Leinster 34-37 Northampton: Saints reach Champions Cup final with biggest European upset EVER by an English side – as Tommy Freeman scores hat-trick and Henry Pollock dazzles again

Long after the Irish had emptied out and the seagulls had landed in from Dublin Bay, Northampton’s fans were still chanting in the stands of the Aviva Stadium. The knots in their stomach were beginning to un-twist and one of their club’s finest hours was finally sinking in.

Every now and then, a sporting event comes along that defies all logic and expectation. Leicester City win the Premier League, Emma Radacanu wins the US Open, Japan beat South Africa at the Rugby World Cup. For Northampton, this felt like their moment.

They took down one of rugby’s superpowers; a fully-loaded Leinster side, featuring the best of Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the greatest upset ever seen by an English club in Europe, hand-delivered by the likes of Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith and Henry Pollock.

No one saw this coming. Outside the stadium, before kick-off, local street stalls were selling Leinster-branded Cardiff 25 merchandise. Many had already booked their hotels. These were opponents won their previous two rounds with an aggregate score of 114-0.

Leinster had not conceded a single for more than 200 minutes but here their defensive resolve was shattered. Northampton were irresistible in attack – Freeman bagging a first-half hattrick – but their grit to hold out the sport’s giants in the final throes was equally impressive. No wonder Northampton hearts looked like they were about to pop out of those green, black and gold jerseys when the final whistle finally blew. Saints coach Phil Dowson even broke his glasses in the celebrations.

Freeman, Smith and Pollock dominate the headlines but this was a day for their unsung heroes, too. The likes of Curtis Langdon, Fraser Dingwall and Alex Coles, who no doubt feed off their underdog status once again in the final.

Saints played hard from the start, ensuring they would leave Dublin with no regrets. Attacking early from Sam Prendergast’s long kick, James Ramm ran the ball back, playing unstructured rugby so make sure Leinster’s blitz defence had no time to set.

Smith cut a line worthy of a Lions call-up, isolating prop Cian Healy and leaving Prendergast hopelessly clutching at air. Smith grubbered the ball through for his henchman, Freeman, who scored down the right wing. ‘Lion! Lion! Lion!’ chanted the travelling fans. After this, Andy Farrell must surely take note.

Leinster rallied, as they always do. Dan Sheehan won a turnover and Garry Ringrose flew out of the line to knock the wind out of Rory Hutchinson. Pollock conceded three points for a late hit on Josh van der Flier but the English youngster made amends, winning his duel outright.

Momentarily, Leinster took the lead in the 18th minute. Awarded a free-kick from the scrum, Jamison Gibson-Park tapped and went before the forwards had even come up for breath. He fizzed the ball to Prendergast and, before the forwards knew what was happening, Tommy O’Brien had scored down the right wing.

Saints defended for their lives, showing connections that extend far beyond the rugby pitch. They stopped the giant RG Snyman in his tracks and poached a lineout in their own 22. Smith pinched three points of his own but Leinster were on a roll. Lowe’s quick tap launched another attack and Max Deegan was allowed an age to pop the ball off the ground for Van der Flier to score.

But the next 10 minutes were 10 of the best Northampton have ever delivered. Pollock, leading through the next generation of talent, ran a line off the base of the ruck and had eyes for the tryline from 45 metres out. He beat Snyman and stepped on the gas to beat Prendergast down the wing to score, checking his pulse in front of the crowd, ice running through his veins.

‘Who are ya?’ chanted the Saints fans.

Reputations counted for nothing here. Leinster’s blitz defence was shredded, with Saints pulling passes out of the back, sucking in the Irish before exploiting the space out wide. Freeman swung from one wing to another, linking up with Tom Litchfield to score another.

Two minutes later, he had his hattrick. After leaping above Hugo Keenan to tap back a box kick, Freeman collected Juarno Augustus’ offload to put his side in dreamland, leading by 12 points going into half time.

One look at Leinster’s bench told you that trouble was brewing. Rabah Slimani to Elliot Millar Mills, Jack Conan to Chunya Munga, Jordie Barrett to Tom Seabrook. 338 caps to 2. Leinster have lost three finals on bounce but this year they turbocharged their squad to shake off their status as perennial runners up.

Caelen Doris bundled over to score from Lowe’s 50-22. Smith kicked a long-range penalty as his team weathered an Irish storm. Dan Sheehan drove over from, the back of a lineout as Saints’ advantage was cut agonisingly short.

But Saints’ ambition never died. They kept the ball alive, pumping their legs through every tackle, just about finding the strength to stop Leinster’s jackal specialists from murdering every breakdown. They negated Leinster’s linespeed with speed of thought, with Fraser Dingwall’s miraculous pass beating the blitz to set up a 63rd minute try for Ramm.

When Jack Kemeny was sin-binned for a high shot on Slimani in the 68th minute, Saints were in for the fight of their life. Lowe scored down the left and, with three points in it, Leinster kept coming. Pollock won turnovers, Alex Coles sacrificed himself for the cause and, eventually, after the battle of their lives, glorious chaos on their own try-line, they emerged victorious, written into history.