Huge surprise, Saturday, May 3, on the lawn of the Aviva Stadium, in Dublin. The English of Northampton qualified for the final of the Champions Cup of Rugby, Saturday May 3, by beating Leinster (37-34), after a spectacular match, rich in suspense and ten trials registered (five in each camp).
The stars of the English selection, like Tommy Freeman, author of a hat -trick in the first period, or the young prodigy of the XV of the Rose Henry Pollock put on the Irish – however favorite after their walks in the eighth then in the quarterfinals – who had beaten them last year at the same stage of the competition and who pushed to the last second.
Larged in the league where they are seventh out of ten, the reigning England champions quickly put all their hopes for this season in the European Cup. To do this, it was necessary to show a lot of courage, in particular to defend for ten minutes while the Irish returned to three points after a test of James Lowe (70e), and that they were in numerical superiority. The Irish also was denied a test one minute from the end, and did not manage to convert a penalty played by hand five meters from the line in stride.
A serious candidate for the title
The saints, who eliminated Clermont in the round of 16, then Castres in quarters, will try to hang a second European title in Cardiff, twenty-five years after the first. They are waiting to know the identity of their opponents, in the Principality Stadum, Saturday May 24. It will necessarily be a French club. The Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Toulouse, holding the title and sixty European champion, compete on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Bordeaux-Atlantique stadium.
The winner of the match would be well inspired to analyze the English game, impressive on Saturday of courage and solidarity in Ireland, especially in defense. It had been five years that an English club had not qualified in the final of the Champions Cup. And Northampton advances to Wales by pretending to be serious in the title. French rugby, which has dominated the European landscape for several seasons, is warned: England’s Back.
