British & Irish Lion Jamie Heaslip insists Leinster’s narrow victory over Bath was one of the toughest games of his career.
Heaslip, who has made five Test appearances for the Lions across two tours, captained Leinster to an 18-15 victory with Ireland team-mate Ian Madigan kicking all 18 of his side’s points.
George Ford notched a superb solo try for the English side and set up another for Stuart Hooper but the Irish province held on despite severe late pressure.
And Heaslip is convinced that his troops’ greater experience told when it came to crunch time.
“We can take a lot of positives out of it,” said the 31-year-old. “They're on our line, they're 25 metres out in that last minute and a half, two minutes of the game.
“Someone asked me was that the experience part – a little bit of experience and a little bit of the lads showing their character. I couldn't be prouder of them.
“But at the next level, we have a massive challenge and we've got to improve.
“We're just going to rest up now. A lot of us were saying that's probably one of the fastest, toughest games we've played, including internationals. That's right up there.”
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