Northampton Saints are facing the largest partisan crowd in club rugby history when they take on Leinster in the European Champions Cup semi-final at Croke Park on Saturday.
With only a few thousand of their own supporters making the trip over, they’ll be heavily outnumbered at the game, which is an 82,300 sell-out at GAA headquarters.
But behind enemy lines, Northampton have support from an unusual source. The man responsible for overseeing the transformation of the Croke Park pitch this week, from GAA to rugby, is a lifelong Saints fan.
Having grown up in Leighton Buzzard, just “a couple of train stops” away from the club’s ground at Franklin’s Gardens, Croke Park’s pitch manager Stuart Wilson was drawn to the club from an early age.
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Video by Mark Condren | Edited by Darragh Kelly Santana
29 апр 2024