'We can take anyone on. They said Leinster by 30, but here we are'
IT WAS HARD to know where to look when full time arrived and Leinster's Champions Cup nightmare became cold, hard reality.
At the Havelock Square end of the Aviva Stadium the Northampton players roared and jumped as the emotion of a famous Champions Cup win washed over them. On the sideline down below the replacements and staff spilled onto the pitch. The TV screens in the press box showed the Saints coaching staff hugging in the coaching box, the celebrations leaving director of rugby Phil Dowson holding a broken pair of glasses.
Northampton have a rich history but this was one of their great days. It's rare to have such an underdog story at this late stage of any elite competition, but not only were the Premiership side widely expected to lose today, many felt it would be heavily one-sided.
Northampton Saints fans celebrate the win. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Instead they turned in a brilliant team performance to dump Leinster out of the competition they crave so desperately. The province won't compete in the Champions Cup final for the first time since the Covid-impacted days of 2021. The Saints march into their first decider since 2011.
Advertisement
They did it with quality, composure and a striking sense of confidence, surviving three yellow cards and scoring five tries against a team who didn't concede one single points in their two previous knock-out games.
'We probably came in as the underdogs but the fight we showed, the squad we've got, we know we can do this performance,' said winger Tommy Freeman, who continued his hot streak with a stunning first-half hat-trick.
We know if we can get our game on the pitch we can take anyone on. They said Leinster by 30, but here we are.
'We put our game on the pitch, things start to happen, we stretch defences. Down by 13 we've got to show heart, we've got to show love for each other, and I thought we did that for 80 minutes and we got the result.'
'I don't think I'm surprised,' added Fraser Dingwall.
Northampton's Tom West and Angus Scott-Young celebrate after the game. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
'In this group there's so much talent, so much connection. We know what we've got within us. We were written off by a lot of people and we probably proved a point to a lot of folk around how good we are.
'We're a different team to last year, that's the important thing, no matter what strengths we had last year, we had different ones this year. We took a lot of learnings from the game last year and I hope you saw that. We turned up today wanting to be aggressors and we want to put our game on them.
'When we get things right we challenge anybody in the world. Yeah, we're buzzing.'
Deserved winners, but they were perhaps fortunate with some calls by referee Pierre Brousset. The French official's decision to not allow Ross Byrne's late try created confusion on the pitch and in the stands.
The wait made for a tense end game, but Northampton survived.
'The thing that was going through my head was that if they score here, it feels cruel,' said Dowson.
'I know sport's cruel and I know sport's unfair and that's the beauty of it but to be leading, I think we led the whole game, I don't know. To have lost it in the last minute with a bobbled ball and a referee's decision.
'Was it a knock on? Did Colesy [Alex Coles] release? It's all very intricate and subjective, and the referee makes a decision there and if we'd lost that I would have been gutted for the players because I know how hard they've worked, how much they've put into it. I see the lads at half-time blowing and I'm like, whoosh, that's a tough first 40 minutes.
'That's what was going through my head, it's so close and we concede here that doesn't feel quite right, and what do I say then to try and build them back up?
Related Reads
'We get a little bit jittery' - Cullen regrets Leinster's 'horrific' defeat
A team of spirited Saints make Leinster look human again
Leinster's dream dead as Saints storm into Champions Cup final
'Then as soon as we get [the turnover] I think Juarno [Agustus] took the ball off them on their tap and go, I just said to the coaches, we're going to Cardiff, and Sam Vesty broke my glasses.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
'We always feel we have a point to prove' - Leo Cullen says Leinster are not short of motivation for the URC run-in
Leinster coach Leo Cullen says his team always play with a chip on their shoulders after they found their mojo again in beating Glasgow Warriors 37-19 to book their place in the URC final next weekend.
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leinster's Jack Conan delivers stark message to team-mates ahead of URC final
Jack Conan admits Leinster's impressive URC semi-final victory will count for nothing if the Blues don't finish the job at Croke Park next week. Conan, who is captaining the province in the absence of the injured Caelan Doris, says that Leinster are relishing the physical battle that awaits against the Bulls or the Sharks next Saturday in the decider after they dismissed defending champs Glasgow. 'Hugely," said the experienced No.8 after the 37-19 triumph. "But it's never about them, it's about us and what we want to do. "Even though it was good today it was disappointing to concede those two tries close to the end and there's lots of things we want to get better at. 'It will all count for nothing if we don't go on and win again and show that level of dominance that we did today. We're not getting ahead of ourselves, we know it is going to be a tough task next week.' Conan and the Leinster players knew that their Champions Cup failure had resulted in a feeling of negativity outside of the camp. But he insisted there was a belief within the group that they would bounce back from that defeat to Northampton Saints. 'We always knew we had it in us," he said. "It has obviously been a trying few weeks and a bit of disappointment and we said we want to go out there and be our best. We prepped well all week and the message from the coaches and players was spot on. 'When you play a team you play quite frequently, and that gives it back to you in spades, there is that motivation to do your best. "We spoke just about being physical and dominant and we were for the majority and that is really pleasing. We'll use this as another stepping stone for next week.' This was a more dominant performance from the Blues, in tune with their displays from earlier in the season. 'It's fantastic," said Conan. "When we show up and are properly on it we are very hard to deal with. "The game couldn't have started much better for us, Sammy's (Prendergast) kickoff, Tommy's (O'Brien) turnover into the corner. Lads paying on the gainline, it paid dividends.'
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leinster always have a point to prove says Leo Cullen after URC semi-final win
Leo Cullen says that Leinster feel that they have a point to prove by lifting the URC trophy at Croke Park next Saturday. The Blues will face the Bulls or Sharks at GAA HQ in the decider after blowing defending champions Glasgow Warriors away at the Aviva Stadium in yesterday's semi-final. Leinster scored six tries in a 32-19 victory and will only have to cross the Liffey for their first final in the competition in four years. 'We always feel like we have a point to prove," said Cullen, after both he and his players copped plenty of flak for losing their Champions Cup semi-final to Northampton and for displays since then. "Certainly I do anyway, because that's just the nature of the job I'm in and the team are in a pretty similar situation. So, listen, we would love to go out and win every week. 'What have we played this season now? Eighteen regular season games and two knockout games, four pool Champions Cup games and three knockouts. What's that, 27 games, next week we get to play a 28th - a perfect season you get to play 29. 'We will get to play 28, we have lost three. Every week you play you feel like you have a point to prove. I don't think it's hugely different, to be honest.' Cullen said it is "unbelievable" that the province will face South African opposition in the final for the first time, after losing away to the Bulls in last season's semi-final "I find I am pinching myself when I'm in South Africa in those stadiums which as a kid watching rugby you (saw on TV)," he said. "Personally I have so much respect for those teams. We lost the semi-final in Loftus last year and it's not a great place to end a season. 'There is joy for us in the fact that we have another week together. There are some great characters in the group that have been around a long, long time and have been great servants for the club. 'It's making sure we have a great week now and get excited about putting on another performance, showing what it means to play for Leinster and to represent the province. 'Can they play their best every week? Listen, they're not robots. There is an opposition that is fully motivated as well. It's about dusting ourselves off now, it was a very physical game and I'm sure the other one will be too. 'We don't have to travel too far for the final, thankfully. We need to make that count in how we go about preparing because that's a bit that we can control. There are other bits that we can't control, unfortunately.'
