Two Felipe Contepomi penalties were enough to set up an all-Irish last-four appointment with Munster at Croke Park with Leinster surviving a relentless Quins assault.

“That was a pretty tough game,” said Cheika. “The guys in that dressing room are broken because it was so physical.

“We had to do a lot of defending, especially in the second half. It was mental as well as physical pressure.

“We showed a lot of character to defend that lead being pinned down in our territory for so long.

“Maybe we didn’t show a lot of accuracy but there was a lot of character against a quality side.

“This is a tournament we really want to win. It will now be a massive challenge against the best team in Europe.”