Advertisement
League of Ireland
Horse Racing
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture
Rugby Weekly Extra
Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week
The Football Family
Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points
Advertisement
More Stories
Northampton fans celebrate in Dublin.Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
FreeEndgame
'I don’t understand the decision' - Leinster come agonisingly close
Leinster thought they had scored a winner with a minute left against Saints.
9.30pm, 3 May 2025
Share options
AS THE TMO review rolled on and on, hope must have faded among the Leinster players and their supporters.
On first glance, it looked like Ross Byrne had dotted the ball down successfully in the left corner.
It would have been enough to edge Leinster into another Champions Cup final.
But as referee Pierre Brousset continued to review the incident, it became more and more muddy.
The Frenchman eventually ruled that Northampton lock Alex Coles had illegally stripped the ball from Josh van der Flier on the ground within inches of the tryline. Penalty and a yellow card against Coles.
Advertisement
Which begged the question of whether it should have been a penalty try. If Coles hadn’t ripped the ball away, surely van der Flier would have reached out to finish?
But it wasn’t to be for Leinster.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” said Leinster prop Rabah Slimani after his side’s 37-34 semi-final defeat.
“I don’t understand the decision because if it’s a penalty and a yellow card, I don’t know why it’s not a try, but that’s the ref’s decision. He has his opinion,n but it’s hard.”
Slimani wasn’t pointing the finger of blame for Leinster’s defeat at the refereeing.
They still had one final chance after that decision and turned the ball over.
Leinster were left dejected.Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
He believes Leinster needed to be stronger in defence on an evening when Northampton scored five tries.
“We lost some focus in defence but we never stopped the effort during the second half and we were very close at the end,” said Slimani.
“It’s very hard for the team but that’s the reality.
“Last year the semi-final against Northampton was very close and today too. I think it’s normal that we were a little bit nervous. We didn’t make a good start, they scored a lot of points. We lost by three points, that’s very disappointing.”
This was the first Champions Cup semi-final of 35-year-old Slimani’s career.
He has signed on to play with Leinster again next season but he remains hopeful that his first campaign will end with a trophy.
Slimani doesn’t believe that today’s defeat adds to the pressure to win the URC.
Related Reads
'We can take anyone on. They said Leinster by 30, but here we are'
'We get a little bit jittery' - Cullen regrets Leinster's 'horrific' defeat
“Not pressure, but now we have just one target,” he said.
“We are disappointed not to make the Champions Cup final but now the target is the URC. We have had a very good season in the URC, we need to continue that.”
Murray Kinsella
View 36 comments
Send Tip or Correction
Embed this post
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Email “'I don’t understand the decision' - Leinster come agonisingly close”.
Recipient's Email
Feedback on “'I don’t understand the decision' - Leinster come agonisingly close”.
Your Feedback
Your Email (optional)
Report a Comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment.
Please give full details of the problem with the comment...
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
before taking part.
Leave a Comment
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel.
Racism or Hate speech
An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs.
Trolling or Off-topic
An attempt to derail the discussion.
Inappropriate language
Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs.
Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts.
Please provide additional information
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
Leave a commentcancel
Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user
View our policy
⚠️ Duplicate comment
Post Comment
have your say
Or create a free account to join the discussion
Northampton
rabah slimani
News in 60 seconds
FreeCrucible
Mark Williams earns World Snooker final spot after hard-fought win over Judd Trump
16 mins ago
Freein control
Max Verstappen takes pole position for Miami Grand Prix
25 mins ago
Leipzig put Harry Kane's Bundesliga title party with Bayern on ice as Barca close in on title
50 mins ago
Defending champions Athlone put three goals past Galway as Sligo Rovers stun Peamount
53 mins ago
FreeSaints March On
'We can take anyone on. They said Leinster by 30, but here we are'
FreeHighlights
All ten tries as Northampton knock Leinster out of Champions Cup in epic semi-final
FreeRegrets
'We get a little bit jittery' - Cullen regrets Leinster's 'horrific' defeat
As it happened
Leinster v Northampton Saints, Champions Cup semi-finals
FreeAs it happened
Waterford v Limerick, Munster senior hurling championship
Leinster's dream dead as Saints storm into Champions Cup final
Murray Kinsella
Reports from the Aviva Stadium
'How many rugby teams are playing in front of over 40,000? I wouldn't take it for granted'
more from us
Investigates
Daft.ie Property Magazine
Allianz Home Magazine
The 42 Sports Magazine
Money Diaries
The Journal TV
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
About FactCheck
Our Network
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
more from us
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
Our Network
The Journal
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
© 2025 Journal Media Ltd
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
Switch to Desktop
Switch to Mobile
The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie
Report an error, omission or problem:
Your Email (optional)
Create Email Alert
Create an email alert based on the current article
Email Address
One email every morning
As soon as new articles come online
Sign in or create
a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Related News
28 Feb, 2025
Louisiana college student dies in off-ca . . .
24 May, 2025
Bordeaux driven to glory by pain of Fren . . .
02 Apr, 2025
More than 20 women come forward to accus . . .
09 Mar, 2025
Shine A Light: The Team Behind the $2B M . . .
04 May, 2025
Yash Dayal vs MS Dhoni: The unseen role . . .
21 Apr, 2025
White House Easter Egg Roll 2025: When A . . .
22 May, 2025
Nintendo embraces "that look of mild des . . .
02 Jun, 2025
Pakistan’s batter Muhammad Haris celebra . . .