2011 Heineken Cup final

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]

2011 Heineken Cup Final

Event	2010–11 Heineken Cup
Leinster Northampton Saints 33 22
Date	21 May 2011
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Man of the Match	Johnny Sexton (Leinster)
Referee	Romain Poite (France)
Attendance	72,456
← 2010 2012 →

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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. Johnny 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	22–33	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)

Northampton

Leinster

FB 15 Ben Foden RW 14 Chris Ashton OC 13 Jon Clarke IC 12 James Downey LW 11 Paul Diggin FH 10 Stephen Myler SH 9 Lee Dickson N8 8 Roger Wilson OF 7 Phil Dowson BF 6 Calum Clark RL 5 Christian Day LL 4 Courtney Lawes TP 3 Brian Mujati HK 2 Dylan Hartley LP 1 Soane Tongaʻuiha Substitutions: HK 16 Brett Sharman PR 17 Alex Waller PR 18 Tom Mercey LK 19 Mark Sorenson FL 20 Mark Easter SH 21 Stuart Commins FH 22 Shane Geraghty CE 23 Joe Ansbro Coach: Jim Mallinder

FB 15 Isa Nacewa RW 14 Shane Horgan OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy LW 11 Luke Fitzgerald FH 10 Johnny Sexton SH 9 Eoin Reddan N8 8 Jamie Heaslip OF 7 Seán O'Brien BF 6 Kevin McLaughlin RL 5 Nathan Hines LL 4 Leo Cullen (c) TP 3 Mike Ross HK 2 Richardt Strauss LP 1 Cian Healy Substitutions: HK 16 Jason Harris-Wright PR 17 Heinke van der Merwe PR 18 Stan Wright LK 19 Devin Toner FL 20 Shane Jennings SH 21 Isaac Boss FH 22 Ian Madigan CE 23 Fergus McFadden Coach: Josef Schmidt

Touch judges: Jérôme Garcès (France) Pascal Gaüzère (France) Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)

See also

• 2010–11 Heineken Cup

References

1. "Northampton Saints: Superb Saints seal final berth". Northampton Saints official web site. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
2. "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. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
6. "Leinster clinch stunning euro triumph". espnscrum. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
7. "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. O'Sullivan, John (21 May 2011). "Sexton hero of the hour once more". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
10. 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.