Northampton Saints 'learned lots' from Leinster defeat at Croke Park last year

“There were loads that came out of it from a technical and tactical point of view but really more from how you deal with the pressure of big games and how you make sure you’re set," said Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson.

LESSONS LEARNED: Northampton Saints will return to Dublin this Saturday confident they will be better for their Croke Park experience of 12 months ago. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.

Northampton Saints will return to Dublin this Saturday confident they will be better for their Croke Park experience of 12 months ago when they lock horns once more with Leinster in a Champions Cup semi-final reunion at Aviva Stadium.

Anyone expecting a repeat this weekend of Leinster’s previous knockout games this season, when Harlequins in the Round of 16 and Glasgow Warriors in the quarter-finals were each nilled while conceding a combined 114 points, should cast their minds back to last season’s last-four clash when Saints ran the home side extremely close having given Leo Cullen’s a 15-0 head start before eventually being pipped 20-17.