Jonathan Sexton converted a late penalty to ensure reigning champions Leinster began their Heineken Cup campaign with a draw at Montpellier this afternoon.

Benoit Paillaugue put the French hosts in front with a penalty, but two kicks from Sexton put Leinster in front with just over 17 minutes played.

Montpellier opened up a half-time advantage after 23 minutes when Fulgence Ouedraogo went over for the first try of the tie, which was converted by Paillaugue.

Josef Schmidt's Leinster claimed a try of their own after the break courtesy of replacement hooker Sean Cronin with 66 minutes played, cancelling out an early penalty from Montpellier's Francois Trinh-Duc.

Sexton followed up Cronin's effort by kicking over the conversion, and with just seconds left, the 26-year-old kept his cool to convert the penalty, which handed his side a share of the spoils.