Munster’s hopes of making the last 16 of the Heineken Champions Cup, took a huge boost as their defensive work rate saw them overcome Northampton this afternoon.

Northampton were overpowered at the set piece all afternoon, as Munster were well drilled in a ferocious defensive style backed by Denis Leamy as their defence coach, they have really become a force in defence.

Playing the majority of the second half without a full contingent on the field, they limited Saints to breaching their line, but their penalty count is one that will need addressing after the tie as they were very ill disciplined with 18 penalties conceded and three yellow cards shown.

Munster applied early pressure and were almost rewarded with a try as Keith Earls raced clear down the wing, he played a lovely kick in behind for Conor Murray but the Northampton defence was there to smother the ball, however the pressure was still on and they were penalised allowing Munster a penalty which they opted to kick for touch, they worked the lineout well and ran numerous phases but the Northampton defence kept their shape and eventually turned it over as Munster were off their feet.

It was all the visitors in terms of gaining territory in those opening minutes, they had a number of chances close to the line but just saw the ball turned over by mistakes, they would have a chance to redeem themselves as Northampton were penalised close to their line, it looked like Mike Haley had got over but an offside call gave Munster a tap and go shy of the line, their forwards pilled in and Gavin Coombes burst over for the opening try after 13 minutes, Joey Carbery adding the extras for a 7-0 lead.

Defence was the call shortly after the try as Munster tried no to lose shape immediately after taking the lead, they soaked up the Northampton attack but John Ryan was penalised giving them the chance to kick for the corner, they stayed on the assault but Munster had their number able to stop a try coming, it looked on the cards if they had played wide to space but were given a shot at the posts that Fin Smith converted to reduce the Munster lead to four with almost 20 minutes on the clock.

The Munstermen were well versed in forcing turnovers at the breakdown, mainly forcing Northampton into making mistakes that forced the referee to penalise them, it allowed Munster to get on the offensive front and a short while later again saw the ill discipline creeping into the Saints, as they were offside at the breakdown, giving Carbery another three points of the tee to extend the Munster lead to 10-3 after 26 minutes.

Not without their faults too Munster were guilty of conceding penalties themselves, Carbery found himself at fault this time he was adjudged to have obstructed a Northampton player on a high ball and Smith duly obliged from the tee to reduce the lead to four once more, just shy of the half hour mark.

Penalties, Penalties, Penalties, were the story of the opening half in Franklin’s Gardens, Munster again winning a penalty this time at halfway off their lineout maul, they kicked for the corner but knocked the ball onward as they went back for the Saints line, they had a second bite of the cherry as again Northampton were penalised for their scrum, another kick for the corner saw Munster again with a well worked lineout move and a quick pass by Tadhg Beirne off the lineout saw Coombes bulldoze his way past Smith over the line for his second try, Carbery making it a healthy 17-6 lead off the tee after 36 minutes.

Conditions started to worsen at the English venue as the second half commenced, plenty of creasy ball conditions making life difficult for the handlers, Saints started well again would again force Munster to defend with their lives at times but again right near the try line they would lose possession to yet another penalty call, Munster able to clear.

Scenes would turn nasty after 52 minutes as an all mighty scuffle broke out between the two teams in the middle of the field, referee Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy was busy with his TMO trying to find the culprits to the disagreement, eventually he would show yellow cards to both Jack O’Donoghue and Lewis Ludlam as both teams went down to 14 men.

Munster would almost have a triple whammy a short while later, Smith played a beautiful kick in behind for James Ramm to chase, he leaped into the air for the ball but was tackled by Craig Casey, the TMO was summoned once more to deliberate whether a penalty try was to be awarded, Casey did indeed tackle Ramm in the air stopping a clear try scoring chance, but the French referee only opted to give the Munster scrum half a yellow card, with a penalty for the hosts the only thing on offer for them, a huge let off for Munster.

The water tight defence of Munster was a thorn in the side of the Saints, limiting them to two penalties they soaked up numerous amounts of pressure to stop them getting a try, but their penalties conceded count kept rising and rising, with a third yellow card shown for an offside in the 67th minute as Joey Carbery was sent to the sin bin just as Casey had come back.

The defence of Munster deserves all the credit they were ferocious, powerful and superb as Northampton just could not breach them, they were guilty of giving away too many penalties but the result is a huge and important one, it gives them hope of bring European glory back to the province, inflicting a first loss in five games for the Saints at home.

Michael Lowry crossed for two tries as Ulster booked their place, in the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup, after a 24-20 bonus point win over Northampton Saints this afternoon.

Lowry was influential for the Ulstermen from fullback, his two tries along with tries from Robert Baloucoune and Nathan Doak, giving them their third win of the season in the competition.

Saints struggled in the reverse fixture in Belfast, and could not handle the power and speed of the Ulster backline once they were given the space. Ulster now meet Clermont Auvergne next week.

Despite a late try for Northampton, the Irish province held their resolve to claim a four point win, the result exactly what Ulster deserved having led from the early stages, Northampton could not get a foot in to lead the tie.

The northern club took the lead on the sixth minute mark, great play by Doak started off the chance at goal, he was tackled short of the line with the ball knocking backwards, Baloucoune the quickest to respond to the loose ball, he evaded two tackles before crossing in the corner for an early 5-0 lead.

Doak increased the lead further in the 14th minute as he finished off a Baloucoune attack, the winger with a great solo effort toward goal before offloading to Doak, the scrum half crossing with ease to make it 12-0.

Dan Biggar had Northampton on the board in the 19th minute, he landed a short range penalty to cut the deficit to nine points. He added to his points haul in the 37th minute, finishing off an attack after Courtney Lawes brilliantly turned over possession, the final pass to Biggar looked forward but the try and conversion stood, making it 12-10 with minutes left in the half.

The Ulstermens response to the try was quick and direct, Billy Burns kicked the restart and after a couple of phases, Michael Lowry had the ball touched down beside the posts, a quick TMO ruled a knock on had not occurred to rule out the try, Doak adding the conversion to make it 19-10 at the interval.

Biggar kicked Northampton within six points of Ulster four minutes after the restart, a Lowry knock on had them on the back foot early in the second half.

In similar fashion to the opening half, we had long spells without a score as both teams held their defensive resolve for large spells. Saints struggled to gain ground on the six point deficit, with Ulster patient and disciplined in their defence.

Lowry crossed for his second try to get the bonus point just after the hour mark, he received a quick offload by Ethan McIlroy to burst free down the wrong to cross over, Northampton down to 14 men as Alex Mitchell was sent to the sinbin, Ian Madigan missing his first kick of the season for Ulster, the score 24-13.

After the fourth Ulster try, Northampton huffed and puffed to try and get something from the final twenty minutes. They managed to find a gap in the defence late on as Rory Hutchinson scored a late try with 78 minutes elapsed on the clock.

Ulster were patient to turnover possession shortly after the restart, not guilty of committing any fouls before booting the ball out of play as the clock ticked into the red. A fantastic win sees them become the top ranked Irish team in the competition.