Leinster head coach Joe Schmidt admitted he was far from delighted despite his side winning 33-14 with a bonus point against the Scarlets.
The Heineken Cup holders scored their fourth try by the 44th minute at the RDS, with Rob Kearney adding to first half-efforts from prop Cian Healy, flank Shane Jennings and wing Luke Fitzgerald.
Five points boosted the Irish province's chances of sneaking into the knockout stages, but qualification could yet come down to the number of tries scored, with Schmidt left disappointed by their lack of clinical edge on Saturday.
"There already are (regrets). There are at least two more we should have got, one more where I felt there was good space and the ball was knocked down," Schmidt said.
"There is frustration but the reality is we are where we are and this is what we can plan to do and try to execute it."
Clermont cannot be caught at the top of Pool 5 but Leinster retain hope of qualifying as one of the two best runners-up, although a big win is needed against Exeter next weekend as well as some favourable results elsewhere.
"Leicester and Toulouse are both ahead of us but they have got to play each other. They can nullify that a little bit. I have a lot of respect for (Montpellier coach) Fabien Galthie," added Schmidt.
"He is a guy I have had a lot of chats with over the years, but I would like to see him beaten. It's dog-eat-dog at this stage of the competition really."
Comments
Toulousain says...
@shrimps, jacky lorenzetti is the multi-millionaire owner of racing metro..... in talks with sexton (see other story) and plenty of others......
by the way, a simple 3-0 to montpol next weekend would also be enough. rct only need a losing bonus point to guarantee home qf.
Posted 11:34 14th January 2013
shrimps says...
Toulousain whose jacky?
Posted 22:23 13th January 2013
Toulousain says...
pour une fois on est d'accord mon cher leinster!
le vrai cauchemar serait:
montpol (4 tries + the win) vs rct (4 tries + the losing bonus point)
munster (4 tries + the win) vs rm92 (doesn't matter what they get)
you would be out.
we would need to win away at welford road just to get an away qf vs asm.
i just don't trust mourad and jacky not to fix this one! too much money floating around.....
(by the way, well played yesterday. garces was terrible as always. but your guys showed what nietzsche would have called "wille zur macht". Unstoppable!!)
courage mon vieux :-)
Posted 17:49 13th January 2013
jimbosim says...
Dont know what the fuss is about, Leinster are knowwhere near good enough to win the Heineken this year. In my opinion they should be happy finishing second in the group. Well done and get over it - Someone else's turn this year!!
Posted 17:29 13th January 2013
leinster_goy says...
j'suis d'accord, ma chérie. the possible permutations next week are fascinating. but touloncester city's need to win in montpellier is now actually more urgent than most people think. here's how i see it:
1. clermont and harlequins are destined for 28/29 points and a home QF. admittedly, for quins it's a little more up in the air but even playing at home, biarritz have been extremely mediocre this season. quins should win comfortably
2. the other 2 home QFs are going to be battled out between ulster, saracens, toulon and probably toulouse. saracens play a rubbish edinburgh side at home next week, so will surely finish with 23 points. ulster are up against a castres team who are now out and who never try in the Heino anyway - they should win and get at least 23 points too. that means that les toulonnais, currently on 23, can't really send a weak team to montpellier, lose and still expect the home QF. they need to go to montpellier and win - which, interestingly, they've already done this season in the top 14
3. toulon beating montpellier would ultimately make the two runner-up slots Leinster's and munster's to lose. it'll be very interesting to see how racing approach the game at thomond. they, like castres, are out and not traditionally keen on the european cup. then again, munster are not certain of scoring 4 tries at the moment, even at home, given their current form. as for Leinster, getting 4 tries away to exeter is no certainty...but crucially we have the motivation, and they don't (they're eliminated, with no chance even of an amlin spot), which gives us a real chance
so in conclusion: if toulonchester city are serious about the Heino this year - and they have clearly shown so far that they are - then they will want a home QF. to get that, they need to win next week. and i think they will ;-)
Posted 16:10 13th January 2013
Toulousain says...
Assuming Munster get a win today at Murrayfield and go to 15 (or even 16?) points, Leinster's future is down to two men. Mourad and Jacky. The money men of T14. If both their teams lose (accidentally?) on the last day, Leinster (and also Toulouse, let's not forget, since that is Mourad's/Jacky's real aim) can put their feet up for the rest of the season.
Welcome back to French rugby politics Joe. Punched to the canvas on the field by ASM, but dealt the coup de grace in the boardrooms of RM92 and RCT....
Posted 10:20 13th January 2013
curates_egg says...
A very in accurate performance. Leinster should have had at least a couple more. Whether through their own errors or the constant Scarlets infringing at the breakdown (which was never penalised), they left this game with less than they should have.
It may not matter anyway but, if they end up going out because of tries scored (or not scored), they can certainly point to the second half last night as a missed opportunity.
Posted 10:15 13th January 2013