While the English club were edging a 67-point thriller at Benetton on Saturday, Leinster were battling to a 13-6 victory at TOP 14 leaders Lyon.

Cullen told Leinsterrugby TV: “We knew it would be tough, so there was no major surprise there. We’ve got the job done and got a win away in France.

“We’ve got Northampton [now] in back-to-back games. It’s going to be a challenge for us. They won as well, which makes it tight between the two of us. We’ll be scrapping it out for every single point.”

The Leinster boss was delighted with the way the four-time winners knuckled down on a sodden pitch, especially after having right wing Jordan Larmour yellow-carded in the 26th minute.

“There was a lot of rain early in the morning and in the lead-up to the game, so the conditions were always going to be difficult,” Cullen explained.

“I thought we started well and put a lot of pressure on Lyon at various different stages. There was probably a big moment when Jordan went to the bin and we had to hold out for a period.

“We probably had a couple of other chances we didn’t quite capitalise on. At the start of the second half it was a bit tit for tat and yet again we couldn’t quite pull clear.

“Ultimately, we needed to defend well and the guys were able to stick to the tasks. Overall, we’re pleased.”

Leinster Rugby head coach Leo Cullen predicted that the Irish province and Northampton Saints would be “scrapping it out for every single point”, after both teams maintained their 100 per cent records in Pool 1 of the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend.