The reigning European champions ran in four tries to brush aside the Blues and set up a showdown with either Saracens or Clermont Auvergne.

Whichever team they end up facing Leinster are certain to be on the road, something Schmidt admits will make their task of trying to retain the crown even harder.

"The semi-final will be horrendously tough," he said. "To win away from home in a semi-final doesn't happen very often. It is an extremely tough feat to achieve.

"There was a lot of pressure and expectation on us today, and I was really happy with our execution in the first half.

"We relaxed a little bit after that, but we defended our line well. We dug in."

Leinster made sure they would reach the last four with a first-half blitz at the Aviva Stadium, Isa Nacewa, Rob Kearney and Brian O'Driscoll all running in tries. Kearney grabbed another shortly after the interval.

Pick holes

"We are in the last four, which is where we wanted to be," O'Driscoll, who was first Heineken Cup start since last season's victory over Northampton in the Millennium Stadium final, said.

"But good sides always pick holes in any victory, It was not an over-elated dressing room - we conceded too much territory and possession to be pleased - but we are in the semi-finals."

The heavy defeat capped a tough week for the Blues, who lost Jamie Roberts for the rest of the season through injury and then sacked Gavin Henson following his behaviour on a flight home from Glasgow last weekend.

"Leinster are a very good side with some exceptional players. They were constantly on the front foot in the firs -half and they found the gaps," Blues forwards coach Justin Burnell said.

"We can feel sorry for ourselves or we can get back to work on Monday. We've got three league games left, and we have got to salvage some pride."

And Blues skipper Xavier Rush added: "We couldn't get any rhythm into our game in the first half. They put us under a lot of pressure and we couldn't put much back on to them.

"You want to do better when you get to a quarter-final, but we were beaten by a better team. There is no way around it.

"We are not looking for excuses. We had a good side out there, one that I thought could compete, but Leinster are a class outfit.

"The mood is fairly quiet and sombre, but we will pick each other up."