Saints to draw on Croke Park learnings for Premiership bid

Elsewhere, The Telegraph are reporting that Stuart Hogg, Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer, will complete an extraordinary career u-turn by coming out of retirement to sign for Top 14 Montpellier in July.

Leinster’s Ciarán Frawley and Tom James of Northampton compete in the air for the ball. Pic: James Crombie, Inpho

Northampton have been reflecting on the harsh lessons of their defeat at Croke Park to steel their bid to claim the Gallagher Premiership title on Saturday.

Saints were gripped by stage fright as they allowed Leinster to build a 20-3 lead in last month's Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin but, having gained their composure in front of an 82,300 crowd, they fell just short with a final-quarter rally, losing 20-17.