Gordon D'Arcy smiled as he accepted the kudos, the boyish grin a reminder of his tender years, something occasionally forgotten in charting his phenomenal progress from schoolboy star to fledgling interprovincial.
Six months ago the 18-year-old full back inspired Clongowes Wood College to a Leinster Schools' Senior Cup title, on Saturday he scored a match-winning try for Leinster as they stole a European Cup victory. His maturity and sense of perspective regarding what he has achieved in such a short time show why no challenge appears to faze him.
Girvan Dempsey's unfortunate late bout of sickness offered D'Arcy an opportunity, one which the young Lansdowne player grasped with an elan and composure that belied the surroundings.
Llanelli had never bowed before any European Cup opposition at Stradey Park, a formidable record, and D'Arcy would also have to contend with marking international wing Wayne Proctor.
The upshot? Llanelli's proud boast is no more and Proctor was left to grasp thin air on more than one occasion. None more important than in the 78th minute when, a little goosestep and change of pace allowed D'Arcy to race over unopposed for an excellent try whose origin could be traced to Kevin Nowlan's scintillating break.
Asked to articulate his feelings in the shadow of the Leinster team bus 20 minutes after the end of the match, D'Arcy preferred to deflect any praise. "It was definitely the biggest match of my life so far. I wasn't nervous because the other players were very supportive.
"The try was down to others like Craig Brownlie who turned over the ball under our posts, Brian Carey, Shane Horgan and Kevin. I just had to take it in." That he managed with great confidence and execution even providing coach Mike Ruddock with palpitations as the youngster tiptoed along the dead ball line.
It signalled a great escape for Leinster as they had courted disaster all afternoon, spurning three clear-cut try scoring chances through elementary errors and poor decision-making. A ridiculously high penalty count, partially explained by the over-fussy referee Didier Mene, hampered Leinster's best intentions and reduced much of their play to error-ridden, stacatto fare.
Yet despite self-inflicted wounds they demonstrated great character and self-belief to haul themselves back from the brink.
Throughout the match Victor Costello, Shane Byrne, Brownlie, Martin Ridge, the excellent Nowlan - Ruddock described him as "a better player now than when he was capped" - offered little cameos of the potency that Leinster can conjure.
The scrum, which forged a penalty try, was hugely impressive, often leaving the Llanelli eight a twisted mass of bodies: Henry Hurley and Emmet Byrne performed superbly, equally as capable against the Welsh club's first and second-choice props. One must acknowledge Alan McGowan's place-kicking which yielded 18 points, some exceptionally hard hitting with Trevor Brennan in the van and some effective last ditch defence.
Accentuating the positives can not mask several shortcomings that will need to be addressed prior to the visit of Stade Francais to Donnybrook next Friday. An over-reliance on, and poorly directed, box kicks, handling errors, avoidable transgressions and predictable distribution behind the scrum.
In contrast Llanelli looked sharp and incisive behind the scrum when they upped the tempo of the match through quick throw-ins and in running back kicks. They simply could not match Leinster's power in the tight: an injury to out-half Stephen Jones did not help.
Leinster's performance, though, should not deflect from the acquisition of two precious points. Leinster coach Mike Ruddock conceded: "We toughed it out even though we did not play well and came away with a victory. We did not click on the day, but we had the character to come through in the end.
"We have shown in the Connacht, Edinburgh and now Llanelli games that we can win tight matches. It's a habit we are hoping to continue developing. We created chances even though we did not finish them off but at least we are forcing opportunities."
Ruddock will now plan for the visit of Stade Francais, awaiting a report from his Leinster A coaching team of Willie Dawson and Brent Pope, who travelled to watch the Parisian side take on Begles-Bordeaux. A two-day Irish squad training camp today and tomorrow will not be allowed to distract the players.
Ruddock acknowledged that this victory was merely the first step, albeit a giant stride.
Scoring sequence: 3 mins: McGowan penalty, 0-3; 6: S Jones penalty, 3-3; 13: S Byrne try, McGowan conversion, 3-10; 23: S Jones penalty, 6-10; 26: McGowan penalty, 6-13; 32: S Jones penalty, 9-13; 40: Warlow penalty, 12-13; 40: Warlow penalty, 15-13. 42: McGowan penalty, 15-16; 46: Hodges try, 20-16; 50: McGowan penalty, 20-19; 58: Evans try, Warlow conversion, 27-19; 61: penalty try, McGowan conversion, 27-26; 78: D'Arcy try, McGowan conversion, 27-33.
Llanelli: D Williams; W Proctor, N Boobyer, R Boobyer, G Evans; S Jones, A Thomas; P Booth, R McBryde (capt), S Gale; C Wyatt, M Voyle; D Hodges, H Jenkins, I Jones. Replacements: I Boobyer for Jenkins, 21 mins; C Warlow for Jones, 34 mins; A Jones for Booth, 54 mins; M Madden for Gale, 54 mins.
Leinster: K Nowlan; D Hickie, S Horgan, M Ridge, G D'Arcy; A McGowan, D Hegarty; H Hurley, S Byrne, E Byrne; G Fulcher (capt), P Holden; T Brennan, V Costello, C Brownlie. Replacements: B Carey for Ridge, 59 mins; P Smyth for S Byrne, 59 mins; D O'Brien for Brennan, 64 mins; H Kos for Holden, 70 mins.
Referee: D Mene (France).
