England youngster inspires 14-man Northampton Saints to famous victory at Munster

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Northampton Saints celebrate breakdown penalty against Munster.

Northampton Saints celebrate breakdown penalty against Munster.

A masterclass in awful weather from England prospect Fin Smith helped Northampton Saints claim a famous 26-23 triumph against Munster in the Investec Champions Cup.

Despite having hooker Curtis Langdon red carded just before half-time, Northampton dug in and produced an impressive performance in the second period to seal victory.

Smith kicked a drop goal, three penalties and converted both Alex Mitchell and Sam Graham’s tries as the Saints celebrated a memorable win that seals top spot in Pool 3.

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Peter O’Mahony, Antoine Frisch and Gavin Coombes claimed Munster‘s touchdowns, with fly-half Jack Crowley kicking a conversion and two penalties on a windy night.

Langdon was dismissed just before half-time following reckless contact with his knee to Munster second-row Tom Ahern’s head at a ruck.

Saints skipper George Furbank had already been sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, and Munster flanker O’Mahony pounced for a try when Saints were briefly reduced to 13 players.

But uncapped England Six Nations squad fly-half Smith ran the show in a 16-point haul that will no doubt have caught the attention of head coach Steve Borthwick.

Smith displayed outstanding tactical control in driving rain as Northampton posted a statement victory, with Munster also progressing among four qualifiers from the pool.

Saints had already qualified for the Round of 16 following victories over Glasgow Warriors, Toulon and Bayonne, and they fought back from a 10-point deficit early in the second period to prevail.

Their boss Phil Dowson sent his strongest available side to Thomond Park and wild celebrations at full-time justified his decision in a result that will only add to their confidence.

The teams

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Brian Gleeson, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Seán O’Brien

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (c), 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Sam Graham, 21 Tom James, 22 Burger Odendaal, 23 Charlie Savala

Referee: Tual Trainini (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Ludovic Cayre (Fra), Flavien Hourquet (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)

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Investec Champions Cup