A second-half brace from replacement back George Hendy clinched a well-fought 24-14 win for Northampton Saints over Munster Rugby in the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16.
Hendy came on in the 58th minute with the score tied at 14-14, but his two tries in the corner were enough to see the Gallagher Premiership club through to a home quarter-final against Vodacom Bulls next week.
In a high-tempo first half, the teams proved inseparable. Both clubs crossed twice, both via a wing and the full-back in what was a scintillating display of knockout club rugby.
For Northampton Saints, James Ramm and Tommy Freeman crossed either side of Munster Rugby’s scores from Sean O’Brien and Mike Haley.
Fly-halves Fin Smith and Jack Crowley both added two conversions to leave the score tied at 14-14 after 40 minutes.
The second period started equally as back and forth, but both teams struggled to find a way through the others’ defence.
Eventually, Northampton Saints’ superior depth and fitness began to show.
Munster Rugby had been forced into a number of late changes to the squad pre-match, with John Ryan, Shane Daly and RG Snyman all having to be pulled out. Northampton Saints, meanwhile, only looked fresher as the game dragged on and their replacements entered the field.
One of those was Hendy, who grabbed his first try in the 61st minute, finishing off a fantastic coast-to-coast move by diving over in the corner.
Smith missed the conversion, and he soon shanked his first penalty attempt of the day wide too.
That left the visitors still alive heading into the final ten minutes, but for all their effort it was Northampton Saints who struck once more to kill the game off, McCarthy going over in the same corner as before.
Northampton Saints will now face Vodacom Bulls in an Investec Champions Cup quarter-final at home next weekend.
Scorers:
Northampton Saints: Tries: James Ramm, Tommy Freeman, George Hendy (2). Conversions: Fin Smith (2).
Munster: Tries: Sean O'Brien, Mike Haley. Conversions: Jack Crowley (2).
Teams
Northampton Saints: 15 James Ramm, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Tom James, 8 Sam Graham, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Alex Moon, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun. Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Temo Mayanavanua, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Juarno Augustus, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 George Hendy.
Munster Rugby: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Simon Zebo, 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 RG Snyman, 4 Tadhg Beirne (c), 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman. Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Sean O’Brien.