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A repeat of the thrilling 2011 Heineken Cup final sees Northampton Saints welcome Pool 1 leaders Leinster to Franklin's Gardens. - 06/12/2013 01:52
A repeat of the thrilling 2011 Heineken Cup final sees Northampton Saints welcome Pool 1 leaders Leinster to Franklin’s Gardens.
Leinster will be hoping to extend their 100% record against Northampton in the Heineken Cup, which includes the 33-22 win in the tournament showpiece at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff two-and-a-half years ago when they somehow came back from 22-6 down at half time.
The Irish side have enjoyed plenty of success against English opposition in recent seasons, winning eight and drawing one of their last nine matches but club captain Leo Cullen insists there will be no sense of complacency as they look to make up for last season’s early exit.
“Going back over a number of years, Leinster were very guilty of crumbling around January time. You had a lot of poor results at the tail end of the Heineken Cup pool,” said Cullen.
“These back-to-back games, especially for ourselves and Northampton, could be crucial for deciding who comes out of this group.
“We’ve kind of finished those November internationals in a better place, we were pretty bashed up this time last year. You need a bit of luck but everyone’s been working very hard to try and get ourselves in the best possible shape. We just need to get out there and perform against a very good team.”
Saints have not fared so well against the Irish in the Heineken Cup in recent times, having won just one of their last five games.
Northampton will have five backs – George Pisi, Ben Foden, Jamie Elliott, James Wilson and Kahn Fotuali'i – missing through suspension and injury but fly-half Stephen Myler insists his side can cope in their absence.
“We may need to alter a few things but it's something we feel capable of and you have to deal with it,” said Myler, whose side sit second in the Aviva Premiership and their Heineken Cup pool.
“We feel we're in a strong position and that we've got players who can come in and are doing a good job. We know what a quality side Leinster are. We're really excited. It's a good test for us.”
Leinster Rugby took full control of Pool 1 with a stunning first-half display against Northampton Saints at Franklin's Gardens. - 07/12/2013 19:58
Leinster Rugby took full control of Pool 1 with a stunning first-half display against Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens.
The Irish giants took a huge step towards the knockout stages as they scored four unanswered tries in the opening 40 minutes to secure a bonus point before the interval.
Matt O’Connor’s men played some sublime rugby in the East Midlands in blowing away their in-form opponents with six tries in all to make it three wins from three following an away victory against the Ospreys and a home success against Castres Olympique.
Luke Fitzgerald grabbed an early brace, with Jamie Heaslip and Eoin Reddan also crossing in the first period and Brian O’Driscoll following suit in the second, before Fitzgerald completed his hat-trick 10 minutes from the end.
Ian Madigan added 10 points by converting five of the six scores, with Lee Dickson Saints’ solitary scorer late in the day.
O’Driscoll was at the fore as Fitzgerald gave the visitors the perfect start after less than three minutes when the veteran centre’s clever grubber fell kindly for the left wing following an early mistake from Saints full back Ken Pisi. O’Driscoll’s brilliance then set up Fitzgerald for a second score just five minutes later as his stunning through-the-legs pass gave Rob Kearney the space to put Fitzgerald in on the left once more.
Madigan added the first conversion but sent the second wide of the posts but Leinster could hardly have dreamt of a better beginning to what was expected to be their toughest test of the tournament so far.
Northampton desperately needed the next score but instead it went to Leinster as Heaslip finished off another fine move in the far right corner before touching down much closer to the posts. The No8 cantered over after Kearney brushed off the challenge of fellow British & Irish Lions star George North as Leinster continued to run riot.
And things got even worse for the hosts when Reddan danced through three minutes before the interval to ensure they were left needing a miraculous comeback to avoid a second defeat in three pool games this term.
Leinster did just that when the two teams met in a memorable Heineken Cup Final three seasons ago as they overturned a 22-6 deficit to claim Europe’s greatest prize in Cardiff, but a similar story was never really on the cards in the East Midlands.
Fitzgerald had a third score ruled out for a forward pass after Sean Cronin’s brilliant break five minutes after the restart, before Leinster’s fifth try came courtesy of O’Driscoll when he picked off Dickson’s pass in between Stephen Myler and Jamie Elliot to make it 31-0 with 17 minutes left to play. Madigan sent over the simple conversion attempt but Northampton did at least hit back with a try of their own just two minutes later as Dickson burrowed over from close-range immediately following Michael Bent’s yellow card.
Leinster were keen to have the final say, though, and that they did as Fitzgerald grabbed his third try thanks to an intelligent break and inside pass from the impressive Gordon D’Arcy. Madigan matched Stephen Myler’s conversion and Leinster had hit 40 points to ensure they head into next week’s clash in Dublin on an almighty high.
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