James Rowe scored a hat-trick as Leinster beat Northampton Saints 20-17 at Croke Park on Saturday, sealing their place in the Champions Cup final for the third successive year.
Despite dominating for much of the game, Leinster were forced to hold on against error-riddled Northampton in front of more than 82,000 supporters in Dublin.
Ross Byrne kicked a conversion and a penalty for Lowe, while George Hendy and Tom Seabrook scored crosses for Saints, with these tries scoring 15 of the team’s points.
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Perhaps a sign of nervousness, the Saints started by giving away the ball easily, but even more so when a penalty in front of their own line saw Jamison Gibson-Park play a long pass and Lowe cut inside to score. Something bad happened.
And the early onslaught continued when Lowe walked in for his second try after Gibson Park flicked a nice offload from the onrushing Caelan Doris.
There was no respite for the inferior team and they awarded penalty after penalty, one for a crushed scrum and another for offside on the restart, allowing Byrne to kick three more points.
Northampton’s attack briefly started, creating a half-chance that disappeared due to poor timing, but Finn Smith’s penalty at least sent it wide.
Saints needed to score but instead Ryan Baird’s onslaught put Leinster ahead and Rowe completed his hat-trick.
The Irish province’s ability to retain the ball depleted the stocks of Northampton’s defenders and allowed Lowe another easy try.
Saints’ two attacks in the 22nd match were thwarted by penalties, but the pressure that was building on the home line finally came to an end when Hendy’s chip-and-chase spilled over to Leinster and the winger grabbed a touchdown. It told a story.
The second half was even more competitive and the result looked dicey when Smith converted and Seabrook won.
Leo Cullen’s side paid the price for taking their foot off the visitors’ throats, but had the smarts and resilience to end a tense final few minutes.
Leinster, who have lost in the last two Champions Cup finals, will face the winner of the semi-final between Toulouse and Harlequins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25.
team
Leinster: 15 Ciaran Frawley, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Rowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Sheeran Doris (c), 7 Josh van Dar Fryer, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Ross Moloney, 3 Tad Furron, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacement: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Araratoa, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Jimmy O’Brien
Northampton Saints: 15 George Firbank, 14 James Lamb, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 George Hendy, 10 Finn Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Sam Graham, 6 Courtney Laws (c), 5 Alex Coles, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Alex Wall
Replacement: 16 Sam Matabesi, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Elliot Miller Mills, 19 Temo Mayanavanua, 20 Angus Scott Young, 21 Tom James, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 Tom Seabrook
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referee: Pierre Bourset (France), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (France)
read more: Toulouse vs Harlequins preview: French giants defeat Champions Cup thriller and continue pursuit of sixth title
