Key events
46 min: Lowe with his siege-gun boot down the wing! It’s a 50-22 and the crowd are on their feet! Lowe runs down the wing geeing the crowd up! This is top-level entertainment.
44 min: A big shot from O’Brien on Langdon. BIG. Now Jack Conan is on for Leinster. Prendergast knocks on but in fairness to him it was an appalling pass by Gibson-Park. Pressure starting to tell?
42 min: An early mishap for Pollock hands the initiative to Leinster. But then a knock on gives Northampton a scrum on halfway. The Saints are still here to play and ask the question down the Leinster left, then it’s turned over, and Ramm collects a high kick with aplomb.
Second half kick off!
Here we go. Can Northampton pull this off?
A touch of half-time reading:
Half time! Leinster 15-27 Northampton
That was one of the best halves of rugby I’ve seen in a while. Leinster have shown plenty of quality but the sheer verve of Northampton’s attack – with one stupendous finish by Pollock and a hat-trick for Freeman, prompted by another brilliant display by Fin Smith – have rocked Leinster right back on their heels.
The problem Leinster face is that no matter how many they score after half time, it’s difficult to imagine Northampton failing to score a few more playing like this. Bring it on.
40 min: Clock in the red, Leinster pushing for a try after a knock-on by Mitchell …
Try! 38 min: Leinster 15-27 Northampton (Freeman)
OH MY GOSH! What a try! What a display by Saints! Mitchell box-kicks and Freeman does brilliantly to tap it back to Augustus around halfway. Leinster are ripped open again and Freeman runs in his hat-trick, arrowing to the left corner and over the try-line, after a wonderful one-handed offload by Augustus. Lowe and O’Brien are both desperately trying to keep Freeman out but he has too much power and pace. Smith misses the conversion, the second in quick succession.
Try! 37 min: Leinster 15-22 Northampton (Freeman)
That is a fantastic score. Freeman runs it in in the corner after some marvellous hands, including of course from Fin Smith, who is having a wonderful afternoon. Just as I type that he narrowly misses the conversion. But there is real fear here for Leinster now. If they can’t start to get on top of this scintillating Northampton attack, they are going out.
35 min: Northampton, impressively, are forcing Leinster back despite still being down to 14. Pollock’s made 51 metres in attack already. He looks knackered after a big kick-chase. The hooker, Langdon, is back from his sin-bin for Saints. Augustus was on lineout duty in his absence.
34 min: That was worth the entrance fee alone from Pollock. But Leinster overall look stronger. Bear in mind they conceded zero points in their previous two cup matches, scoring 114 themselves. So they know they are in a game.
Try! 28 min: Leinster 15-17 Northampton (Pollock)
WOW! Northampton have it on the left wing. Nothing really looks on but Mitchell feeds Pollock running a super-intelligent line through a gap he’s spotted. He scorches down the outside, around Prendergast, and touches down. Leinster look a bit nonplussed with that. What can you do? That’s just ridiculous. The commentators reckon it was Snyman out of position around the ruck, and it was a bit soft from Prendergast as the last line of defence, but what a finish. The pace of a wing from an openside. Smith converts.
25 min: Yellow card for Northampton: Langdon
Deeper trouble for Saints, they’re down to 14 men for 10 minutes.
Try! 25 min: Leinster 15-10 Northampton (Van der Flier)
Crushing pressure from Leinster and there is no way out for Northampton on this occasion. Deegan is tackled close to the line but waits for support and it’s Josh van der Flier who powers over from close range. Prendergast converts.
Penalty! 22 min: Leinster 8-10 Northampton (Smith)
Saints capitalise on that superb counterattack, and are back in the lead thanks to a kick off the tee from the England fly-half.
21 min: “C’mon Saints!” Words any self respecting Tigers fan should never utter,” emails Daniel.
“Not today, would love to see them spoil the preordained procession EPRC have organised again for Leinster.”
*Other opinions are available.
21 min: Freeman bursts from the Northampton try-line in stunning style. Smith sends a wonderful low kick left, aiming for a 50-22. O’Brien puts a foot in touch in trying to keep the ball in, and Northampton suddenly have a nice platform to attack from.
