Champions Cup 'hurt' fuels Leinster as Toulouse seek eighth final
Leinster are playing what is effectively a home match at Dublin's Croke Park stadium on Saturday following defeats in the past two finals by La Rochelle.
The Irish side gained a measure of revenge over the French club for those agonising losses with a 40-13 quarter-final win last month.
Andrew Porter, a member of the last Leinster team to be crowned champions of Europe in 2018, hopes the "disheartening" experiences of recent years can be put to good use.
"It's all part of sport - you win some, you lose some," said the 28-year-old prop.
"But it seems like we're kind of in a cycle of getting so close yet so far the last couple of years."
"We're definitely using those experiences, those losses to add to our armoury," he added. "You have to use those and leverage that hurt over the last few seasons."
Leinster somehow let slip a 23-7 lead to lose 27-26 to La Rochelle at Dublin's Aviva Stadium 12 months ago after conceding a last-gasp try to the same opponents in a 24-21 defeat in the 2022 final in Marseille.
Saturday's match will be the first Champions Cup fixture staged at Croke Park since four-time European champions Leinster beat Irish rivals Munster there in the semi-finals in May 2009.
Competition rules state that host teams cannot use their own grounds in the semi-finals but they still benefit from the advantage of playing in their home country.
English Premiership leaders Northampton, the 2000 European champions, are determined to avoid being overawed by the occasion.
National symbolism
Northampton have been learning about the history of Croke Park in anticipation of becoming the first English club side to play at the home of Gaelic sport.
The stadium is steeped in national symbolism as the site of the 1920 "Bloody Sunday" massacre perpetrated by British troops that took place during Ireland's struggle for independence.
"It's absolutely fundamental that we have an appreciation of the significance of Croke Park, both culturally and historically, to the Irish battle for independence and to their psyche," said director of rugby Phil Dowson.
"It's mainly important because we should have an understanding of the history, regardless of whether we are playing rugby there or not.
"But we should also understand the influence it will have on their playing group, the crowd and the implications for that around the atmosphere."
In Sunday's second semi-final, record five-time European kings Toulouse host English Premiership side Harlequins.
Top 14 side Toulouse hammered Quins 49-17 in a pool match in December but No. 8 Alexandre Roumat said the French giants were guarding against over-confidence.
"Our coaching staff have already warned us about that and no doubt will continue to do so up to the last minute," he said.
"The score was very much in our favour but it did not truthfully reflect the real level of Harlequins, who have incredible individuals.
"Even if we play in two different championships, we both play a similar style of game, we feed off counter-attacks."
While Toulouse are just one win away from an eighth final, Sunday's match will be Harlequins' first semi-final in European club rugby's top tournament.
Quins, who won the second-tier Challenge Cup three times when it was still just a European tournament, have upset the odds by twice winning in France this season, beating Paris-based Racing 92 and defeating Bordeaux-Begles 42-41 in a stunning quarter-final.
"I haven't seen any fear this week," said Roumat's opposite number, Alex Dombrandt.
"It is the biggest week in the club's history. The belief is strong among the group. We have won in France a couple of times."
He added: "They (Toulouse) are a team of superstars across the board and we also know we are going to have to go there and score tries, so we are going to go there and attack."
The winners of the two semi-finals will meet in a May 25th final at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
