Much of the reaction to what happened in Croke Park zeroed in on James Lowe’s hat-trick and also the scare Leinster delivered to their fans, when Northampton steamed back into contention in the second half of the European Champions Cup semi-final in Croke Park.
“Lowe fires Leinster into Champions Cup final despite Northampton’s late rally,” said the headline in The Guardian. Michael Alywin added Northampton “were not given much of a chance – and sure enough, for most of the match they did not have one. But Northampton, having looked completely lost in front of the 82,000 spectators at Croke Park, burst into life in the final quarter to give Leinster something of a scare.”
Jonathan Bradley’s piece on the BBC website said “Leinster beat Saints to make Euro final with Lowe treble,” again pointing out that it was a “nervy 20-17 win” and Lowe’s impact after also scoring two tries in the Champions Cup quarter-final match against La Rochelle.
“Something almost horrific happened,” was the headline in the magazine Planet Rugby as they decided to use a quote from the man of the moment, Lowe reflecting candidly on Leinster’s narrow win.
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It added that Leinster winger Lowe “admits that Leinster almost fell victim to an upset in their Investec Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton Saints.”
The Telegraph didn’t diverge from the common theme: “Northampton threaten one of greatest Champions Cup upsets but Leinster just hold on,” said the headline with Gavin Mairs noting that “Phil Dowson’s side were overwhelmed by Leinster for over an hour but still found the wherewithal to launch a thrilling comeback to threaten, against all the odds, what would have been one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Champions Cup.”
The Daily Mail’s Chris Foy also focused in on Lowes hat-trick, a rare thing in rugby European semi-finals.
“Leinster 20-17 Northampton: James Lowe’s hat-trick secures a Champions Cup final spot for the hosts as brave Saints go down fighting at Croke Park after heroic comeback,” said the Mail’s headline.
Foy added that a “valiant second-half showing from Saints put them on brink of a historic upset. The Premiership leaders came to Dublin as clear outsiders against the perennial challengers for the ultimate prize in European rugby and when they trailed 20-3 shortly after half-time, it threatened to turn ugly for the Saints.
“They had played ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ in the stadium before the delayed kick-off and oval-ball murder appeared to be on the cards.”
And so it went with Lowe cast as the Leinster hero and Leinster almost haplessly letting the match slip away.
“Hat-trick hero Lowe stars as Leinster edge Northampton in Champions Cup semi-final,” said Yahoo, carrying a piece from AFP’s Julian Guyer. He reminded Leinster fans about what they already know too well, and what they need no reminding about.
“Leinster will now look to go one better after losing the last two Champions Cup finals to a La Rochelle side coached by Ireland great Ronan O’Gara.”
Number: 111
It could have been three for Lowe’s tries or the record attendance at Croke Park of 82,300. But Cian Healy’s record number of Champions Cup appearances grabbed it. Healy overtook Ronan O’Gara when he came on against Northampton in the second half. He was also the only player to play in both Croke Park club rugby matches 15 years apart.
Irish Sevens team makes valiant run to the final
Meanwhile over in Singapore at the final day of action at the Sevens, the Irish men’s team made a valiant run to the final of the competition only to fall to New Zealand in the final. On the way Ireland beat Argentina 21-5, with the Pumas emerging as the overall winners of the SVNS league.
It was unlikely that Ireland would win the event outright as they needed to beat New Zealand in the tournament final and hope that Argentina finished no higher than sixth. While Argentina have been in the in form team this season with wins in three tournaments in Cape Town, Perth and Vancouver, Ireland are looking sharp as the Olympic Games begin in July in Paris.
Ireland narrowly fell 17-14 to New Zealand after a Billy Dardis golden point penalty against GB sent them through from the semi-final. It was just Ireland’s third appearance in a tournament decider and would have made history had they beaten New Zealand.
Leroy Carter crossed within a minute after an incisive break before midway through the first-half Fehi Fineanganofo broke through some slack Irish defence. Gavin Mullin and Dylan Collier responded but Ireland fell just short.
Quote
“We could hear them all day. There was a serious atmosphere all day. We could hear them, the ground was shaking a couple of times, so it was really cool.” – Leinster wing Jordan Larmour describing the feeling of playing in Croke Park in front of the home crowd of almost entire Leinster fans.
