Northampton edge Leinster in epic European Cup semi-final

DUBLIN :Brilliant Northampton stunned Leinster 37-34 in a breathless Champions Cup semi-final on Saturday with a first-half Tommy Freeman hat-trick leaving the English champions one game away from their first European crown in 25 years.

Northampton, who have only won the competition once, played a perfect first half with Freeman and a try from the brilliant young flanker Henry Pollock giving them a 27-15 lead against a side who did not concede a point in the previous two rounds.

Leinster, heavy favourites and losing finalists in the last three years, had famously recovered from an even bigger halftime deficit the last time Northampton were in a final in 2011.

A comeback looked on again this time with tries from Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier before the hour.

But James Ramm put the fearless visitors 10 points clear two minutes later and they survived two yellow cards, a James Lowe try and Leinster's loaded bench to set up a final against either holders Toulouse or Bordeaux in Cardiff on May 24.

"They said Leinster by 30 (points winning margin), but look here we are," man of the match Freeman told RTE. "We know we can do this. We know if we get our game on the pitch, we can take anyone on."

The defeat means the seven-year wait for an elusive fifth title goes on for shell-shocked Leinster, a bitter pill for a side made up of most of the Ireland team along with superstars RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett, the latter who started on the bench.

"I don't know what to say really, massive disappointment," Leinster captain Doris said.

But Northampton, who have struggled in the English premiership this season, fully deserved the win.

They unsettled the competition's second most decorated team from the off, with a brilliant line break and