Leinster 20 Northampton 17: Champions Cup semi-final as it happened

Here is how the players rated for Leinster, by Johnny Watterson:

[ Leinster v Northampton: How the players rated at Croke Park ]

That’s all from me, good night!

Jamison Gibson-Park man of the match: “We certainly were patchy in the second half. It’s such an amazing occasion. We couldn’t put up the perfect performance, but we did enough and that’s the main thing. We’re pretty lucky, thank god we got there in the end.”

Caelan Doris: “Credit to Northampton, they’re top of the Premiership for a reason. Delighted to be here for another final, and we’ll crack on. It was test match atmosphere. They made it a special day for us. Bit disappointed by the second half but glad to be in the final.”

James Lowe on his hat-trick with his baby son with him interviewed by RTÉ: “I ran collectively about 10 metres for it, so I have to thank the boys for it.”

79 mins: Northampton have it! They steal it and they have numbers over. Augustus tries to keep it alive, a minute and a half left... but it’s a penalty to Leinster! Tom James penalised for not releasing. Caelan Doris turns it over, captain’s impact.

One last maul by Leinster, just hanging on. Northampton almost turn it over again, but Leinster do it just about. Caelan Doris looks perplexed and a big sigh of relief, just about!

Full-time: Leinster 20 Northampton 17

A very patchy second half display by Leinster and lucky to survive in the end. Northampton are a good team and they showed it, but work to do ahead of a final, especially if they play Toulouse. A historic occasion at Croke Park and a gripping match for the 82,000 crowd it must be said.

78 mins: Leinster trying to slow things down as the fans are on their feet. Not making much ground, Jimmy O’Brien is on and immediately gets pushed back in the tackle. Two minutes left.

Leinster 20 Northampton 17

75 mins: Try for Northampton!

Gibson-Park had saved the day initially. All of a sudden a great kick behind by Furbank and he had the pace to beat the Leinster players but for Gibson-Park covering. But it’s a five-metre scrum for Northampton. Crossfield kick by Smith and Frawley makes a brave catch, but Leinster were penalised from previously. Frawley down injured and the game goes on, despite the boos from the crowd. Millar Mills makes space and gets within a few metres of the line before the pass finds Seabrook to score on the wing. Smith nails the conversion once more. Three points.

Leinster 20 Northampton 17

72 mins: Game has hit a bit of a lull as the announcer gees up the crowd letting them know it’s a record-breaking crowd for a Champions Cup game, 82,000 spectators. Another one to get a cheer is the appearance of Cian Healy on the sideline, who will become the record appearance maker in the Champions Cup.

Leinster 20 Northampton 10

67 mins: Some back and forth kicking as the next try of the game could make all the difference. Leinster not giving Northampton much space. Mitchell kicking a lot.

Leinster 20 Northampton 10

63 mins: Penalty missed for Leinster. Silly enough penalty conceded by Northampton and Byrne goes for the posts and misses. That’s only two from five for today for Byrne.

Leinster 20 Northampton 10

60 mins: Try for Northampton! Hendy, who has been quiet enough but comes to life, great pass to the wing, intelligent chip by Hendy, a mix-up by Leinster and bounces back nicely to Hendy to score. Smith nails the conversion and it’s a 10-point game.

Leinster 20 Northampton 10

57 mins: Danger for Leinster as Northampton as Lowe tries to keep a kick alive but knocks it back, Augustus runs on and kicks and gets to near the line, Frawley has to go out of play for a lineout. Northampton lose the lineout but Northampton turn it over again and win a five-metre scrum. Big scrum by Leinster though, Norhtampton penalised as Jenkins and Furlong get a pat on the back.

Leinster 20 Northampton 3

53 mins: Mitchell exploits the edge of the breakdown but Leinster’s counter ruck is strong and turns it over again to big roars from the crowd.

Leinster 20 Northampton 3

49 mins: Northampton win a scrum penalty and kick for touch. But again Leinster rip it away, Joe McCarthy and Doris, defence of the highest quality.

