Well, if we go by Contepomi's parameters, it was a challenge his side failed, even if it wasn't as black and white as all that. Having gone in seven-seven at the interval despite having played against a face-contorting gale - one that contained droplets of rain for maximum discomfort - the game was theirs to win in the second period. In that first half they put in a monumental defensive effort to limit the home side to just the one try, and even found time to cross the line themselves through Brian O'Driscoll, after some jaw-dropping carrying from the quite excellent back-row pair of Stephen Keogh and Jamie Heaslip who had run Gloucester ragged.

All they had to do, it appeared, was knock the ball long and feast off the home side's mistakes but despite a bright opening, in which Heaslip and Keogh were once again prominent, Leinster's set-piece game began to disintegrate and everything else fell apart from there. Not that the forwards are totally to blame.

At 10-7 in front just after the hour mark, Leinster decided to punt a penalty to the corner rather than have a go at the posts from a distance you would have backed Contepomi and they were made pay for that error of judgment from, presumably, their captain, O'Driscoll. The line-out maul came to nothing, Gloucester worked their way into Leinster territory and three minutes later Christophe Califano crossed the line from a Gloucester maul. The home side back in front, the pendulum never swung back Leinster's way.

Afterwards, Michael Cheika wore the expression of Jade Goody's PR man. You'd never have guessed that the Aussie's side were already through the last eight of the competition, because all the Leinster coach could focus on were the negatives. It was quite out of character.

"If we don't get something out of this [game] from a mental perspective, we're not going to win the cup, " he stated. "If we've got aspirations of winning it, we've got to learn from the mistakes we made in the back half of the game. The satisfaction of making it is not enough.

There's those who want to get through to the quarterfinal and there's those who want more."

The coach wasn't afraid of laying much of the blame squarely on his front five, a touch harsh perhaps considering that two failed kicks to touch by Contepomi and Denis Hickie effectively started the moves for both of Gloucester's second-half tries. "It really came to pass with about 20 minutes to go when things didn't go our way, " said the coach. "The tight five struggled and they know that, we're not afraid to admit that's one of our weaknesses because if you're afraid to admit it, you can't fix it. We're going to be working 24/7 to get it right before the next round comes. We're down, there's no doubt about it, but we're definitely not out."

At least Cheika rounded things off on a positive note, although the injury to Shane Horgan will be a worry to both him and Eddie O'Sullivan. The in-form winger was helped from the field by the Leinster medical team just before half-time with a twisted knee, and although he watched the remainder of the game from the bench, he was on crutches by the time the team arrived back in Dublin.

There's no definite prognosis available on the winger as of yet but there surely has to be a doubt about his availability for Ireland's opening Six Nations game against Wales in two weeks.

As for Leinster, they'll watch the rest of this weekend's action eagerly to find out where they must now travel for their away quarterfinal but they do have a fair bit to work to be getting on with before the last weekend in March. Their primary concern should be the line-out, which creaked badly against Gloucester, but while Cheika appears to be livid with his front five, a lot of what happened on Friday wasn't their fault. Contepomi's point about the mental challenge, made a full week before the game remember, bears more relevance.

A lot of what they need to work on is in their heads.