Saints' fightback falls just short as Leinster win Champions Cup semi-final at Croke Park

The black, green and gold were made to pay for a sluggish start to both halves as Leinster booked their place in their third successive Investec Champions Cup final.

Saints struggled to deal with the occasion in the formative stages of the match, with their errors opening the door for Leinster to turn the screw.

James Lowe delivered a try double inside the opening 16 minutes as scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park pulled the strings.

Saints got on the scoreboard with a Fin Smith penalty late in the half, but Lowe's hat-trick try four minutes into the second half put Leinster 20-3 up.

Saints finally had something to shout about when George Hendy went over, and the black, green and gold kept battling as Tom Seabrook scored out wide.

Smith converted both tries and Saints had one final charge into the home half inside the last minute of the match, but Leinster were handed the breakdown penalty and held on to win.

It meant Leinster were able to celebrate in front of a record Champions Cup crowd of 82,300, and they will now contest the final on May 25.

Saints had headed to Dublin hoping to make their first showpiece since they lost to Leinster in the 2011 final, but they looked nervous at times early on.

Three ventures into the Leinster half were ended by knock-ons, but Leinster refused to make such mistakes.

And after some confusion saw Hendy knock on inside his own 22, noise levels rose as the home fans sensed their moment.

Saints conceded a penalty under the weight of the pressure, and they were caught napping as a lovely lofted pass from Gibson-Park found Lowe out wide, with the wing cutting in to score.

Ross Byrne added the conversion and Leinster had the start they wanted.

Saints were really struggling to find their feet, and after Smith's pass was intercepted by Byrne inside the away half, Leinster were flying forward again.

Saints conceded another penalty, this time for a high tackle, and Leinster piled forward once more, with Gibson-Park's tidy flick pass finding Lowe for his second score.

Byrne hit the post with the conversion but Saints couldn't get anything going as they lost possession of the ball every time they got it in a position of promise.

Leinster continued to add to their tally as Byrne slotted a penalty won at a Saints scrum.

Saints were desperately searching for a response and they almost had a try out wide after a razor-sharp move, but George Furbank's pass was just behind James Ramm, who knocked it on.

Referee Mathieu Raynal was playing an advantage though, allowing Smith to notch a penalty to get Saints on the board.

Leinster troubled Saints from the restart and surged forward once again, but the men in black, green and gold held firm before booting the ball out for half-time.

But Leinster wasted little time in adding another try after the break as they kept the ball alive in incredible fashion, eventually sending Lowe over for his hat-trick score.

There were suggestions of a forward pass from Jordan Larmour in the build-up, but nothing was given and Leinster celebrated.

Byrne failed to add the extras but at 20-3 down five minutes into the second period, Saints had a mountain to climb.

The black, green and gold were finding it difficult to produce anything when they moved into the home 22 as Leinster shut the door in emphatic fashion.

Saints kept coming though and after Leinster failed to deal with Hendy's chip over the top, the wing picked up the pieces to score.

Smith slotted the conversion superbly from the left, cutting the Leinster lead to 10 points with 20 minutes to go.

Byrne had the chance to extend the gap to 13 but he missed a penalty that he would have expected to make.

Saints were eager to make the most of their reprieve, and Tommy Freeman threatened with a chip over the top that forced Gibson-Park to scramble.

Saints did have their try when Fraser Dingwall's pass found Seabrook out wide, and the replacement winger did the rest.

Smith again landed the conversion with aplomb, bringing Saints back to three points down with five minutes remaining.

But Leinster snuffed out any remaining threat as they came up with a penalty at the breakdown and won the lineout before booting the ball out to put the seal on the win.

Leinster: Frawley (H Byrne 79); Larmour (O'Brien 73), Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe; R Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter (Healy 72), Sheehan (Kelleher 53), Furlong (Ala'alatoa 61); Molony (Jenkins 53), McCarthy; Baird, van der Flier (Conan 53), Doris (c).

Saints: Furbank; Ramm, Freeman, Dingwall, Hendy (Seabrook 69); F Smith, Mitchell (James 69); A Waller (Iyogun 55), Langdon (S Matavesi 58), Davison (Millar Mills 58); Moon (Mayanavanua 69), Coles; Lawes (c), Graham (Scott-Young 65), Augustus.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal