RUGBY/Celtic League/Leinster 38 The Ospreys 21: The best thing to do after falling off a bike, we've all been told from generation to generation, is to hop straight back on.
In the last week of all weeks, there wouldn't have been enough balm to apply to Leinster's wounds, most of them mental and emotional anyway, and this was even more restorative than 80 minutes on psychiatric couches.
As expected, their more fickle, fair-weather friends were absent, but in the fallout of last week, and with a televised Saturday evening kick-off on a sunny, bank holiday weekend, a turnout of 6,455 was actually pretty commendable in the circumstances.
The attendance included an English stag party adorned in sombreros, and they sang continually for the cause, peppering the evening with salutes to the Leinster players, none more so than Felipe Contepomi.
"A lot of them genuinely came out to try and make us feel better," observed Cheika in appreciation, prior to a knees-up with the supporters' club.
"It's a building process. We're not ever going to be like Munster. We've got to have our own identity and it grows, like all relationships do, as our game and our team is trying to do. It's something we've tried to work on since the start of the year and we feel we're being successful with it."
Buoyed and roared on by their core support, after a stuttering start Leinster rounded off their home campaign with a trademark bonus point win that keeps them top of the Celtic League.
They now take their bikes on the road for treks to Glasgow, Cardiff and Edinburgh with a real chance of lifting their most tangible silverware since their inaugural Celtic League triumph of four seasons ago, and securing Irish top seeding in next season's Heineken European Cup draw.
Cheika, who has preached the virtue of consistency, was particularly pleased with his team's aggression and ability to build phases in the face of the Ospreys' blitz defence. They gradually did so, often with Contepomi attacking the outhalf channel himself or going back inside to target runners, or kicking over the advancing line.
It helped that they had a pretty good supply of quality lineout ball, the value of which was demonstrated by Guy Easterby, try-hungry as of yore in what's been a selfless campaign by someone Cheika described as Leinster's most improved player of the season, looping around the outside of a narrow defence and straightening through for the first of his two tries.
Contepomi handed off the vulnerable Matthew Jones for his 14th try in his last 19 matches, a phenomenal strike-rate given all but the first of them have been at outhalf, and he eventually finished with 18 points, to take his tally for the season to 378 from 24 matches. You can't keep a good man down.
"The only place you can try and do things when you cop flak is back out on the pitch," said Cheika.
In truth, Leinster might have wreaked greater damage. Twice more they were over the line, and Girvan Dempsey should have put Kieran Lewis over, during spells of concerted pressure.
Eventually, Easterby's second, after strong running and well-timed passes by Bernard Jackman and Jamie Heaslip, before he returned the compliment for Heaslip after Contepomi, helped by Keith Gleeson, had been the orchestrator-in-chief, ensured the bonus point before the pack had their deserving reward when Niall Ronan plundered the fifth.
Eric Miller, as he's been doing since announcing what seems more and more like a premature retirement, revelled along with his fellow backrowers in the link play of backs and forwards on the open spaces of Lansdowne Road, and in an emotive farewell on Irish soil fittingly made off with the man-of-the-match award.
His post-match thoughts interrupted by David Knox's assertion that he will not be retiring, Miller was adamant his decision would stand: "I've other things to do. I'm ready to move on. A lot of guys struggle if they don't know what to do next when they retire but I've got other things and I'm looking forward to it."
One of those includes returning to Gaelic football, perhaps with his old club Ballyboden St Enda's. He heads off into the sunset content with his lot.
"I'm delighted with what I've achieved. Obviously a lot of it was in the early days, and I've had a lot of ups and downs, but a lot more highs than lows as they say."
The Leinster players noted Miller had argued with them all repeatedly, proof that he is back to his old self, and he admitted his farewell reception from the crowd, and a guard of honour from his peers, brought a lump to his throat.
Ospreys, whose injury list and Anglo-Welsh Cup distractions have denied them momentum, disappointed save for a well-worked blindside try for replacement Johnny Vaughton and the boot of Gavin Henson, who also showed how difficult he is to stop from close range with a late consolation try.
It leaves them in a fair old Welsh dogfight to ensure European Cup qualification but they should make it, and as the signing of the former All Black Justin Marshall from Leeds underlines, they remain an ambitious, forward-looking club.
So too are Leinster, and their season ain't finished yet.
Scoring sequence: 9 mins: Contepomi pen 3-0; 13: Henson pen 3-3; 17: Henson 3-6; 19: Easterby try, Contepomi con 10-6; 36: Contepomi try and con 17-6; 40: Contepomi pen 20-6; (half-time 20-6); 43: Henson pen 20-9; 53: Contepomi pen 23-9; 58: Easterby try 28-9; 62: Vaughton try 28-14; 65: Heaslip try 33-14; 75: Ronan try 38-14; 80: Henson try and con 38-21.
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; G D'Arcy, K Lewis, S Horgan, D Hickie; F Contepomi (capt), G Easterby; R McCormack, B Jackman, W Green; A Byrnes, M O'Kelly; E Miller, K Gleeson, J Heaslip. Replacements: B Gissing for Byrne (51 mins), B Blaney for Jackman (63 mins), R Kearney for Horgan (66 mins), N Ronan for Heaslip (67 mins), J Hepworth for Contepomi (70 mins), E Byrne for Green (72 mins), B O'Meara for Easterby (75 mins).
OSPREYS: S Terblanche; R Mustoe, S Parker, G Henson, D Karauna; M Jones, J Spice; D Jones (capt), H Bennett, A Jones; A W Jones, I Evans; J Bater, J Thomas, A Lloyd. Replacements: J Vaughton for Terblanche (46 mins), R Pugh for Lloyd (56 mins), R Hibbard for Bennett (62 mins), M Roberts for Spice, A Bishop for M Jones (both 70 mins), C Griffiths for A Jones (73 mins). Not used: L Bateman.
Referee: D Changleng (Scotland).
