough, little bit slow in some of our ruck arrivals.
"You see how aggressive they are with chop tackles, getting guys on the ground quickly, so they have players on the ball quickly. They come up with some big turnovers at different stages, and they're a constant threat as well.
"The pace that they have, some of the ball players they have, you just can't switch off for a second."
The hosts played the game at a high tempo in the opening half, and reaped the rewards in the final 15 minutes when Van der Flier, Keenan, Jimmy O'Brien and Garry Ringrose all crossed for tries, taking advantage of tired Racing legs.
And Cullen says his side showed a lot of nerve to find solutions to their problems out on the pitch.
"The start of the second half they scored early, and it's a bloody tight game, but credit to our guys, I thought the composure was good, and we stick to the basics, start carrying a bit better and start to recycle and move around and eventually we start to wear them down.
"It took a fair chunk of time. They stuck to the task well, and sometimes that's the way the game goes. Sometimes for whatever reason you're not quite on it, you potentially give up a few chances, but just have to stay patient, and stick to the type of game we want to play, and eventually get the rewards.
"It's a fine line, you don't want to be playing yourself into trouble either. We were definitely just a little bit off.
"If you find yourself in a hole, credit to the players, they managed to dig themselves out of it and finish the game strongly which is good. Again, the bench added good impact."
With a Six Nations just around the corner, supporters watched on nervously as Ringrose shipped a heavy blow to the ribs while scoring his try in the final minute, and there were also minor knocks to Caelan Doris and Van der Flier, but Cullen says the injury report shows "nothing too major" right now.
The Leinster boss will be working with a depleted squad this week, with 20 of his players unavailable as they link up with Ireland's Six Nations squad.
And it will allow some of the fringe members of the group to make an impression when they welcome Cardiff to the RDS on Saturday.
"You need that healthy competition, you need quality training to produce quality performances.
"The group just needs to continue to work hard. It’s been well documented that we have a fair chunk of guys who are missing now for the next while and it’s a different challenge now for the group, because we’re back to URC action next week against Cardiff and it’s going to present great opportunities for a number of players to showcase what they can do now.
"We’ll have a smaller group but I’m really looking forward to this week coming against Cardiff, it will be a great challenge for us as a group. Then we have the period during the Six Nations with a bit of training time to keep guys progressing."
