Munster Too Strong For The Saints

Heineken Cup: Northampton Saints 36 Munster Rugby 51

A hat-trick of tries from Simon Zebo was the highlight as Munster set up a home Heineken Cup quarter-final for themselves, cruising past Northampton Saints to win their six pool matches for the first time ever.

Munster tore Northampton apart with a simply stunning second half performance, making quite a statement as man-of-the-match Simon Zebo's efforts after 58, 71 and 76 minutes added to earlier tries from BJ Botha and Johne Murphy.

A tight first half tussle was turned into a massacre in Milton Keynes, with the bonus point victory being more than enough to seal a home draw for the province in the last-eight.

There was plenty of clever attacking rugby and sharp angles of running as the visitors increased the gap, but it was all underpinned by a hugely committed defence and the sheer grit and determination that has become such a trademark of Munster in Europe.

Paul O'Connell led from the front and was in simply inspirational form, closely followed by the influential back row trio of Peter O'Mahony, James Coughlan and Donnacha Ryan.

The tournament's most-capped player and record points scorer, Ronan O'Gara, knitted it all together in terms of keeping the forwards on the move and providing direction for the backs.

As it was in the sides' meeting at Thomond Park, O'Gara's right boot was again crucial in keeping Munster on course. He finished with 24 points in all, a tally that included six sumptuous penalties.

The other quarter-finalists will have duly taken note of Munster's best performance for some time, which is even more remarkable given the current length of their injury list.

Thomond Park awaits in April, and there is no fear of O'Connell and company getting carried away with one result. More hard work lies ahead.

Northampton Saints knew they had to win with a bonus point to stand any chance of reaching the Heineken Cup quarter-finals and also had to be aware that if the Scarlets won in Castres, the Welsh region could pip them to a potential Amlin Challenge Cup place.

As for Munster, the only team in the tournament to have won all their games after five rounds, they needed to grab at least a losing bonus point to ensure they played their quarter-final at their beloved Thomond Park.

So there was all to play for, although Saints went into the game without their England trio of Chris Ashton (not selected), Tom Wood and Courtney Lawes (both injured).

The home side came into the game on the back of five successive wins in all competitions and were seeking revenge for having victory snatched from their grasp by an injury-time drop goal from O'Gara in the opening round.

Jim Mallinder's charges started well and their number 10 Ryan Lamb rewarded their dominance with two early penalties.

O'Gara was quick to respond, but a penalty try awarded when the Munster pack disintegrated at a scrum in the shadow of their posts allowed the Saints to move into a 10-point lead.

Munster looked slightly stunned, but their wealth of experience came to the fore and the metronomic boot of O'Gara gave them some impetus.

Munster had confirmed themselves as pool winners the previous weekend, but there was the tantalising prize of a record unbeaten march through their pool for the first time in their 17 years in the tournament if they could keep their winning run going.

Things were looking good when South African prop Botha burrowed his way over from close range for a try and O'Gara's conversion was followed by a penalty that gave them the lead for the first time in the 37th minute.

But Lamb landed the final points of the first half with another penalty and it was all-square at the break - 19-19.

The capacity 22,000 crowd were gripped by the action and there was no let-up in the intensity when the second period got underway.

With their home draw under threat, Munster flexed their muscles and two tries in a breathtaking burst seemed to have put the result beyond doubt.

Winger Murphy rounded off some great play in the right corner and then the impressive Denis Hurley sent Zebo racing clear a few minutes later.

The 12-point lead was cut by a second penalty try awarded as the Munster scrum gave way from five metres out, but the home side could not cut the gap to anything less than four points.

Yellow cards for scrum halves Conor Murray and Lee Dickson, who clashed off the ball, could have had quite a bearing on proceedings, but Munster soon upped their game again.

At 31-26 it was still anyone's game but even though Lamb matched two more O'Gara penalties, Zebo's intercept try from 60 metres not only sealed the victory but guaranteed a home draw and took Munster ahead of reigning champions Leinster to the top qualifying spot.

It was the first time this season in Europe that Munster had picked up a try-scoring bonus point and now they have to break the Heineken Cup hoodoo by becoming the only team to win the trophy by winning nine straight games.

Zebo's hat-trick try and Ian Keatley's simple conversion took Tony McGahan's men through the 50-point barrier, while Scott Armstrong's last-minute try was hardly any consolation for the shattered Saints.