Leinster 20 Northampton 3

43 mins: TRY FOR LEINSTER! Great break by Baird, hard running and he makes big ground before he’s stopped. Crowd finds their voice. Henshaw miraculously keeps it alive on the wing and it’s five metres from the line. Nice offload by Sheehan makes the move, Frawley shows composure to give to Lowe for his hat-trick. Byrne misses the conversion.

Leinster 20 Northampton 3

42 mins: Leinster from the restart win it immediately and one last attack. McCarthy makes a break and then there are several phases about 15 metres out. Frawley, Doris, Moloney bring it to five, Van der Flier drops it though and it’s half-time.

Half-time: Leinster 15 Northampton 3

Well deserved lead for Leinster who have risen to the occasion. Gibson-Park with some magic passes and some superb defending. Northampton off-colour but showed some signs near the end of the half of a revival. Still plenty to play for second half at Croke Park.

39 mins: Penalty scored by Northampton. Oh dear. Northampton finally find space and have numbers over. Ramm with a pass to the wing isn’t great and Freeman can’t keep a hold of the ball with the line in sight. It’s back for a penalty and it’s a nice kick by Smith straight over the posts at Croke Park. Leinster got away with that one though.

Leinster 15 Northampton 3

35 mins: High ball by Gibson-Park is knocked ahead by Lowe. A better attack by Northampton but it’s a struggle against the Leinster defence. A kick in behind is well dealt with by Lowe who makes a fine clearance.

Leinster 15 Northampton 0

30 mins: Penalty scored by Leinster! Another penalty in the scrum goes against Northampton. Byrne elects to kick over from straight in front of the posts.

Leinster 15 Northampton 0

28 mins: Great Leinster defence, Nienaber’s influence there to see, turns over the ball again. Not giving Northampton an inch. An attacking lineout is won by Baird, but it’s a rare mistake by Gibson-Park as he knocks on.

Leinster 12 Northampton 0

23 mins: It’s the Gibson-Park show so far, fizzing the passes, winning penalties. Good carry by McCarthy and it’s another penalty for Leinster. Northampton must have had seven or eight handling errors in the first 23 minutes.

Leinster 12 Northampton 0

19 mins: Another knock-on by Freeman after a good tackle by Osborne and Henshaw, struggling to deal with Leinster’s intensity.

Leinster 12 Northampton 0

15 mins: TRY FOR LEINSTER! Northampton are nervy and have another pass intercepted on halfway. Byrne catches Smith out but Byrne doesn’t have the pace to get through. Leinster win a penalty and Gibson-Park tries another clever kick, just out of play. Back to a penalty and straight into touch. Baird wins a clean lineout after a great throw by Sheehan. Doris to near the line and more ingenuity from Gibson-Park as he almost punches the ball back to Lowe who is free to finish. Byrne’s conversion hits the post.

Leinster 12 Northampton 0

12 mins: TRY FOR LEINSTER! Leinster get within five metres, Baird with the carry. Penalty advantage for Leinster. Byrne to Lowe on the wing but just short. Back for the penalty, Gibson-Park takes it quickly and hits a brilliant long pass on a dime to Lowe over several players. Lowe finishes well. Byrne converts. The first piece of real quality in an error-prone game and it had to be the magician at number 9.

Leinster 7 Northampton 0

9 mins: Another knock-on Freeman this time, not a great pass by Dingwall. Leinster don’t make great ground from various phases, little kick by Gibson-Park and it’s Hendy’s turn to drop it. Attacking scrum for Leinster.

Leinster 0 Northampton 0

6 mins: Leinster penalised, Porter in the scrum and Smith kicks to touch. Leinster almost steal the lineout but Northampton keep it. Another knock-on though by the English team and Leinster back for a scrum. Another knock-on by Leinster, Sheehan this time. Sloppy start to this game.

Leinster 0 Northampton 0

3 mins: First lineout dropped by Alex Mitchell. First attack by Leinster, James Lowe with a great kick down into the corner after a few passes. Not a great passage of play follows though for Leinster as Lowe overhits a pass and then Frawley kicks and Larmour knocks on.

Leinster 0 Northampton 0

From our reporter in the stadium:

The teams again:

LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Ross Molony, Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (Capt).

Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, Jason Jenkins, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne, Jimmy O’Brien.

