Northampton Saints 26

Leinster 34 

LEINSTER HELD OFF a storming second-half comeback from Northampton Saints to make it three pre-season wins from three with victory over their Champions Cup pool opponents this evening.

Leo Cullen’s side scored five tries in a high-scoring friendly at Franklin’s Gardens as they followed up wins over Coventry and Canada with another useful work-out ahead of their Pro14 season opener in two weeks.

First-half tries from Jimmy O’Brien, Caelan Doris and Peter Dooley set the province on their way as Cullen’s men led 22-7 at the break, but the Saints responded in kind to turn the game on its head in the second period.

With the hosts storming into a 26-22 lead with 15 minutes left on the clock, Leinster found another gear and pulled clear for victory in the closing stages thanks to scores from Rory O’Loughlin and O’Brien’s second.

The sides will meet again later in the season, when they go head-to-head in rounds three and four of the Champions Cup, but before that Leinster’s focus now turns to their Pro14 opener against Benetton on 28 September.

With the warm-up games out of the way, Murray, Bernard and Gavan discuss the renewed cause for optimism, impressive individual player form, and a potential quarter-final versus either South Africa or New Zealand.

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