Leinster have retained the Heineken Cup with a 42-14 win over Ulster at Twickenham Stadium.

Ulster made the early breakthrough when Ruan Pienaar kicked over a penalty, but the holders made the first significant blow as Sean O'Brien scored the first try of the match. Jonathan Sexton successfully converted the extras to give his side a 7-3 lead.

It got better for Leinster on 30 minutes when Cian Healy touched down following a marauding run through the Ulster defence from O'Brien. Sexton again completed the conversion to make the score 14-3.

Despite being overwhelmed for much of the first half, Ulster gave themselves a lifeline with the final action of the opening 40 minutes as Pienaar launched his second penalty through the posts.

Leinster came out of the blocks in emphatic fashion for the second half and they were rewarded on 46 minutes with a penalty try. Sexton then made the simple kick to give his team an 21-6 advantage.

Pienaar scored another penalty soon after to keep his side's slim hopes alive, but Sexton kicked over his first of the match to edge Leinster towards victory.

Ulster, who had worked tirelessly to keep their opponents at bay throughout the game, were rewarded for their endeavour on the hour with Dan Tuohy's score.

However, two more penalties for Sexton followed before tries from replacements Heinke van der Merwe and Sean Cronin sealed a third Heineken Cup victory in four years for Leinster.