NORTHAMPTON: George Furbank; James Ramm, Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, George Hendy; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Alex Waller, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison; Alex Moon, Alex Coles; Courtney Lawes (capt), Sam Graham, Juarno Augustus.

Replacements: Sam Matavesi, Emmanuel Iyogun, Elliot Millar Mills, Temo Mayanavanua, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Litchfield, Tom Seabrook.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France).

Croke Park is obviously a big part of the match today.

John O’Sullivan writes about the Croke Park effect on the match.

“Croke Park and rugby – what springs to mind? Tears, cheers but no beers, at least in seats? Martin Corry’s salute? Dan Parks’s penalty. Perhaps the time Vincent Clerc, who went on to be Irish rugby’s long-time nemesis, sucked the joy out of the stadium, as it went from colosseum to mausoleum with a dip of his shoulder and a swerve of the hips?

Or a quiz question to which the answer is Tommy Bowe? Maybe it was being part of, or watching on in, 2009, as a then world record crowd of 82,208 descended on GAA headquarters as Leinster dethroned the reigning Heineken Cup champions, a brilliant Munster team.”

[ The Croke Park effect: ‘It was one of the very few times I cried during the opposition anthem’ ]

The answer to the question is of course, he is the last Irish player to score a Test match try at Croke Park.

Leinster fans taking over the northside of Dublin.

Some Northampton analysis from Nathan Johns. Head coach Sam Vesty believes considerable improvements have been made and this is the strongest Saints have been in recent memory. Size clearly matters. Across the top club competitions – URC, Premiership, Top14 and Super Rugby – a bulkier Northampton outfit ranks 10th in the world for their dominant tackle rate (9.5 per cent). Leinster are a handful of spots further down with 9.1 per cent. More stats to read here:

[ Northampton’s rise to the last four: Bulking up, defensive steel and attacking prowess ]

A sense of unfinished business is driving James Lowe on, the Leinster winger is determined to get back to another Champions Cup final and this time claim the coveted silverware

“I mean, I think everyone understands the history of what Croke Park represents to the Irish people and I’m sure there’s kids all around the country who dream of one day being able to represent their provinces here and their counties,” he said.

“Ireland has been my home for a pretty long time now. I’ve been here for watching a few football matches and to get the opportunity to play a game of rugby here, only the second club rugby match to ever be played here, it’s pretty special and an absolute privilege and tomorrow’s going to be one heck of a day. So, look, I’m well aware of what happened here.”

[ Sense of unfinished business driving James Lowe on ]

In his preview of today’s game, John O’Sullivan writes that Leo Cullen’s Leinster side must be hard-nosed, unrelenting and ruthless to ensure they prevail over formidable Northampton.

“Northampton’s two wins over Munster earlier in the campaign encapsulate both quality and weakness; wonderfully defiant and brave when a man down at Thomond Park, while brittle and unsure for a large tranches of the knock-out game at Franklin’s Gardens.

“Leinster have a legitimate claim to being the better team, the bookies have them as 14-point favourites and they have an overwhelming groundswell of support. The integrity of performance must be hard-nosed, unrelenting and ruthless to prevail.”

[ Leinster looking for a special performance on a special occasion ]

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Leinster’s game against Northampton in the semi-final of the Champions Cup. Leinster have been quite dominant in the URC league stages and early stages of the Champions Cup in recent seasons but have to go back to 2018 for their last Champions Cup title. While La Rochelle were a big reason for that, this is the sort of big game they have struggled with. Against a talented Northampton side, it is time for them to stand up and be counted, and what better place than at Croke Park? The Aviva is not available due to Europa League preparations and Croke Park will host its first rugby game in many, many years. It’s sold out and an historic match-up awaits. Kick-off is at 5.30pm.

LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Ross Molony, Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (Capt).

Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, Jason Jenkins, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne, Jimmy O’Brien.

NORTHAMPTON: George Furbank; James Ramm, Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall, George Hendy; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Alex Waller, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison; Alex Moon, Alex Coles; Courtney Lawes (capt), Sam Graham, Juarno Augustus.

Replacements: Sam Matavesi, Emmanuel Iyogun, Elliot Millar Mills, Temo Mayanavanua, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Litchfield, Tom Seabrook.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France).