LEINSTER FIND THEMSELVES in the peculiar position of aiming to achieve something no team has ever managed, while at the same time striving to end a long unwanted run in the same competition.
Beat Northampton Saints at Aviva Stadium in today’s Champions Cup semi-final [KO 5.30pm, RTÉ 2/Premier Sports 1], and Leo Cullen’s team will become the first side to reach four successive Champions Cup finals. It’s an impressive feat, but one they would gladly trade to have won at least one of the previous three deciders.
Failure this year feels almost unthinkable given the lay of the land. Jacques Nienaber’s ideas are now fully imbedded and understood by those tasked with delivering them on the pitch. The additions of Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani make them a more formidable outfit than they were 12 months ago. So too the acceleration of players like Sam Prendergast and Tommy O’Brien, who were only hovering around the fringes of the first 23 a year ago. Both start today, as does Snyman, while Barrett and Slimani are held in reserve.
That highlights how Leinster are not the team they were when Northampton came to town for a Croke Park semi-final last year. Seven of today’s starting 15 – namely Hugo Keenan (who was preparing for the Olympics) O’Brien, Garry Ringrose (injured), Prendergast, Cian Healy (now part of a bench experiment with Andrew Porter), Snyman and Max Deegan – did not start this fixture 12 months ago. The starting XV looks stronger and a reinforced bench has become a point of difference.
Max Deegan starts for Leinster. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster’s house looks in fine shape as others have shipped damage to their structures. La Rochelle have already fallen off amid a long stretch of poor form. Defending champions Toulouse are without Antoine Dupont, Peato Mauvaka, Thomas Ramos and Blair Kinghorn. Bordeax-Begles are a supreme attacking outfit but one that leaks far too many scores at the other end. Northampton’s team announcement for today included a list of 12 injured players.
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The province haven’t won this competition since 2018 and yet have placed themselves as the team to beat. As we all know, they scored a whopping 114 points across their round of 16 and quarter-final wins over Harlequins and Glasgow while conceding zero. Today’s opponents gave them a scare in Drumcondra last season thanks to a late flurry of scores, but have not been the same force. Premiership champions in 2024, the Saints have won just seven from 15 in the league and sit seventh in the table.
Weigh it up any way and the expectation is that Leinster will win this one with room to spare, but expect Northampton to come out swinging. Their excellent young out-half Fin Smith is the real deal and forms a classy half-back partnership with Alex Mitchell. Fiery flanker Henry Pollock will also relish this stage and comes to Dublin braced for the toughest test of his young career. Winger Tommy Freeman has registered at least one try in each of his last nine starts for club and country.
Northampton have a strong half-back pairing in Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell. Juan Gasparini / INPHO
Juan Gasparini / INPHO / INPHO
Where the Saints are perhaps lacking is up front. There has been a major Courtney Lawes-shaped hole in their pack since the former England international joined Brive. Lewis Ludlam, Alex Moon, Alex Waller and Sam Matavesi have also moved on. Leinster hold a clear advantage in this area and no matter what the Saints can conjure, it’s hard to see them living with those Leinster reinforcements.
Yet Northampton’s attack remains a weapon that can cut Leinster open. They’ll come to Dublin looking to use their kicking game to beat the blitz – as it eventually did last year – while also running the ball when the opportunity arises.
“They obviously want to attack, they want to play with tempo, they want to keep the ball in play pretty high,” says Leinster captain Caelan Doris.
“We experienced that particularly in the second half last year. I think one of the learnings from us from that game is the need to continue to play and to attack the game. There was maybe a little bit of just trying to eke out the clock to a certain extent, even subconsciously, maybe. So having guys like Jack (Conan) and Jordie (Barrett) on the bench to come on and add something will help with that.”
The ruthless hammerings of Quins and Glasgow suggest Leinster’s mentality is just fine. So often we’ve seen Leinster (or Ireland) build a healthy score only to slip off across the final quarter. This season Leinster have been ravenous and refused to take the foot off the throat of their opponents, even when the result is long beyond doubt.
Four of their eight tries v Glasgow came after the half-time break. It was six of nine v Harlequins and four of seven in the final pool game against Bath. Across those five halves of rugby not one point was conceded. You get the sense Leinster enjoy that defensive return even more than the big scorelines.
“There’s definitely a feeling that it has improved,” Doris says of Leinter’s defence. “You’ve seen that with some of the results we’ve had, obviously in the round of 16 and the quarter, not conceding anything, but this is going to be a much bigger challenge for our defence. Guys are aware of that and ready for it.
“This is obviously where we want to be. There’s a good buzz around the club at the minute between the lads coming back from South Africa off the back of the win and a few good performances we’ve put in.
“There’s big excitement. Some guys haven’t played in a couple of weeks, we’ve trained hard over the last couple of weeks and a bit of an opportunity, there’s always a few niggles at this stage in the season, so get on top of the body and when the body’s good, it’s easier to be there mentally. So yeah, looking forward to getting stuck in.”
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; RG Snyman, Joe McCarthy; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Rabah Slimani, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Jordie Barrett.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: James Ramm; Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall (capt), Rory Hutchinson, Tom Litchfield; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison; Temo Mayanavanua, Alex Coles; Josh Kemeny, Henry Pollock, Juarno Augustus.
Replacements: Henry Walker, Tom West, Elliot Millar-Mills, Tom Lockett, Chunya Munga, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Seabrook.
