Champions Cup Semi-Finals: Saints Must Save Their Season, Toulouse Battles Injuries
by Joseph King | by Joseph King
Northampton Saints vs Leinster: semi-final rematch
Northampton made their return to the Champions Cup semi-finals in the 2023/24 campaign after a 13-year hiatus, where they would ultimately be sent home by Leinster in a close 20-17 contest. One year on, they now have a chance at revenge.
However, this is set to be a difficult task for the Saints; they’re away from home against the current favorites to lift the trophy in a Leinster team that have been absolutely steamrolling the competition. Naturally, we've taken all of this into account in our Champions Cup predictions.
Both teams produced dominant quarter-final displays to book their spots in the final four.
Northampton cruised to a 51-16 win over Castres in the last round, a result which marked the team’s fourth win in a row across all competitions. Meanwhile, Leinster put up another classic performance in a 52-0 rout of Glasgow in their quarter-final clash. It was Leinster’s second Champions Cup shutout victory in a row as they have now outscored their last two opponents by a combined score of 114-0.
Saints looking to salvage season
With poor domestic performances this season, Northampton are leaning on the Champions Cup to salvage the 2024/25 campaign. After winning their second ever league title last year, the Saints have plummeted to seventh place with only seven wins and eight losses from 15 matches in the Gallagher Premiership.
Unfortunately for Northampton, the oddsmakers aren’t giving them much of a chance as they come into this matchup as over 20-point underdogs. They face the unenviable task of trying to knock off a Leinster side which has made the final in the last three consecutive editions of the Champions Cup, although the last time they captured the title was in the 2017/18 season.
Toulouse vs Bordeaux Begles: all-French affair
Defending champions Toulouse are battling injury adversity in their quest to become the sixth team to retain the Investec Champions Cup trophy since its inception in 1995. They’ll take on Bordeaux Begles with one of these two French sides set for a trip to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium for the final.
Let’s look at Toulouse’s injury list coming into this crunch semi-final fixture:
- Antoine Dupont: Undoubtedly the biggest miss for Toulouse, Dupont is widely regarded as the world’s best rugby player. The scrum-half’s injury in the Guinness Six Nations back in March sees him out for an extended period of time with an ACL tear.
- Thomas Ramos: Les Rouge et Noir’s starting full-back and one of the world’s best goal kickers, Ramos is the latest casualty for Toulouse. He led the team in scoring in the 2023/24 Champions Cup with 87 points
- Peato Mauvaka: the French international hooker is out for the season with a ruptured ACL. Mauvaka has made 13 appearances for Toulouse this season, eight as a starter.
- Blair Kinghorn: The Scottish winger suffered a knee injury in the team’s 52-6 win over Castres in the Top 14 last weekend. Kinghorn has started in 17 of his 19 appearances for his club this season.
What does it mean for Toulouse’s chances?
Despite the injury concerns, Toulouse still come into this match as slight road favorites according to the oddsmakers. To the reigning Top 14 champions’ credit, they still possess one of the deepest squads in the world. They’ll have to lean on a number of those players to fill in and carry the load for their injured stars on Sunday.
Additionally, Toulouse have never lost to French opposition in the knockout rounds of the Champions Cup. They should hold the psychological edge over Bordeaux Begles as this matchup made up last season’s Top 14 final, where Toulouse crushed Bordeaux en route to a 59-3 victory back in June of 2024.
