JAMES LOWE wants Leinster to put on the sort of show which sees them invited back to play at Croke Park.
But coach Leo Cullen has warned his players that Northampton Saints have earned the right to play in the Champions Cup semi-final.
2
2
Croke Park is an 82,300 sell-out for only the second game of club rugby — and first since 2009 — to be played on Jones’ Road.
New Zealand native Lowe says he is well aware of the ground’s history and significance, as the site where the Bloody Sunday atrocity occurred in 1920.
He said: “Ireland has been my home for a pretty long time now, I’ve been here watching a few football matches. And to get the opportunity to play a game of rugby here, only the second club rugby match to ever be played here, it’s pretty special and an absolute privilege and it’s going to be one heck of a day.
“I think everyone understands the history of what Croke Park represents to the Irish people and I’m sure there’s kids all around the country who dream of one day being able to represent their provinces here and their counties.
“I’m well aware of what happened here.
“It’s magnificent, when you stand in the middle of that pitch and look around, the sheer scale and size of it can be quite overwhelming.
“We’ve been here before, we’ve been in some pretty big arenas away from here, it’s just that this one is on our back yard and we get the opportunity to put in a performance and hopefully they invite us back if we do a good job.”
Lowe and Co will get that wish as GAA HQ is set to host a number of their games next season due to the RDS redevelopment.
Today, Cullen will hope that his team did not peak too soon after defeating back-to-back champions La Rochelle in the quarter-finals last month.
Cullen said: “They’re top of the Premiership and in the semi-final, so they’re in the last four teams in the competition.
“There are so many strong teams not left in the competition so it’s not like they’ve just magically arrived here.
“They have a lot of strengths but it’s about making sure we’re able to pressurise some of their perceived strengths.”
