Leinster 20-17 Northampton: James Lowe hat-trick secures hosts place in Champions Cup final as plucky Saints fight back at Croke Park after heroic comeback

Northampton staged a heroic fightback at Croke Park before being dumped out of the Champions Cup in agonizing fashion as a James Lowe hat-trick fired Leinster into another final.

The Premiership leaders came to Dublin as obvious underdogs against the perennial contenders for European rugby’s ultimate title and when trailing 20-3 shortly after half-time it threatened to turn sour for the Saints.

They had played “Murder on the Dancefloor” in the stadium before the delayed kick-off and a murder at the oval ball seemed to be on the cards, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Normally when Leinster go for the jugular, they don’t miss. But in what was long a one-sided semi-final, the hosts were unable to fend off their English rivals. Instead, the visitors crawled out of a deep hole and tries from George Hendy and Tom Seabrook brought them to the brink of an epic upset before the Irish province held on to clinch their place in the showpiece at Tottenham Stadium on May 25.

There, they will face Toulouse or Harlequins and will try to win a fifth title, a record. Meanwhile, Northampton will hope to shake off the disappointment of this near miss and concentrate on their bid to win the league, from their current position of strength.

A hat-trick of tries from James Lowe booked Leinster’s place in the Champions Cup final

The hosts took an early lead at Croke Park against their Premiership opponent.

Courtney Lawes’ final European match for Northampton ended in disappointment

When the final whistle blew, the Saints players were discouraged. They had come so close to a result that would have been considered one of the club’s best, despite facing extreme adversity.

But defeat meant the end of the European career of the magnificent Courtney Lawes, who captained her team with typical authority, before a summer move across the Channel to Brive. He will miss these huge matches, against the great and the good – and they will miss him.

Northampton started the match nervously. In the ninth minute, hesitation from the visitors’ defense allowed Leinster to be handed an attacking scrum and they built the platform for their first try.

Another penalty followed in front of the posts, Jamison Gibson-Park took it quickly and his long pass to the stranded Alex Mitchell picked out Lowe, who raced past Hendy to score. Ross Byrne added the conversion.

Northampton were stuttering and faltering, and things went from bad to worse for Dowson’s side when Fin Smith’s pass near halfway was intercepted by rival No.10 Byrne. The fly-half was chased down, but Leinster once again asserted their territorial advantage. This time, after a drive into the 22 and a solo push from Caelan Doris, Gibson-Park hit the ball to the left where Lowe was free to land again.

Byrne couldn’t land the extras from a tight angle, but it was 12-0 and a procession seemed in the cards. The Saints needed a spark of challenge. Lawes duly obliged, winning a trademark turnover in front of his own line. Finally, the visitors put the pressure on. They couldn’t completely break the chains, but a Smith penalty sent them into halftime with just a 15-3 lead. It could have been much worse.

Unfortunately for Northampton, this was soon to be the case. In the 44th minute, Ryan Baird’s breakthrough into the opposition’s 22 sparked another Leinster strike. They were pushed back down the right, but good hands from Jamie Osborne and Dan Sheehan kept the raid moving and Ciaran Frawley sent Lowe to complete his hat-trick into the left corner. That was it; game over. No return.

Northampton rallied in the second half and got back into the game thanks to tries from George Hendy and Tom Seabrook

The visitors fought to the end in search of a historic upset but Leinster held on for victory.

Or so it seemed. Out of nowhere, the Saints burst into flames. Juarno Augustus broke loose down the right and after Leinster wasted a lineout the ball was moved to the left where Hendy kicked forward and pounced on a Jordan Larmour spill to score. Smith kicked the conversion, then Byrne missed a direct penalty shot at the other end.

There was a hint of tension when a real contest broke out, belatedly.

Northampton is back. Tommy Freeman kicked from the left, ran like the wind in pursuit and forced Gibson-Park to concede a five-yard scrum. The visitors turned the screw, continued to give away penalties and eventually Seabrook was released to score on the left. Smith converted and it was a three-point game.

With a minute to go, the Saints rushed forward in search of a winning try. The force seemed to be with them, but Jack Conan won a turnover, Croke Park broke out and a clash was averted.