Leinster’s attempt to reach their fourth successive Champions Cup final in a row spectacularly came a cropper in the Saturday evening Dublin sunshine as Northampton deservedly won a 10-try, 71-point semi-final thriller in front of an attendance of 42,207. Here is how we rated Leo Cullen’s Irish side in their breathtaking 34-37 loss.

Leinster player ratings v Northampton

15 Hugo Keenan: Was looking for a polished outing to seal his expected British and Irish Lions tour selection. Instead, we witnessed an error-strewn display where he defensively failed to adequately shut the door on Northampton time and time again. His 70th-minute assist for the James Lowe score was an aberration. 4

14 Tommy O’Brien: If Leinster had a backline full of Tommy O’Briens, they would have comfortably advanced to the final. Unlike his Test-playing Ireland colleagues, who left much to be desired, O’Brien was a class act. Scored on 18 minutes and then produced some other lovely interventions. Look at his penalty-winning kick and chase 12 minutes into the second half not long after he levelled Curtis Langdon in the tackle. 7

13 Garry Ringrose: His limp performance illustrated the weakness in Leinster putting too much emphasis on defence in this Jacques Nienaber era than prioritising the lovely flowing attacking style of play they thrived on just a few seasons ago. Yes, there were moments when the tactic worked, such as his 11th-minute clattering of Fraser Dingwall. But he was ultimately dead on his feet as seen in the wrecked tired tackle of Alex Coles that he fell off in the lead to James Ramm’s 63rd minute try. 5

12 Robbie Henshaw: So poor was the midfielder that we didn’t scribble down a single thing of positive note before he was called ashore on 50 minutes. 4

11 James Lowe: He broke Northampton hearts a year ago in Croke Park with his try hat-trick but had his heart broken here with Tommy Freeman hitting back with a splendid first-half hat-trick. Lowe’s defending lacked precision and while he did eventually score on 70 minutes, that good moment was a rarity in an outing to forget. 4

10 Sam Prendergast: This semi-final was touted as a Prendergast head-to-head with Fin Smith in the battle for Lions selection – and the Northampton player convincingly won the duel. While there were splendid passes in the creation of two first-half scores, his game had too many errors overall and the ultimate snub came when not getting asked to level the scores on 76 minutes off the tee. Instead, Leinster went to the corner with the penalty, fluffed the resulting play and Prendergast was hooked for the closing minutes. 5

9 Jamison Gibson-Park: His speed of pass flummoxed the Saints in the opening half last year but there was no repeat in this rematch. There were some positives, such as the quick tap to help create the 18th-minute try, but Alex Mitchell generally managed the positional challenge put to him by the Leinster scrum-half who didn’t have enough willing helpers around him. 6

8 Caelan Doris: Was looking for a massive individual performance to enhance his Lions captaincy credentials but he didn’t get it. Failed to impress in a difficult first half, he did fleetingly bounce back in the second by delivering a 47th-minute try and then executing a sweet rip and kick for a 50/22. However, he then took a knock and exited on 57 minutes. 5

7 Josh van der Flier: Normally, a two-try scorer would have his praises loudly sung for his efforts but the 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year was eclipsed by the crazy energy of the wonderful Henry Pollock, who has surely played his way into the Lions squad. The evening finished in a gut-wrenching way for Van der Flier as he agonisingly lost the ball approaching the try line. 6

6 Max Deegan: This biggest fixture in his slow-burning career was filled with regret. While there were two exquisite pieces of handling, including the offload to set Van der Flier up for his first half try, lasting impact eluded him in his 44 minutes. See the 20th-minute stolen lineout five metres out from the line or the way he was sucking air when Juarno Augustus snatched the loose ball to create Freeman’s hat-trick try. 4

5 Joe McCarthy: Plenty of matches end with this chap’s name up in lights but this semi-final was a case of ‘Ordinary Joe’. Rather than being a game-winning enforcer, his display was pockmarked by damaging errors. We’ll point out two: his missed tackle in the Smith break that led to the first Northampton score, and also getting the ball stolen by Pollock after carrying to a 76th minute ruck. 4

4 RG Snyman: The double Rugby World Cup winner was signed to be the ‘decisive inches’ difference in season-defining matches like this but he was terrible. His maul-leading was generally ineffective, apart from the second-half Van der Flier score, there were deflating handling errors and his soft attempt to tackle Pollock was a prime reason the visiting back-rower raced to the line on 29 minutes. 3

3 Tadhg Furlong: Just his sixth club start in an injury-hit season and it showed. There was no of the energetic bounce about the place that you see from him in his prime and while his scrummaging wasn’t a game-losing factor, he didn’t do enough in his 54 minutes on the pitch. 4

2 Dan Sheehan: Let’s give Northampton their due, they recognised he was the Leinster dangerman and they took diligent steps to dilute his impact on this semi-final. Sheehan still had his threatening moments in his 64 minutes but the Saints, for the most part, shackled the home team’s maul and that was critical. 5

1 Cian Healy: Time waits for no man and this start was a game too far for the soon-to-retire 37-year-old, who was hooked just 20 minutes in. Left clutching air when Smith broke to ignite move for opening score, and was then like a scrapheap car arriving way too slow to a breakdown where Leinster conceded a penalty. 3

Replacements: Leinster dipped into their back-up with just 20 minutes gone, hooking Healy and sending on Andrew Porter who started slowly as he took blame for the Pollock score. Then gave up penalty points on 56 minutes. Next came Jack Conan just minutes into the second half and his penalty win secured the possession for the Doris try.

Jordie Barrett was then summoned and soon involved in turning over Northampton’s ball, with Rabah Slimani following on 54 minutes and Ryan Baird three minutes later, quickly winning a turnover penalty and taking the lineout catch for van der Flier’s maul try. Slimani getting hit high led to a 68th-minute yellow for Josh Kemeny. The game ended with the ball getting pilfered on a Conan carry, summing up the overall lack of game-changing bench impact. 5

READ MORE: Five takeaways as ‘heroic’ Saints condemn ‘champions elect’ to ‘another year of hurt’ in Champions Cup classic