Long after the Irish emptied and the Seagulls had landed from Dublin Bay, Northampton fans still sang in the stands of the Aviva stadium. The knots in their stomach started to fall apart and one of the best hours of their club had finally sank.
From time to time, a sporting event presents itself which defies all logic and waiting. Leicester City wins the Premier League, Emma Radacanu wins the US Open, Japan beat South Africa at the Rugby World Cup. For Northampton, it looked like their moment.
They killed one of the superpowers of rugby; A fully loaded Leinster side, with the best of Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the greatest upheaval never seen by an English club in Europe, delivered by hand by Tommy Freeman, late Smith and Henry Pollock.
No one has seen it coming. Outside the stadium, before kick -off, the local street stands sold goods from Cardiff 25 from the Leinster brand. Many had already reserved their hotels. These opponents won their two previous laps with an overall score of 114-0.
Leinster had not conceded a simple for more than 200 minutes, but here, their defensive determination was broken. Northampton was irresistible during the attack – Freeman released a Hattrick in the first half – but their grain to maintain the giants of the sport in the last pangs was just as impressive. No wonder the hearts of Northampton seemed about to get out of these green, black and gold jerseys when the final whistle finally blew. The saint coach Phil Dowson even broke his glasses during the celebrations.
Freeman, Smith and Pollock dominate the headlines, but it was also a day for their little -known heroes. The tastes of Curtis Langdon, Fraser Dingwall and Alex Coles, who undoubtedly feed on their outsider status in the final.
Northampton Saints reached the Champions Cup final with a superb 37-34 victory in Leinster
Tommy Freeman kicked out as they withdrew the greatest European upheaval by an English team
Henry Pollock also shone and scored an astonishing test in the first half while they shocked fans in Dublin
The saints played hard from the start, ensuring that they would leave Dublin without regrets. Attacing early kick of Sam Prendergast, James Ramm rose the ball back, playing unstructured rugby, so make sure that Blitz de Leinster’s defense did not have time to put himself.
Smith has cut a line worthy of a call of lions, insulating the Cian Healy propeller and leaving Prendergast with desperately air. Smith hit the ball for his henchman, Freeman, who marked the right. ‘Lion! Lion! Lion!’ sung travel fans. After that, Andy Farrell must surely take note of it.
Leinster joined, as they always do. Dan Sheehan won a turnover and Garry Ringrose stolen out of the line to get the wind from Rory Hutchinson out. Pollock conceded three points for a late blow on Josh van der Flier, but the young Englishman made amends, winning his duel.
Momentarily, Leinster took the lead in the 18th minute. Awarded a free kick from the fray, Jamiston Gibson-Park typed and went before the attackers were even breathed. He failed the ball in Prendergast and, before the attackers know what was going on, Tommy O’Brien had marked the right.
The saints have defended for their lives, showing ties that extend far beyond the height of rugby. They stopped the giant RG Snyman on his traces and poached an alignment in their own 22. Smith pinched three points, but Leinster was on a rabbit. Lowe’s Quick Tap launched another attack and Max Deegan was allowed to burst the ball so that Van der Flier can mark.
But the next 10 minutes were that 10 of the best Northampton never delivered. Pollock, leading through the next generation of talents, traveled the base of the base of the ruck and had eyes for the test line 45 meters. He beat Snyman and walked on gas to beat Prendergast in the wing to mark, checking his pulse in front of the crowd, the ice flowing in his veins.
“Who are you? Singer fans of the saints.
The reputations counted for nothing here. The Blitz Defense of Leinster was shredded, the saints pulling the rear passes, sucking the Irish before exploiting the wide space. Freeman went from one wing to another, connecting Tom Lightfield to mark another.
Two minutes later, he had his hatrick. After jumping over Hugo Keenan to hit a box kick, Freeman collected the unloading of Juarno Augustus to put his team in Dreamland, leading to 12 points at halftime.
A glance at Leinster’s bench told you that troubles were preparing. Rabah Slimani at Elliot Mills Mills, Jack Conan in Chunya Munga, Jordie Barrett in Tom Seabrook. 338 caps at 2. Leinster lost three finals in Bounce, but this year, they killed their team to shake up their status as a perennial finalists.
Caelen Doris was packed to mark Lowe’s 50-22. Smith launched a long -term penalty while his team resisted an Irish storm. Dan Sheehan went from the back of an alignment while the advantage of the saints was cut dying.
But the ambition of saints has never died. They kept the ball alive, pumping their legs through each tackle, finding the strength to prevent specialists from the Leinster jackal from killing each breakdown. They canceled Leinster’s line lines with a speed of thought, with the miraculous pass of Fraser Dingwall beating the blitz to set up a 63rd minute test for Ramm.
When Jack Kemeny was sining for a high shot on Slimani in the 68th minute, the saints were in the fight of their lives. Lowe scored on the left and, with three points, Leinster continued to come. Pollock won reversals, Alex Coles sacrificed himself for the cause and, finally, after the battle of their lives, a glorious chaos on their own line, they came out victorious, written in history.
