Leinster 11 (6)
Tries: Horgan.
Pens: Contepomi 2.

Cardiff Blues ended Leinster's Magners League title hopes with a bonus-point win at the Arms Park to move above the Irish and briefly go top of the table.

But the result left the door open for the Ospreys, who became champions on Saturday with a win at Border Reivers.

Robin Sowden-Taylor, Gareth Williams, Rhys Williams and Marc Stcherbina all crossed in a dominant Blues display.

Leinster never flowed on a muddy pitch, managing a Shane Horgan try and six points from Felipe Contepomi's boot.

Highlights: Blues 27-11 Leinster

Interview: Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young

Interview: Leinster coach Michael Cheika

The Irish entered the match knowing that a win plus a bonus point for scoring at least four tries would secure the title, regardless of how the Ospreys performed in Scotland.

But any thoughts that Leinster had of taking the game by the scruff of the neck were undone within six minutes as Sowden-Taylor put the Blues ahead.

606: DEBATE Cardiff Blues were superb BB

Nick Robinson made the crucial break, accelerating past a surprised Keith Gleeson and then timing his pass to Sowden-Taylor to perfection.

The open-side stepped smartly inside wing Denis Hickie to cross the Leinster line, although Ben Blair missed the conversion.

Contepomi, who earlier in the day heard he had qualified as a doctor, got the Irish on the scoreboard with a brace of penalties, bracketing one from Blair for the home side.

The heavy rain over the past few days had made the pitch sticky and the handling sometimes unsure.

So it was little surprise that the next score was a forward effort, as the Blues opted for a five-metre line-out to maul hooker Gareth Williams over for an unconverted try.

That saw the Blues take a 13-6 lead into the second half and leave Leinster's title hopes teetering on the edge.

The picture for the Irish got even worse as the Blues produced two quick tries to boost their own pursuit of the Celtic crown.

The first was engineered by Nick Robinson whose fine cross-kick was fielded by Chris Czekaj on the right to send full-back Rhys Williams over, Robinson converting.

It's two years in a row now we've lost the title on the last weekend Leinster coach Michael Cheika

Then Stcherbina was the beneficiary of a muffed chip from Horgan.

The kick failed to clear the Australian centre, was gathered and then deposited over the line for another seven-pointer that also earned a precious bonus point.

Horgan made amends on 55 minutes when his grubber was miss-fielded by Rhys Williams, allowing the Ireland back to hack on and touch down.

But Contepomi missed the conversion and then found himself sin-binned after taking out a jumping Jamie Robinson in mid-air.

Leinster survived the 10 minutes a man down without shipping any more points, but they needed more than just survival.

Hickie and Gordon D'Arcy continued to make ground, but any breaks the pacy duo made either petered out through a lack of support or were ended by handling errors as the visitors tried to force the pace.

The Blues exited the field knowing they had done everything in their power for a first Magners League title.

But events the following day at Netherdale saw the title slip through the Blues' fingers as their fierce Welsh rivals the Ospreys pip them to the title by a point after beating Borders.