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Leinster primed to book final berth but Saints will land some shots
LEINSTER FIND THEMSELVES in the peculiar position of aiming to achieve something no team has ever managed, while at the same time striving to end a long unwanted run in the same competition.
Beat Northampton Saints at Aviva Stadium in today’s Champions Cup semi-final [KO 5.30pm, RTÉ 2/Premier Sports 1], and Leo Cullen’s team will become the first side to reach four successive Champions Cup finals. It’s an impressive feat, but one they would gladly trade to have won at least one of the previous three deciders.
Failure this year feels almost unthinkable given the lay of the land. Jacques Nienaber’s ideas are now fully imbedded and understood by those tasked with delivering them on the pitch. The additions of Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani make them a more formidable outfit than they were 12 months ago. So too the acceleration of players like Sam Prendergast and Tommy O’Brien, who were only hovering around the fringes of the first 23 a year ago. Both start today, as does Snyman, while Barrett and Slimani are held in reserve.
That highlights how Leinster are not the team they were when Northampton came to town for a Croke Park semi-final last year. Seven of today’s starting 15 – namely Hugo Keenan (who was preparing for the Olympics) O’Brien, Garry Ringrose (injured), Prendergast, Cian Healy (now part of a bench experiment with Andrew Porter), Snyman and Max Deegan – did not start this fixture 12 months ago. The starting XV looks stronger and a reinforced bench has become a point of difference.
Leinster’s house looks in fine shape as others have shipped damage to their structures. La Rochelle have already fallen off amid a long stretch of poor form. Defending champions Toulouse are without Antoine Dupont, Peato Mauvaka, Thomas Ramos and Blair Kinghorn. Bordeax-Begles are a supreme attacking outfit but one that leaks far too many scores at the other end. Northampton’s team announcement for today included a list of 12 injured players.
The province haven’t won this competition since 2018 and yet have placed themselves as the team to beat. As we all know, they scored a whopping 114 points across their round of 16 and quarter-final wins over Harlequins and Glasgow while conceding zero. Today’s opponents gave them a scare in Drumcondra last season thanks to a late flurry of scores, but have not been the same force. Premiership champions in 2024, the Saints have won just seven from 15 in the league and sit seventh in the table.
Weigh it up any way and the expectation is that Leinster will win this one with room to spare, but expect Northampton to come out swinging. Their excellent young out-half Fin Smith is the real deal and forms a classy half-back partnership with Alex Mitchell. Fiery flanker Henry Pollock will also relish this stage and comes to Dublin braced for the toughest test of his young career. Winger Tommy Freeman has registered at least one try in each of his last nine starts for club and country.
Where the Saints are perhaps lacking is up front. There has been a major Courtney Lawes-shaped hole in their pack since the former England international joined Brive. Lewis Ludlam, Alex Moon, Alex Waller and Sam Matavesi have also moved on. Leinster hold a clear advantage in this area and no matter what the Saints can conjure, it’s hard to see them living with those Leinster reinforcements.
Yet Northampton’s attack remains a weapon that can cut Leinster open. They’ll come to Dublin looking to use their kicking game to beat the blitz – as it eventually did last year – while also running the ball when the opportunity arises.
“They obviously want to attack, they want to play with tempo, they want to keep the ball in play pretty high,” says Leinster captain Caelan Doris.
“We experienced that particularly in the second half last year. I think one of the learnings from us from that game is the need to continue to play and to attack the game. There was maybe a little bit of just trying to eke out the clock to a certain extent, even subconsciously, maybe. So having guys like Jack (Conan) and Jordie (Barrett) on the bench to come on and add something will help with that.”
The ruthless hammerings of Quins and Glasgow suggest Leinster’s mentality is just fine. So often we’ve seen Leinster (or Ireland) build a healthy score only to slip off across the final quarter. This season Leinster have been ravenous and refused to take the foot off the throat of their opponents, even when the result is long beyond doubt.
Four of their eight tries v Glasgow came after the half-time break. It was six of nine v Harlequins and four of seven in the final pool game against Bath. Across those five halves of rugby not one point was conceded. You get the sense Leinster enjoy that defensive return even more than the big scorelines.
“There’s definitely a feeling that it has improved,” Doris says of Leinter’s defence. “You’ve seen that with some of the results we’ve had, obviously in the round of 16 and the quarter, not conceding anything, but this is going to be a much bigger challenge for our defence. Guys are aware of that and ready for it.
“This is obviously where we want to be. There’s a good buzz around the club at the minute between the lads coming back from South Africa off the back of the win and a few good performances we’ve put in.
“There’s big excitement. Some guys haven’t played in a couple of weeks, we’ve trained hard over the last couple of weeks and a bit of an opportunity, there’s always a few niggles at this stage in the season, so get on top of the body and when the body’s good, it’s easier to be there mentally. So yeah, looking forward to getting stuck in.”
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; RG Snyman, Joe McCarthy; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Rabah Slimani, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Jordie Barrett.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: James Ramm; Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall (capt), Rory Hutchinson, Tom Litchfield; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison; Temo Mayanavanua, Alex Coles; Josh Kemeny, Henry Pollock, Juarno Augustus.
Replacements: Henry Walker, Tom West, Elliot Millar-Mills, Tom Lockett, Chunya Munga, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Seabrook.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
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