Whoever said revenge was a dish best served cold should have been at the Aviva Stadium last night as Joe Schmidt's team provided a piping hot meal of first class rugby to win 24-8.

Clermont had talked the talk about respect in the run-up to this match, but when it was put up to them, they had little brain to go with the undoubted brawn in their line. Instead, it was Leinster who had the game plan to keep their bigger and less mobile opponents in oxygen depth with their game variation.

Cian Healy had one of those games which finally said he has grown up in that manliest of all areas in the front row.

But it was the marauding back row led by the irrepressible Seán O'Brien, allied to the central pairing of the returning Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy which provided the foundations for this magnificent victory.

It means Leinster can go forward as pool winners if they win one of their last two games against Saracens and Racing Metro in the New Year.

In the Recreation Ground, Ulster showed they mean business this season by producing magnificent back-to-back victories over their hosts, but for a Paul O'Connell-less Munster, it won't be the happiest Christmas of all time.

They played second fiddle in the scrums and now captain Denis Leamy believes his team must win their remaining two group games to maintain hopes of a 13th successive Heineken Cup quarter-final appearance.

The European champions in 2006 and 2008 slipped to a 19-15 defeat against Pool Three rivals the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium. Dan Biggar kicked 14 points, including the conversion of Mike Phillips' try, while Munster managed touchdowns by Tony Buckley and Keith Earls, but they were smashed in the scrums by a dominant Ospreys front-row.