Saints revel in 'dream' performance after stunning Leinster to reach Champions Cup final
Northampton Saints' Henry Pollock revelled in a "dream" result after his side stunned Leinster with a dramatic 37-34 victory to reach the Champions Cup final.
Leinster had reached the final of this competition in each of the last three seasons, beating the Saints at this stage last campaign, but had no match to a first-half flurry from the English side.
Tommy Freeman ran through for a hat-trick of tries, along with an impressive Pollock solo effort, as Northampton headed into the interval with a 27-15 half-time lead.
Tries from Josh van der Flier and Tommy O'Brien had reduced the opening-half arrears before Caelan Doris crossed after half-time to spark hopes of a comeback.
Those aspirations only grew further through Van der Flier's second score, though Northampton full-back James Ramm went over in the corner just two minutes later to restore his side's cushion.
James Lowe halved the deficit as Leinster scored from another well-worked tap penalty, but Northampton held out in the dying stages after turning their opponents over on the line with a minute remaining.
"That was a battle. I have never played in a game that hard in my life," England and Saints back row Pollock told Premier Sports.
"That is what dreams are made of. As a boy, I grew up watching this competition and to get to the final with my boyhood club, I'm emotional speaking about it.
"After the last two performances these Leinster boys had, to come here with no fear, we have been saying all week, 'Why not us'?"
Cardiff is calling.
— Northampton Saints (@SaintsRugby) May 3, 2025
pic.twitter.com/IfmWL5vQe3
Leinster overcame a 16-point deficit against the same opponents in the memorable 2011 final, which marked the last time the Saints reached the showpiece match of this competition.
The Irish side may have been thinking they would complete another comeback here, but Ross Byrne was denied a late score for a knock-on in the build-up in a much-needed lifeline for Northampton.
The Saints did not make it easy for themselves, however, with Josh Kemeny receiving a late yellow card for a high tackle on Rabah Slimani.
"We probably came in as the underdogs but the fight we showed and the squad we have, we know we can produce this performance and take anyone on," hat-trick hero Freeman added.
"When we put our game on the pitch we stress defences. We ran for each other for 80 minutes and got the result."
Phil Dowson's Saints will play the winner of Sunday's all-French semi-final between Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles in Cardiff on May 24, while Leinster's wait for a first Champions Cup title since 2018 goes on.
"I'm absolutely gutted. It's a massive disappointment. Credit to Saints, they came out firing as we expected. We just weren’t good enough," Leinster captain Doris told RTE.
"We knew there would be bigger tests than we have played previously, we weren’t accurate enough with our stuff but credit to them, their attack was very dangerous.
"There is massive belief in this squad and we wanted to start the second half on the right note but Northampton dug in and it went right down to the wire.
"From the first minute to the 80th, there were opportunities we didn’t take. We will stay tight as a group, take the learnings and there is still a chance of silverware in the URC this season."