The Irish from Leinster scared themselves but beat the English from Northampton this Saturday (20-17) in the Champions Cup semi-final. Jamison Gibson-Park’s teammates had started strong thanks to tries from Lowe (11th, 15th) but ultimately showed themselves to be messy and physically borrowed in the second half, even conceding a try from Hendy on the hour mark and a second from Seabrook (74th).
The Leinstermen are now waiting to know their opponent in the final (May 25). It will be the Stade Toulousain of Antoine Dupont and Pita Ahki or the Harlequins of Marcus Smith. The two teams face each other this Sunday (4 p.m.).
Lowe scored two tries in the first 15 minutes, both thanks to the vivacity of scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park. Ross Byrne scored a penalty and a conversion, but Northampton got back into contention thanks to a George Hendy try in the 58th minute, then set up a spectacular end to the match when substitute Tom Seabrook scored four minutes from time. END. Fin Smith converted both tries and also scored a penalty.
After a period of pressure, Seabrook burst into the corner to give Northampton the opportunity for a thrilling comeback with time running out. But they conceded a penalty in the last minute as they searched for victory. The attendance for the match, which took place at the Gaelic sport’s traditional venue, set a record for the Champions Cup, beating the previous record of 82,208 in the 2009 semi-final.
The Saints were the first English club to play at the Gaelic Athletic Association headquarters, with the Aviva Stadium in Dublin unavailable due to preparations for the Europa League final later in the month.