Try! 18 min: Leinster 8-7 Northampton (O’Brien)
Litchfield over-commits on the inside for Northampton and Tommy O’Brien has an easy jog in, in the corner, after a classy pass from Prendergast and some typically quick work by Gibson-Park behind the scrum. Conversion missed. Cian Healy has gone off, Andrew Porter (!?) comes on.
18 min: Attacking scrum for Leinster virtually under the posts …
15 min: Ominous from Leinster, putting Mitchell under intolerable pressure in the Saints’ 22 with a fine kick-chase. Northampton can’t relieve the pressure in the subsequent phases built by the hosts. The referee has a chat with the Northampton captain Dingwall, and tells him there are too many infringements. “Next one’s yellow isn’t it?” says Doris, standing close by. The referee Pierre Brousset smiles at him as if to say: “I’ll be the judge of that.”
Penalty! 14 min: Leinster 3-7 Northampton (Prendergast)
Pollock punished.
13 min: Pollock is buzzing around the breakdown and being an irritant. But now he takes it too far and gives away a silly penalty with a blatant shoulder charge on (I think) Doris. Anyway Sam Prendergast will kick.
10 min: Now Davison wins a breakdown penalty from Cian Healy. A great spell for the visitors. From the resulting lineout Dingwall is clattered by Ringrose, rushing out of the Leinster line, and Saints are rocked back. Saints are here to play though, no doubt about it.
Try! 7 min: Leinster 0-7 Northampton (Freeman)
Belting score. Ramm fields a kick in the Saints 22. He runs towards halfway and feeds Fin Smith who is running a sensational line. Smith sees space behind and kicks ahead for Tommy Freeman to collect and touch down despite the desperate efforts of Gibson-Park. WHAT a fantastic score. Smith strokes over a confident conversion.
7 min: Northampton work through a few phases in attack. Smith and Mitchell both get hands on it. But the physicality of the Leinster defence is noticeable.
5 min: A knock-on by Juarno Augustus comes from Saints’ first chance to attack. Disappointing but the Northampton coachs will be pleased with the defensive structure and effort thus far.
4 min: James Ramm kicks from full-back for Saints. Prendergast kicks it back. Then Mitchell … then Lowe … who is penalised after a tackle and Northampton can gain some territory.
3 min: Exceptional maul defence from Northampton to drive Leinster back. Scrum for Saints, and a free-kick for early engagement by Leinster.
2 min: Mitchell box kicks after one phase for Northampton. Leinster win a penalty for hands on the floor. The Saints are pinned back immediately with a penalty to the corner.
First half kick-off!
Go.
Dowson mentioned the weather: It’s sunny and 14C in Dublin, but will feel warmer than that in the stadium.
The teams are lined up in the tunnel … and here they come.
Leinster winning their previous two Champions Cup games 114-0 on aggregate is intimidating form to say the least.
“We’ve got to create our own memories,” says Northampton’s Phil Dowson.
“The experience of playing at Croke Park helped us in some of the big games towards the back end of last season. Again, it comes down to performance, and how well we execute today.
“We’ve been inconsistent in the league, inconsistent in selection … but we’ve got some guys playing some very good rugby and we look forward to putting that to the test today.
“We have to execute our jobs. The 6-2 on the bench: the big boys will be working out there in the heat, and they’ll need to be replaced.”
“Northampton have had strong form in the Champions Cup,” says Leo Cullen. “We know there is some serious threat across the board. We know it’s going to be a totally different challenge today. [Leinster’s previous two results in the cup were 62-0 against Quins and 52-0 against Glasgow.]
“We have a lot of respect for them, it’ll be a tough test for us.”
“We’ve struggled with a few injuries,” Alex Mitchell tells Premier Sports of the Saints’ season. “Our performance have been up and down. It’s been a frustrating season but we are pushing back up the table … in the Champions Cup we’ve been fantastic.
“We like to move the ball, play with tempo and score tries … I’ve loved being back [from injury] and I try and get Northampton to tick. I look for spaces on the edge, fish for defenders, try and get someone to bite and then put someone else through a hole.
