Leinster vs Northampton -Teams and prediction

SATURDAY PREVIEW: Leinster and Northampton Saints harbor realistic dreams of a domestic and EPCR double when they go front and center in Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final at a sold-out Croke Park in Dublin.

The semi-final will be the first Champions Cup match to be held in Croke Park since four-time European champions Leinster defeated Irish rivals Munster in the semi-finals there in May 2009.

English Premier League leaders Northampton, the 2000 European champions, are determined to avoid being overwhelmed by this event.

Leinster play what is effectively a home game at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin, following defeats in the past two finals against La Rochelle.

Leinster are in second place domestically, but that doesn’t fool anyone. They qualified as second seeds in the Champions Cup behind the equally rampant Stade Toulousain, beating reigning champions Stade Rochelais on their way to winning all four of their pool matches and repeating that feat in the quarter-finals.

No fewer than four of their players made the shortlist of eight for Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, Northampton Saints also qualified with four wins out of four, an impressive achievement for a young side that has developed at an extraordinary pace throughout the season.

Led by the indefatigable Courtney Lawes in his farewell season (and also nominated for Player of the Year, along with flyhalf Fin Smith), Northampton Saints have also stormed the Premiership summit.

Leinster are the big favourites, but the last time their full squad played together competitively was in the quarter-final against Stade Rochelais. Keeping the internationals fresh after a long season is crucial, but it is also a strategy that apparently had a negative effect in last year’s final.

Northampton Saints have not had this luxury, although some starters were on the bench for recent Premiership matches – an impressive win over East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers, followed by a thrilling defeat to fellow Champions Cup semi-finalists Harlequins.

The theory goes that Leinster should be fresher, given their deeper resources.

“It’s a fine line between being battle-hardened and battle-weary,” said Leinster assistant coach Robin McBryde.

“We’ve seen Lee (Radford, defense coach) come in with a big influence from rugby league and he’s given us more of that. And that allowed our season to blossom a little more,” said center Fraser Dingwall.

Northampton learned the history of Croke Park in anticipation of becoming the first English club to play in the home of Gaelic sport.

George Furbank and James Ramm retain their places in Saints’ back three at wing-back and full-back respectively, while 21-year-old George Hendy returns from injury to start on Northampton’s other wing.

Fraser Dingwall also returns to the starting line-up for Saints, alongside Tommy Freeman – who has recorded more post-contact meters (115) than any other player in the tournament so far – in the Northampton centres.

Also just 21, Finn Smith (both Saints’ top scorer (65) and leading tackler (71) in the league so far) takes up his position at fly-half, with compatriot Alex Mitchell alongside him at scrum-half.

Alex Waller makes his 375th appearance in a Saints shirt in Dublin where he starts at loosehead prop, with hooker Curtis Langdon and tighthead Trevor Davison completing Northampton’s front row.

Locks Alex Moon and Alex Coles will both return to the Saints starting line-up this weekend, with the pair of Club centurions teaming up in the Northampton engine room for a third successive Investec Champions Cup match.

The winners of the two semi-finals will meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on May 25.

Prediction:
@rugby365com: Leinster with a 12-point lead

Teams:

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 1. Jordan Larmour, 13. Robbie Henshaw, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Jimmy O’Brien

Saints from Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 James Ramm, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 George Hendy, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Sam Graham,
6 Courtney Lawes (captain), 5 Alex Coles, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Temo Mayanavanua, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tom James, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 Tom Seabrook

Date: Saturday May 4
Location: Croke Park, Dublin
Kick-off: 6:30 PM SA time (5:30 PM GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (France)

@ChampionsCup & @AFP