Preview: Lions Audition In Dublin, As Leinster Takes On Northampton Saints
Preview: Lions Audition In Dublin, As Leinster Takes On Northampton Saints
Here is a preview of the Leinster vs. Northampton Saints Investec Champions Cup semifinal. Catch the match live on FloRugby.
Pull away from the panic button! You are not hallucinating; you have not been transported back 12 months, and you certainly are not living in a parallel dimension!
On Saturday afternoon, the Northampton Saints will take on Leinster Rugby in Dublin in an Investec Champions Cup semifinal clash.
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Returning an abundance of players from their clash at the same stage last season, one could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu.
It's another Premiership club heading to Dublin to take on one of the professional true Galactico sides.
Yet, while this clash remains somewhat of a David vs. Goliath event in which the home side once again is heavily tipped to progress to a fourth consecutive final, this Saints side ain’t no pushover.
While the English Midlands club arrives in Dublin further down the Premiership table, it is a side that did claim a title last season - something the vaunted hosts have not done since the 2020-2021 season.
Rebounding from a sluggish and, at times, infuriatingly inconsistent opening two-thirds of the season, the Saints have been on a heater of late.
Such has been their form that they can now realistically harbor hopes of a move back into the Premiership top 4 with three matches remaining.
In the here and now, their sole focus is on pulling off what would be the biggest upset in recent memory over a side hurting from three consecutive final defeats.
Team News
Leinster Rugby has named Caelan Doris as captain for Saturday’s encounter with head coach Leo Cullen making three changes to the side that beat Glasgow in the quarterfinals.
Doris will be joined in the back row by Max Deegan and Josh van der Flier.
RG Snyman starts in the second row alongside Joe McCarthy, while Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong pack down with Dan Sheehan in the front row.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast continue in the halves, with Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose in midfield.
Hugo Keenan starts at fullback, flanked by James Lowe and Tommy O’Brien.
Andrew Porter, Luke McGrath, and Jordie Barrett are among a strong bench.
The Saints have named a largely unchanged lineup for the match, with just one alteration to the side that beat the Bristol Bears last weekend.
Northampton Director of Rugby Phil Dowson welcomes tighthead prop Trevor Davison back into the starting XV after his late withdrawal last time out.
He joins Emmanuel Iyogun and Curtis Langdon in the front row, both of whom were try-scorers in the six-try win over Bristol.
Temo Mayanavanua and Alex Coles continue their partnership in the engine room, while the dynamic back row of Josh Kemeny, Juarno Augustus and 2025 Player of the Year nominee Henry Pollock is retained.
Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith start together in the halves for the 10th time this season, while captain Fraser Dingwall and Rory Hutchinson form a familiar midfield pairing.
The back three of Tom Litchfield, Tommy Freeman and James Ramm remains unchanged.
Tom James is in line for his 100th appearance from the bench as part of a 6-2 forwards-heavy split.
Key Matchups
Labeled an audition for the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, there are fascinating head-to-head matchups as far as the eye can see.
In the pack, Saints upstart Henry Pollock will face his biggest test to date when he takes on former World Player Of The Year Josh van der Flier.
Out wide, James Lowe and Tommy Freeman could form a powerhouse partnership down under but will face off in the tramlines on Saturday.
@florugbytv @leinsterrugbystarted last season's @championscuprugbysemi-final against the @saintsrugbylike a freight train! 🚂 Utilising two of their potential @britishlions2021stars in Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe, the Irish side scored this peach of a try! 🇮🇪 Can Leinster take on step closer to another Champions Cup final this weekend? 🤔 Find out live on FloRugby 🇺🇸🇨🇦 #InvestecChampionsCup #LeinsterRugby #LEIvNOR ♬ original sound - FloRugby
At scrumhalf, Jamison Gibson-Park against Alex Mitchell is the equivalent of a super featherweight title eliminator.
Matching the intensity of their halfbacks, the showdown between two of the game’s brightest young fly-half talents in Sam Prendergast and Fin Smith makes for a superb subplot.
It is this final matchup that we are most interested in following with a player cam style focus.
Having already squared off with another young gun Irish fly-half in Munster’s Jack Crowley this season, it’s fair to say that Smith and Crowley were the key orchestrators in the Saints’ narrow pool-stage victory.
Facing a near all-international superstar squad this week, Smith likely will have less front-foot ball to operate with. Even still, Prendergast is all too aware of the threats his ‘cool customer’ opposite number poses.
Speaking about his burgeoning rivalry with his former U20 international opponent, Prendergast was full of praise for Smith.
"I didn't actually know much about him at that time, but since then, I've obviously sort of kept an eye on him, and we've stayed in touch very loosely and always sort of wished each other well," Prendergast said. "He messaged me after the [semifinal] at Croke Park last year and sort of said, 'well done today, sorry I didn’t get to see you, all the best for the rest of the season.'
