Munster beat Northampton 12-9 on Friday as they booked themselves a place in the quarter finals of this seasons Heineken Cup. Its a 12th successive quarter final appearance for the Irish side.
It was a game of penalties at Thomond Park as Ronan OGara eased the pressure for the home side with four penalties, while Bruce Reihana, Shane Geraghty, and Stephen Myler kicked a penalty each for the Saints.
“They were excellent tonight, the lads showed what it means for them to play for Munster, to dig in and find a way out like that,” Munster coach Tony McGahan said after the tough encounter.
“It was a real battle out there this evening with every metre, every kick, everything meaning something. Northampton are an excellent side and a well coached piece, we had to fight for everything.
“We were under severe pressure at that stage in the second half. We kicked the ball out on the full. We had a few issues in the scrum and Paul O’Connell was off for 10 minutes.
“To dog it out and find a way out… We worked extremely hard on the floor. We got turnover ball, were lucky enough to get it down field and then get three points.
“We always had belief. We have said that many a time that we are always able to come back from any situation, he said.
Theyve earned themselves a home quarter final as a result, ironically up against the same team once again, as Saints also qualified, thanks to their losing bonus point and the results of other matches.
Northampton advanced as one of the two best runners-up and are the only English Premiership side in the last eight.
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