AMONG all of its other, more significant, connotations, Croke Park is inexorably linked to Garth Brooks.
Who can forget how the country lost its collective minds over whether he would play five concerts on Jones Road or, as was ultimately the case, none at all in 2014?
Earlier this evening, Leinster were grateful that they had friends in Lowe places.
Leinster’s predominance in Irish rugby may be largely down to 40 percent of the island’s population living in the province and the quasi-academy system in fee-paying schools.
But it has also benefitted hugely from some imports, none more so than James Lowe and his Kiwi compatriot Jamison Gibson-Park.
Lowe scored a hat-trick of tries, with Gibson-Park’s quick thinking the decisive factor in the first two, earning the scrum-half the man-of-the-match award.
The first was a quick tap penalty, the second came when he slapped a ball which had been popped up by Caelan Doris on the ground into Lowe’s direction.
Gibson-Park shrugged: “I think it’s probably intuitive up to a point.
“I suppose all of the players, not to talk myself up, have played with me long enough to know I’m looking for those opportunities.
“Lowey is certainly on the same wavelength, he sees it as well.
“For the second, I think I was telling Caelan to pass to me earlier but it just popped up to me. Them’s the break sometimes in rugby, sometimes you go on the hop and we were just lucky it came off.”
It is just as well they did because, after Lowe had completed his hat-trick shortly after the restart, Leinster preceded to press the self-destruct button as a 17-point lead was whittled down to three.
It was reminiscent of last year’s final when they led La Rochelle 17-0 and 23-7 only to lose 27-26.
Cullen played down the comparisons. He said: “17 points, yeah, but we scored straight away in the second half so it’s a little bit different.
“Two games are rarely the same and you’re playing knockout games so the team that’s behind is going to be doing everything in their power to get back into the game.
“It’s not like any team is going to roll over. You try and sit and manage the game but quite often you find yourself in a bit trouble if you try to do that. The important thing is to get over the line and thankfully we did.”
NERVY RESULT
Things could have been a bit more comfortable had Ross Byrne not missed three of his five kicks at goal.
The nervy finish followed an anxious start – a Lowe pass went over Ciarán Frawley’s head, Jordan Larmour knocked on and Leinster were penalised in the scrum – but, for most of the first half, they were streets ahead of their opponents.
It did not take long for Cullen’s side to settle into their surroundings and the occasion. Their second and third scrums were better and they built from there.
The Premiership leaders had been unable to take advantage of their opponents’ uncharacteristic sloppiness and, once Leinster found their groove, Saints began to creak under pressure.
George Hendy fumbled a kick from Gibson-Park whose speed of thought was something the visitors simply could not combat.
He took a quick tap penalty and then flung the ball out to Lowe on the wing. Alex Mitchell could not reach the pass and James Ramm could not hold Lowe as he burst over to score with Byrne converting.
The out-half could have grabbed a try himself with an intercept but he did not back his acceleration to burst through the gap which two defenders were quickly narrowing and he instead tried to pass to Frawley who was smothered.
But Leinster kept probing and, from a lineout, they formed a maul which made good ground, with Doris peeling off the back.
LOWE BLOW
Off the ground, he threw the ball vertically, with Gibson-Park redirecting it to Lowe.
Byrne’s conversion attempt hit the post was only a minor reprieve as the out-half made amends with a penalty on the half-hour mark to make the score 15-0.
The English side did get on the scoresheet before the break but three points from a Fin Smith penalty was a poor return given they had butchered a try-scoring opportunity.
They had men over but George Furbank’s pass was slightly behind Ramm. The winger managed to collect it but, in spinning around, dropped it.
But, within three minutes of the restart, Lowe had claimed his hat-trick.
After a strong carry into contact, Frawley presented himself again after good work by Gibson-Park and Dan Sheehan, picking out Lowe in the corner who did the rest.
The only danger to Leinster was their own complacency and their standards dropped.
ROUGH FINISH
Larmour and Andrew Porter got in each other’s way trying to deal with a Hendy kick-through and the winger took advantage to dot down before Smith converted.
Now there was a glimmer of hope and Saints kept coming. Frawley injured himself in collecting a crossfield kick on his line.
There was anger that play resumed as the full-back was still getting treatment on his back and Northampton made the most of their numerical advantage with replacement Tom Seabrook going over in the opposite corner before Smith concerned.
That made it a three-point game with five minutes left but, just as the brave souls who made their way to a Leinster match despite curtailed DART services, Leinster lived to tell the tale.
Leinster: Tries: Lowe 3; Conversion: R Byrne; Penalty: R Byrne
Northampton Saints: Tries: Hendy, Seabrook; Conversions: Smith 2; Penalty: Smith
LEINSTER: Frawley (H Byrne 80), Larmour (O’Brien 73), Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe, R Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter (Healy 72), Kelleher (Sheehan 53), Furlong (Ala’alatoa 61), Molony (Jenkins 53), McCarthy, Baird, van der Flier (Conan 53), Doris.