"Then, I actually caught up with him just after England had played Ireland [in the Six Nations], just had a brief chat at the bar, and I said well done today, chatting about stuff that fly-halves chat about.
"I’ve got a lot of respect for him, I’d like to say he does likewise. It’s not a hostile relationship, but we both want to win, don’t we, so we’ll see."
Returning the compliments, Smith was equally effusive in his praise of Prendergast.
"He's brilliant, isn't he?" Smith said, "Since he's sort of taken to professional rugby, he's not really put a foot wrong."
Smith pointed out where he felt the Irishman was at his best and said that the former U20 Six Nations Grand Slam winner has it all.
"He's an unbelievable game manager, plays the space really well," Smith added. "He's a real triple threat: run, kick, pass, and he just seems like a real calm customer."
Although there is little doubt both players have strengths of their own, Smith is a stout defender and a top-notch facilitator, while Prendergast is almost rugby league-esque in his ability to trot up to the line before unfurling a long-range pass.
The pair have some shared DNA, with the big-game mentality and authoritative manner in bossing their squad around the park.
On paper, Prendergast should have the easier time of the two playmakers with Leinster's power game, but if the Saints are to pull off the upset, it will likely be down to Smith putting his side in positions to succeed.
Key Talking Points
In no uncertain terms, this match will depend on whether the Northampton pack can handle Leinster's power game.
To have any chance, the Saints will have to be perfect for the full 80 minutes, with Leinster's bench full of world-class international talent.
Leinster will have a full international pack at every juncture of this fixture.
In the back line, outside of former Ireland U20 captain Tommy O’Brien, Leinster once again will have a full international deck to choose from, with All Black star Jordie Barrett being their ace of spades.
Conversely, the Premiership champions return to Dublin without the experienced international duo of Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam, both of whom departed last offseason.
These departures ramp up the pressure on young Henry Pollock to take the fight to Leinster's back row, particularly at the breakdown.
Building their success on an ability to ensure quick ruck ball, the Leinster pack blow through opposition in this department. Unlike his more flashy moments so far this season, Pollock will need to stick to going down some dark alleys if he has ambitions of slowing down Leinster.
At scrum time, Leinster has opted to start Cian Healy, with the general perception being that he will be replaced 20 minutes into the match by Andrew Porter.
Given the chop as the tenderizer, Healy will empty the tank in that period, before one of the most powerful players in world rugby tags in.
Reflecting on the Leinster bench as a whole, not since Edge and Christian in the WWE has there been a more intimidating 1-2 in pro than Porter and Barrett.
Should Northampton be hanging on, the sight of Ireland’s first choice loosehead, and quite possibly the best current All Black trotting on, will be as terrifying as Freddy Krueger.
Saints Path To Victory
One area the Saints will feel they are uniquely positioned to punish Leinster is their ability to get around the blitz defense.
Just a week removed from a second-string Leinster side suffering just their second defeat of the season, the Saints will draw inspiration from what the Scarlets pulled off in Round 16 of the URC.
Turning Leinster’s lightning-quick line speed against it, Scarlets employed a clever short-range kicking game and a narrow carrying option to keep the Leinster line honest. This put a split-second hesitation in some of the Leinster defenders’ minds and allowed the Scarlets to make yards before working the ball wide.
Defensively, Gary Ringrose is often Leinster’s dedicated shooter, while James Lowe is renowned for jamming in and shutting off the outside pass.
If Smith can pull the trigger at the right moment with the likes of Tommy Freeman, James Ramm, Juarano Augustus and Pollock, the possibility of getting the Leinster defense backpedaling is there. If this happens, the Saints will find space on the edge, then it will come down to their ability to capitalize and Leinster’s ability to scramble.
Of course this is all well and good in theory, in reality to date, no side has been able to effectively do this, bar perhaps Bath for the opening 20 minutes of their pool match.
Prediction
Most bookies have made Leinster a 20-point favorite in this clash, which feels about right, when one considers that through two playoff matches, Leinster has scored 114 points and conceded 0.
Unlike Harlequins and Glasgow before them, the Saints have the panache to take advantage of opportunities and in attack coach Sam Vesty they have one of the best attacking minds in the game.
Realistically, however, we don’t see the Leinster machine coming unstuck this week with the firepower they can keep on the park for the full 80 minutes. The Saints will have a crack, but the Leinster power game will eventually tell. Leinster by 18.
When Is The Investec Champions Cup Final?
The 2025 Investec Champions Cup final will take place Saturday, May 24 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Investec Champions Cup Format
Key points of the 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup:
- A multi-pool format, as launched in the 2023-2024 season
- 24 elite clubs - eight each from the Gallagher Premiership, URC and TOP 14 - in four pools of six
- Sporting jeopardy, with each club playing against four different opponents, home or away, in the pool stage
- Four highest-ranked clubs in each pool qualify for the Round of 16
- The Investec Champions Cup will be played over eight weekends, with four pool rounds and four knockout rounds culminating in the 2025 final, which will be staged at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Saturday, May 24.
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