HEINEKEN CUP POOL 3 Leinster (17) 20 Tries: Leek Pens: O'Meara 5 Blues (17) 17 Tries: Quinnell, Brownrigg Cons: N Robinson 2 Pens: N Robinson

A Matt Leek try had pushed the Lions into a 17-3 lead but the Blues answered with tries from Jim Brownrigg and Craig Quinnell to level the score at 17-17.

Leinster had to wait four minutes from time to break the deadlock when O'Meara was awarded the penalty.

The triumph saw Leinster go seven points clear at the top of Pool Three.

The scrum-half's flawless performance went some way to making amends for his error-strewn Heineken Cup semi-final defeat by Perpignan last season.

The most important thing was that we got the win when we were running out of steam Leinster coach Gary Ella

But his Leinster team-mates need not have made life so difficult for themselves as they threw away a comfortable lead and then had to endure over 40 scoreless minutes.

Leinster scrum-half Matt Leek, a late replacement for the injured Christian Warner, got his first Heineken Cup try in the third minute under Brownrigg's challenge in the corner.

Cardiff hit back eight minutes later, driving for 20 metres before scrum-half Nicky Robinson slotted over a penalty.

O'Meara notched his first penalty as Leinster began to attack the line in the 13th minute and he moved his cup tally past 60 points with another score not long after.

Blues lock Andy Moore handed the Lions another penalty and a loose hand by his second-row partner Quinnell, who was sin-binned, quickly saw the home side snatch a 14-point lead.

But Leinster's lack of concentration allowed the Welsh side back into the game.

A poor display of defensive kicking from full-back Girvan Dempsey saw the Blues to creep into Leinster territory.

We gave it all and are very disheartened not to have come away with something from the game Blues captain Martyn Williams

Captain Martyn Williams tapped a quick five-metre penalty to put Brownrigg over for his try on 38 minutes.

A fourth turnover of possession in Blues territory let in the returning Quinnell, who rode in on the back of John Yapp's pick-and-drive to touch down for Cardiff's second try in injury time.

A brace of conversions by Robinson saw the Blues level the scores.

And the Welsh side could have edged ahead if Keith Gleeson had not stopped Robinson with a shuddering tackle three minutes after the restart.

But O'Meara struck at the death to move the home side closer to the knockout stages of the competition.

Leinster: Dempsey, McWeeney, D'arcy, Horgan, Burke, Leek, O'Meara, Corrigan, S. Byrne, Coyle, O'Kelly, Gissing, Miller, Gleeson, Costello.
Not Used: Moran., G. Hickie, McCullen, Jennings, O'Riordan, Kearney, Quinlan.

Cardiff Blues: R. Williams, Walne, J. Robinson, Shanklin, Morgan, N. Robinson, Powell, Yapp, G. Williams, Evans, Quinnell, A. Moore, Brownrigg, N. Thomas, M. Williams.
Not Used: Crompton, Fourie, Senekal, R. Thomas, Appleyard, A. Moore, Allen.

Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (RFU).