Match Report: Leinster 20 – 17 Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints came within a whisker of a remarkable comeback in Dublin, but ended up falling just short against Leinster in the semi-final of the Investec Champions Cup.

The Dubliners led 15-3 at the interval as James Lowe struck twice in the corner, while Ross Byrne and Fin Smith also exchanged one penalty each.

Saints had it all to do early in the second half when Lowe crossed again for his hat-trick, but they roared back in the last 20 minutes with George Hendy and Tom Seabrook both scoring tries and Smith nailing two touchline conversions.

An Investec Champions Cup record crowd of 82,300 at Croke Park were treated to a grandstand finish, but the clock was against the men in Black, Green and Gold and Leinster held on at the death.

FIRST HALF

Both sides felt each other out for the opening five minutes of the contest in front of a raucous Croke Park, with a couple of knock-ons apiece to see possession change hands.

But a probing chip over the top from Jamison Gibson-Park in the 12th minute forced a mistake from Saints inside their own 22, and after Leinster earned a penalty on the five-metre line, the hosts’ scrum-half took it quickly and flung the ball over the top to Lowe to open the scoring in the corner.

Byrne added the extras, and after an interception in midfield shortly after, Leinster had field position again. Northampton made a mess of the lineout drive, but somehow Caelan Doris offloaded off the floor to find Lowe for another walk-in into the corner.

This time Byrne hit the posts with the conversion attempt, leaving the scoreline at 12-0 after 16 minutes.

A huge defensive set around the 20-minute mark saw Leinster sent backwards, with Curtis Langdon, Courtney Lawes and Trevor Davison all making big hits, but Saints could not hold onto possession and again the hosts cleared their lines.

Northampton had the edge at scrum time, but the first penalty against them at the set-piece of the afternoon was right in front of the sticks, and Byrne made no mistake with the routine three-pointer to extend Leinster’s advantage on the half-hour mark.

A trademark Lawes turnover penalty inside his own 22 shortly after allowed Saints to clear their lines, and the men in Black, Green and Gold followed that up with another from a scrum to take them deep into Leinster territory.

The visitors came so close to their opening try when Fraser Dingwall sent Tommy Freeman through a gap, but James Ramm just overran George Furbank’s final pass and knocked on – however, Saints had penalty advantage and Smith kicked three points to put them on the board before half-time.

SECOND HALF

Lowe sealed his hat-trick at the start of the second half after a huge break from Ryan Baird took Leinster into the 22, and some well-executed offloads allowed the winger to run in his third score.

Byrne’s conversion was wide, but Saints now had it all to do at 20-3 down. Both sides started to ring the changes and on came Emmanuel Iyogun, Elliot Millar Mills and Sam Matavesi for Northampton.

They earned some territory when Augustus burst onto loose ball and chipped over the top, with Ramm slamming Osborne into touch five metres out, but a scrum penalty went against Saints to release the pressure.

But soon the men in Black, Green and Gold were right back in the contest as they found some room on the edge, and Alex Moon whipped the ball wide to Hendy, who chipped ahead and beat two Leinster defenders to the loose ball to score just before the hour mark.

Smith’s conversion from out wide brought Saints back to 20-10 behind, and the longer the scoreline stayed there, the more pressure they were able to exert on the Irish side.

Finally, they breached Leinster’s defence again with Seabrook coming off the bench to burst onto an inch-perfect pass from Fraser Dingwall and score in the corner.

Another exceptional conversion from Smith meant Saints trailed by three, but a crucial late breakdown penalty for Leinster allowed them to wind down the clock until the 80-minute mark went, and the Dubliners booted the ball into touch to end the game.

Northampton’s superb run in this season’s Investec Champions Cup was ended, but the men in Black, Green and Gold will be straight back into domestic action next weekend as they host Gloucester.

LINE-UPS

LEINSTER: Frawley, Larmour, Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe, R Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, Molony, McCarthy, Baird, van der Flier, Doris
Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Ala’alatoa, Jenkins, Conan, McGrath, Byrne, J O’Brien

SAINTS: Furbank, Ramm, Freeman, Dingwall, Hendy, F Smith, Mitchell; A Waller, Langdon, Davison, Moon, Coles, Lawes, Graham, Augustus
Replacements: S Matavesi, Iyogun, Millar Mills, Mayanavanua, Scott-Young, James, Litchfield, Seabrook