Northampton Saints 51 Castres 16
Northampton Saints may look back with regret at their defence of their Premiership title this season, but their European dream remains firmly alive.
This comprehensive seven-try victory against Castres takes Phil Dowson’s side into the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup, where they will face the seemingly unstoppable Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Leinster have yet to concede a point after the two knock-out rounds, having beaten Harlequins and Glasgow Warriors by a combined total of 114 points. Yet the Irish province will remember how hard Saints pushed them in last season’s semi-final at Croke Park, narrowly falling short in a second-half comeback to lose 20-17.
On this form, Northampton should at least have the attacking prowess to have a real go at Leinster, with George Furbank making a stand-out return for the club on his first action since he broke his arm against the Bulls in December.
Furbank, on as an early replacement for George Hendy, was simply irresistible, scoring a try, and setting up tries for Tommy Freeman and Curtis Langdon delivering the kind of all-court display that will have given a timely reminder to Lions head coach Andy Farrell ahead of next month’s squad selection.
The only concern was seeing Freeman himself forced out of the action in the 56th minute, appearing to be in slight discomfort with his right arm.
Otherwise there was so much to admire about this Saints display, with Henry Pollock crossing for two second half tries, Tommy Freeman also scoring while Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith controlled the game magnificently, while Alex Coles was everywhere.
Scoring sequence
5-0 Furbank try, 7-0 Smith con, 7-3 Fernandez pen, 12-3 Langdon try, 15-3 Smith pen, 15-8 Fernandez try, 15-10 Fernandez con, 20-10 Coles try, 20-13 Fernandez pen, 20-16 Fernandez pen, 25-16 Furbank try, 27-16 Smith con, 32-16 Pollock try, 34-16 Smith con, 39-16 Pollock try, 41-16 Smith con, 44-16 Smith pen, 49-16 Pearson try, 51-16 Smith con
Northampton Saints: J Ramm; T Freeman; B Odendaal (R Hutchinson 48), F Dingwall (c), G Hendy (G Furbank 4); F Smith, A Mitchell (T James 69); E Iyogun (T West, 55), C Langdon (H Walker 62), T Davison (E Millar-Mills 55), T Mayanavanua (T Lockett 74), A Coles, J Kemeny, H Pollock, J Augustus (T Pearson 62)
Yellow card: Mayanavanua 53
Castres: T Chabouni; G Palis, V Botitu, J Goodhue, R Baget; L le Brun (J Dumora 64), J Fernandez (S Arata 54); Q Walcker (L Guerois-Galisson 49), G Barlot (L Zarantonello 49), W Collier (A Azar 49), G Maravat, L Nakarawa (R Macurdy 72), M Babillot (c, S Meka 51), B Delaporte, A Papalii (B Cope 48)
Yellow cards: Nakarawa 31, Baget 53, Guerois-Galisson 53
Referee: A Piardi (ITA)
07:41 PM BST
Henry Pollock has joined the pundits
We had a tough couple of weeks in the Prem. We had such a good run before Christmas and we were just trying to bring that in. And how good is that? Bring on Leinster away.
That was hard, they pushed us the whole way. I don’t think I have ever been hit like that. That hit off that lineout, oh my. I saw him and then the next thing I know I’m on the floor, that was mad. It was their fly-half, but don’t tell [my team-mates] ...
