Rowntree describes Munster win over Northampton as 'huge'

Munster director of rugby Graham Rowntree described their Champions Cup win over Northampton as 'huge' as they boosted their prospects on the European stage.

Having been beaten by Toulouse in the first week of the competition, a determined second half display saw Rowntree’s men keep the home side scoreless as part of a 17-6 win.

Gavin Coombes had scored the only tries of a dour game with Joey Carbery converting both and adding a penalty, while Fin Smith kicked all of Northampton's points.

Munster have with five points on the board as the two-time European champions look set for a place in the next round.

Rowntree said: "There was a lot riding on this game and it's a huge win for us and the manner in which we achieved it.

"We picked up three yellow cards and we had to dig in but our defensive effort was exceptional with players getting up off the floor to help the man next to them.

"We can't have players in the sin-bin like that so we will need to review that.

"We'd like to have been more glamorous but it's a massive win for us going forward."

Munster looked firmly in the driving seat when they led 17-6 at half-time, but it was one-way traffic in Saints' favour in a scoreless second half.

Rowntree added: "Despite leading at half-time, we were never in control and we stressed that at the interval but I didn't expect the second half to be played constantly on our line.

"We could have done with one more try before the interval but our try just before the interval was crucial."

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson bemoaned his side's inability to take their chances as hopes they had of progressing to the knockout stages ended.

Following on from last week's 46-12 defeat at reigning champions La Rochelle, Saints again finished