Archive May 2, 2025

Leinster vs. Northampton in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final

Date: Saturday, May 3rd, Kick-off: 17:30 BST

Caelan Doris and Sam Prendergast were both replaced by Ireland in the Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton Saints, and Leinster made a number of other changes.

In contrast to their Premiership win over Bristol Bears, Saints only changed with the return of prop Trevor Davison, who is the only survivor of veteran prop Cian Healy’s only other survivor.

At Aviva Stadium, Ireland’s James Lowe and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park will take the starting lineup, while the eighth-ranked Doris will lead the team. Jordie Barrett, a World Cup winner for New Zealand, is designated as the bench.

Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith, England wing, and fly-half Fin Smith will join them in Dublin for what has been billed as a head-to-head audition for selection for this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.

Both fly-halves put on impressive performances in the quarter-final, with Ireland’s Prendergast and England’s Smith both scoring well as Saints beat Castres.

Full-back George Furbank, who has been sidelined since December, is the visitors’ notable absentee. Furbank made a try-winning return from injury in their win over Castres before suffering a setback with an arm injury that had kept him out since December.

Leinster, the four-time champions of 1999-2000, and Northampton, the champions of 1999-2000, renew their European rivalry, which saw them meet at the same time as the competition last year.

England flanker Henry Pollock adds to his remarkable breakthrough season by starting in his first European semi-final, a year after watching the game at Croke Park last year in fancy dress as a supporter.

Saints, who won the trophy in 2000, are confident of making it to the first Champions Cup final since the Irish province defeated them in the 2011 showpiece.

Leinster have a very different side to what they were, which doesn’t help the situation much, but I want to assure us that we won’t be overjoyed by the circumstance.

“Many of our squad has played in significant international competitions in front of large crowds with a lot of weight on them,” said coach Steve Smith. “Hopefully all that experience will help us.”

We must treat them with respect, which is obviously a real challenge, but we won’t bow down. We’ll take a look at the progress made. I’m looking forward to playing this game because it should be fantastic.

Replacements: Barrett, Porter, Kelleher, Porter, Slimani, Baird, Conan, McGrath, R Byrne, and Barrett.

Ramm, Freeman, Dingwall (capt), Hutchinson, Litchfield, Smith, Mitchell, Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Mayanavanua, Coles, Kemeny, Pollock, Augustus, Northampton Saints.

Walker, West, Millar Mills, Lockett, Munga, Scott-Young, James, Seabrook, and others.

Cricket Ireland has announced that Lloyd Tennant will become the new head coach of Ireland’s women’s team.

Tennant has 30 years of experience in coaching and has worked with England’s Female Academy and A Team.

A former professional with Leicestershire and Essex, he was also assistant coach at Manchester Originals and was women and girls ‘ talent manager at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for two years.

The 57-year-old will replace the outgoing Ed Joyce and take up his new position from 1 June.

Joyce announced he would leave the role in February and his final matches were April’s ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers, when Ireland failed to qualify for the tournament.

“I’m very excited about this new role – it’s such a great time to be involved in women’s cricket, given its rapid development around the world”, Tennant said.

“This Ireland Women’s squad has moved forward enormously under the guidance of Ed Joyce, and I would like to continue his great work, supporting this squad as it continues to grow. To be honest, I can’t wait to get started”.

Graeme West, Cricket Ireland’s director of high performance, said Tennant was an “outstanding candidate”.

“He brings an abundance of expertise and knowledge, with the additional capacity to educate, that I am confident will advance the players and staff he leads”, West said.

“He has a track record in harnessing potential and sustaining players ‘ progress.