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| Event | 2010–11 Heineken Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 21 May 2011 | ||||||
| Venue | Millennium Stadium,Cardiff | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Johnny Sexton (Leinster) | ||||||
| Referee | Romain Poite (France) | ||||||
| Attendance | 72,456 | ||||||
←2010 2012 → | |||||||
The2011 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the2010–11 Heineken Cup, the 16th season of Europe's top clubrugby union competition. The match was played on 21 May 2011 atMillennium Stadium inCardiff, Wales. The match was contested byNorthampton Saints of England andLeinster of Ireland, the second Heineken Cup final for each club.[1][2] Leinster won the match 33–22 after being 22–6 down at half-time.[3][4][5] The win was Leinster's second win in three years of the competition.[6]
The Millennium Stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2011 Heineken Cup Final on 17 May 2010.[7] The stadium has already hosted threeHeineken Cup Finals. The first, in 2002, saw Leicester Tigers defeatMunster 19–15. Munster returned for the next Cardiff final in 2006, defeatingFrench sideBiarritz 23–19. Two years later, Munster faced and defeated another French side,Toulouse, with the final score 16–13.[citation needed]
Northampton Saints had played in one previous Heineken Cup Final—in 2000.[1] The Saints defeated Munster 9–8 atTwickenham inLondon. From their victory until the 2010–11 season, they had made the knockout stages only twice: in2003 and2005.[citation needed]
Leinster reached the semi-finals four times previously (1996,2003,2006 and2010) and also won in the2009 final atMurrayfield inEdinburgh.[2] Their run to the 2009 final was memorable for their quarter-final victory overHarlequins in a match marred by theBloodgate scandal.[citation needed]
Following theAmlin Challenge Cup final on 20 May atCardiff City Stadium, the result of the 2011 Heineken Cup Final had the potential to secure a Heineken Cup berth for one of two clubs not involved in that match. Under rules of the Heineken Cup organiser,European Rugby Cup (ERC), the winners of both the Heineken Cup and the second-tierAmlin Challenge Cup receive berths in the following year's Heineken Cup. These berths are not counted against a country's normal allocation, except when eitherEngland or France produces winners of both cups in the same season. Currently, England is normally entitled to six Heineken Cup berths and Ireland to three; England is capped at seven berths (as is France).
Both participants in the 2011 final had already qualified for the 2011–12 Heineken Cup by their domestic performance—Leinster by finishing second in theCeltic League and Northampton Saints by finishing fourth in theAviva Premiership.
Leinster won the final and thereforeConnacht, who finished last among the fourIrish teams in the Celtic League, claimed Ireland's extra Heineken Cup berth.[8]
Northampton scored three tries, and held Leinster without a try, in the first half.[9] Northampton led the match 22–6 at the half.[10] In one of the most remarkable turnarounds, Leinster scored 27 points in the second half, and held Northampton scoreless, to win the match 33–22.Johnny Sexton, reportedly having given a rousing half-time team talk referencing Liverpool's 2005 Uefa Champions League Final comeback, scored 22 second-half points; two tries, three conversions, and two penalties to lead Leinster to an unlikely come from behind victory.[9] Sexton was named man-of-the-match.[10][11]
| 21 May 2011 17:00 |
Northampton Saints | 22–33 |  Leinster |
| Try:Dowson 7' c Foden 30' c Hartley 39' m Con:Myler (2/3) Pen:Myler (1/1) 20' | Report | Try:Sexton (2) 43' c, 52' c Hines 64' c Con:Sexton (3/3) Pen:Sexton (4/5) 13', 35', 56', 60' |
| Millennium Stadium,Cardiff Attendance: 72,456[12] Referee:Romain Poite (France) |
         Northampton |    Leinster |
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