On Henry Pollock: “I personally love him, it’s good to have a bit of personality … he’s a really nice lad at heart. It’s great to have that energy and that buzz, especially from a younger player … he’s backing it up and playing well.”
Australia’s women’s side, AKA the Wallaroos, defeated their Fijian counterparts overnight. Angus Fontaine has the story:
“The Wallaroos have sent a warning shot to the world with a powerful 43-7 victory over Fiji in Suva to give coach Jo Yapp’s new-look Australian side a welcome jolt of confidence as they prepare for the Rugby World Cup in England this August.”
Hugo Keenan at full-back, Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw in the centres, James Lowe for Leinster … there is world-class quality everywhere.
In more punditry news, Kearney believes that Fin Smith has the kicking game to punch a few holes in the Leinster blitz defence.
Jordie Barrett on the Leinster bench? Ludicrous. Caelan Doris and Josh Van der Flier in the back row, RG Snyman at lock, Dan Sheehan in the front row. Stop it!
Henry Pollock has had a big year too, of course.
Gerard Meagher spoke to him:
I’d have to agree with Dallaglio. No question that Northampton can hurt Leinster in attack – there aren’t many better combinations than Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith at No 9 and No 10. But can the Saints forwards earn the necessary platform?
Team news
Just the 14 changes for Leinster. Cian Healy is the only player still in the starting lineup from their previous URC match. The some-time England full-back George Furbank misses out for Northampton with an arm injury, which is a big miss. Trevor Davison comes into the front row in the only change to Phil Dowson’s lineup after the Premiership win against Bristol last weekend.
Leinster: Keenan; O’Brien, Ringrose, Henshaw, Lowe; Prendergast, Gibson-Park; Healy, Sheehan, Furlong, Snyman, McCarthy, Deegan, Van der Flier, Doris (capt.). Replacements: Kelleher, Porter, Slimani, Baird, Conan, McGrath, R Byrne, Barrett.
Northampton Saints: Ramm; Freeman, Dingwall (capt.), Hutchinson, Litchfield; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Mayanavanua, Coles, Kemeny, Pollock, Augustus. Replacements: Walker, West, Millar Mills, Lockett, Munga, Scott-Young, James, Seabrook.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Rob Kearney says the Aviva Stadium venue is an unfair advantage for Leinster. Thoughts? Why not email me.
“Northampton can win,” says Lawrence Dallaglio. “They’ve got quality in their team. But the big challenge for me is up front … have they got the bottle, what it takes up front? Can they survive the intensity from Leinster? If they can do that they can win.
“Northampton have got to be 100%,” chips in the Bristol Bears head coach, Pat Lam, on pundit duty. “Lineout lifters, ball carriers presenting the way it should be … domination on defence … making sure when you see Ringrose and Henshaw flying that you’re close enough … not for one minute, for 80 minutes.”
“It’s a different Leinster team,” Rob Kearney says on Premier Sports. “They’ve had the heartache of the last few years, so there is more pressure on them … they have reinforcements … this is as good a chance as they’ve had in the past few years.
“You don’t want to put too much pressure on one team. But it has to be this year, for this Leinster team.”
Preamble
Encore une fois. For the second year running the Champions Cup has thrown up a Leinster v Northampton semi-final hosted by the Irish province. A James Lowe hat-trick appeared to have sealed the deal for Leinster last year – and ultimately it did – but a late Saints fightback in the final quarter after an error-strewn start saw them go down by just three points.
Northampton’s domestic form has been erratic, to say the least, and they find themselves seventh in the Premiership having lost eight of 15 matches. It was always likely they’d miss Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam, both now playing in France, but no one predicted they would be quite so off the pace.
Leinster, meanwhile, top the United Rugby Championship table and are heavy favourites to progress from here to yet another final against French opposition: they were defeated by La Rochelle twice, in 2022 and 2023, before falling to Toulouse at Tottenham Stadium last season. Bordeaux or Toulouse will await today’s victors in Cardiff later this month. Will it be deja vu all over again? As far as today’s semi-final is concerned, it already is.
Kick-off: 5.30pm
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