2011 Heineken Cup Final

2011 Heineken Cup Final
Event 2010–11 Heineken Cup
Date 21 May 2011
Venue Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Man of the Match Jonathan Sexton (Leinster)
Referee Romain Poite (France)
Attendance 72,456

The 2011 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2010–11 Heineken Cup, the 16th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 21 May 2011 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The match was contested by Northampton Saints of England and Leinster of Ireland, the second Heineken Cup final for each club.[1][2] Leinster won the match 33–22 after being 22–6 down at half-time.[3][4][5] The win was Leinster's second win in three years of the competition.[6]

Background

The Millennium Stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2011 Heineken Cup Final on 17 May 2010.[7] The stadium has already hosted three Heineken Cup Finals. The first, in 2002, saw Leicester Tigers defeat Munster 19–15. Munster returned for the next Cardiff final in 2006, defeating French side Biarritz 23–19. Two years later, Munster faced and defeated another French side, Toulouse, with the final score 16–13. The 2011 final was the first Heineken Cup Final held in the Millennium Stadium that does not involve Munster.[7]

Northampton Saints had played in one previous Heineken Cup Final—in 2000.[1] The Saints defeated Munster 9–8 at Twickenham in London. From their victory until the 2010–11 season, they had made the knockout stages only twice: in 2003 and 2005.

Leinster reached the semi-finals four times previously (1996, 2003, 2006 and 2010) and also won in the 2009 final at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.[2] Their run to the 2009 final was memorable for their quarter-final victory over Harlequins in a match marred by the Bloodgate scandal.

Consequences for other clubs

Following the Amlin Challenge Cup final on 20 May at Cardiff City Stadium, the result of the 2011 Heineken Cup Final had the potential to secure a Heineken Cup berth for one of two clubs not involved in that match. Under rules of the Heineken Cup organiser, European Rugby Cup (ERC), the winners of both the Heineken Cup and the second-tier Amlin Challenge Cup receive berths in the following year's Heineken Cup. These berths are not counted against a country's normal allocation, except when either England or France produces winners of both cups in the same season. Currently, England is normally entitled to six Heineken Cup berths and Ireland to three; England is capped at seven berths (as is France).

Both participants in the 2011 final had already qualified for the 2011–12 Heineken Cup by their domestic performance—Leinster by finishing second in the Celtic League and Northampton Saints by finishing fourth in the Aviva Premiership.

Leinster won the final and therefore Connacht, who finished last among the four Irish teams in the Celtic League, claimed Ireland's extra Heineken Cup berth.[8]

Match

Summary

Northampton scored three tries, and held Leinster without a try, in the first half.[9] Northampton led the match 22–6 at the half.[10] In one of the most remarkable turnarounds, Leinster scored 27 points in the second half, and held Northampton scoreless, to win the match 33–22. Jonathan Sexton, reportedly having given a rousing half-time team talk referencing Liverpool's 2005 Uefa Champions League Final comeback, scored 22 second-half points; two tries, three conversions, and two penalties to lead Leinster to an unlikely come from behind victory.[9] Sexton was named man-of-the-match.[10][11]

Details

21 May 2011
17:00
Northampton Saints England 22 – 33 Ireland Leinster
Try: Dowson 7' c
Foden 30' c
Hartley 39' m
Con: Myler (2/3)
Pen: Myler (1/1) 20'
 Report Try: Sexton (2) 43' c, 52' c
Hines 64' c
Con: Sexton (3/3)
Pen: Sexton (4/5) 13', 35', 56', 60'
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 72,456[12]
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
FB 15England Ben Foden
RW 14England Chris Ashton
OC 13England Jon Clarke
IC 12Ireland James Downey
LW 11England Paul Diggin
FH 10England Stephen Myler
SH 9 England Lee Dickson
N8 8 Ireland Roger Wilson
OF 7 England Phil Dowson
BF 6 England Calum Clark
RL 5 England Christian Day
LL 4 England Courtney Lawes
TP 3 South Africa Brian Mujati
HK 2 England Dylan Hartley
LP 1 Tonga Soane Tonga'uiha
Substitutions:
HK 16England Brett Sharman
PR 17England Alex Waller
PR 18England Tom Mercey
LK 19New Zealand Mark Sorenson
FL 20England Mark Easter
SH 21South Africa Stuart Commins
FH 22England Shane Geraghty
CE 23Scotland Joe Ansbro
Coach:
England Jim Mallinder
FB 15Fiji Isa Nacewa
RW 14Ireland Shane Horgan
OC 13Ireland Brian O'Driscoll
IC 12Ireland Gordon D'Arcy
LW 11Ireland Luke Fitzgerald
FH 10Ireland Jonathan Sexton
SH 9 Ireland Eoin Reddan
N8 8 Ireland Jamie Heaslip
OF 7 Ireland Sean O'Brien
BF 6 Ireland Kevin McLaughlin
RL 5 Scotland Nathan Hines
LL 4 Ireland Leo Cullen (c)
TP 3 Ireland Mike Ross
HK 2 South Africa Richardt Strauss
LP 1 Ireland Cian Healy
Substitutions:
HK 16Ireland Jason Harris-Wright
PR 17South Africa Heinke van der Merwe
PR 18Cook Islands Stan Wright
LK 19Ireland Devin Toner
FL 20Ireland Shane Jennings
SH 21Ireland Isaac Boss
FH 22Ireland Ian Madigan
CE 23Ireland Fergus McFadden
Coach:
New Zealand Josef Schmidt

Touch judges:
France Jerome Garces
France Pascal Gauzère
Television match official:
Italy Giulio De Santis

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Northampton Saints: Superb Saints seal final berth". Northampton Saints official web site. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Heineken Cup – Brilliant Leinster reach final". Yahoo! Eurosport. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  3. ↑ Eddie Butler (21 May 2011). "Jonny Sexton leads Leinster to second-half romp against Northampton". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Cleary, Mick (22 May 2011). "Jonny Sexton takes Leinster to heights other teams can only dream of as they beat Saints to win Heineken Cup". Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "Heineken Cup: Leinster 33-22 Northampton". RTÉ Sport. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "Leinster clinch stunning euro triumph". espnscrum. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Heineken Cup final back at Millennium Stadium in 2011". BBC Sport. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  8. ↑ "Connacht handed Heineken Cup place". ESPNSCRUM. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 O'Sullivan, John (21 May 2011). "Sexton hero of the hour once more". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Paul Ackford (21 May 2011). "Heineken Cup final 2011: Leinster 33 Northampton 22 match report". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  11. ↑ O'Sullivan, John (22 May 2011). "Sexton hero of the hour once more". Irish Times.
  12. ↑ Palmer, Bryn (21 May 2011). "Leinster 33-22 Northampton". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.