Having broken their Champions Cup hoodoo against La Rochelle, Leinster will feel this is their best chance in years of adding a fifth star to their badge.
Leinster lost out in the 2021 semi-finals to La Rochelle, before back-to-back final defeats to Ronan O'Gara's side - but they spectacularly broke their duck in last month's quarter-final clash in the Aviva Stadium.
They now stand just one game away from a third consecutive final appearance, and their semi-final is set to be an historic occasion as they face Northampton at Croke Park on Saturday evening.
We spoke to Ireland legend Stephen Ferris in partnership with Ladbrokes ahead of the weekend's titanic matchup at Croker - and the Ulsterman cannot see anything stopping the Leinster train this weekend.
READ HERE: Former Dublin GAA Star Praised For Impact In Role At English Premiership Club
READ HERE: Northampton Star Drops Unfortunate Slip Of Tongue Ahead Of Croke Park Clash
Stephen Ferris: Leinster set up for victory at Croke Park
3 May 2024; Leinster players during a Leinster Rugby captain's run at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Though Ferris expects Northampton to make things difficult for Leinster at GAA HQ on Saturday, he believes it should ultimately be a routine victory for the Irish side to send them through to the final in London:
Leinster have won nine out of their last ten meetings against Northampton and I think four out of the last five semi-finals Leinster have won in the Champions Cup. A couple of those have come from margins of 19 points and above.
If I was leaning a few quid I would be looking at Leinster to be very, very dominant and by 15-20 points I’d expect them to win. I just can’t see Northampton pitching up in such a cauldron of atmosphere and occasion on a landmark day for Leinster Rugby. How they can come to Dublin and win, I just can’t see it.
I feel like it’s going to be a dominant effort from Leinster to get the big result.
Expectations are high for Leinster, but they have fallen close to the finish on several occasions over the past few years. Perhaps no demise was more disappointing for their fans than the conclusion to last season's URC and Champions Cup campaign.
Just a week before their collapse against La Rochelle in Dublin, an understrength Leinster side was defeated in the URC semi-finals by Munster. Only three players started in both games, with the extensive rotation leading to a sense that the province may have been complacent.
Leinster sent none of their big hitters to South Africa over the past fortnight for their URC doubleheader and suffered two heavy defeats, but Stephen Ferris is eager to stress that this is a very different situation to last year's:
I think after the La Rochelle win...how much they celebrated that win after the game, they were walking around...I think because they’ve been beaten by La Rochelle the previous couple of times in big games and finals, last-minute wins…it meant so, so much to them. They really did rub it in their faces - and why wouldn’t you do that?
A different group of players then went away to South Africa and they got home and hosed two weeks on the bounce. Now it’s all about getting a reaction from the same group of players that took the field in the Aviva against La Rochelle. I think they’ll get that.
If I could rewind the clock and my head coach turned around and told me, ‘Look, here’s two weeks off, get back in the gym, let’s do a lot of fitness work before we hit the ground running against Northampton in a semi-final,’ I would jump at that chance all day long.
I’d rather be feeling really fresh than coming off the back of a two-week camp down in South Africa with a couple of beatings and having to pick yourself up to go again against a Northampton team that are flying. All these guys are going to be fresh, ready, and raring to go. Hopefully they do hit the ground running.
Ferris says that a Leinster v Toulouse final is the "mouthwatering" dream outcome of these semi-finals, but both will have to come through their last-four assignments first.
History will be made with the first rugby game at Croke Park in 14 years this weekend, and Ferris shared his memories of the stadium with us:
I felt very fortunate to be able to play at Croke Park, what a venue.
Walking into the changing rooms, there’s a lot more GAA lads fitting in these changing rooms - the changing room is huge. Massive changing room, massive big showers, you’re walking around going, ‘this is bananas how big it is.’ Consider that I was used to the little small changing rooms at the old Lansdowne Road for my first cap.
I can’t wait for this game tomorrow. It’s going to be a cracking occasion.
By all accounts, the tickets are like absolute gold dust. Hopefully Leinster are able to put on a show and give the crowd something to cheer about.
Everybody’s going to be tuning in - if you’ve got a ticket, I’m very jealous!
Leinster face Northampton at Croke Park on Saturday evening, with kick-off at 5:30pm. The game is live on RTÉ 2.
SEE ALSO: Stuart Barnes Explains Why Croke Park Switch Could Be Bad News For Leinster
