Munster make it through to their twelfth consecutive Heineken Cup quarter final with a home tie in the next round.

Paul O'Connell after the win, "Eveything at the breakdown was so contested, it was like a cup final out there fighting for everything.  ROG kicked his kicks very well.  I felt we had a lot pressure in the first half but made nothing of it, and we fell off a bit in the third quarter, but we just dug deep to get the win."

"We didn't play well at times tonight and it didn't matter to the crowd, they got behind us more and more and it was great."

O'Connell on receiving his yellow card, "I don’t normally get sin-binned so it was very tough not being out there, especially with the lads scrummaging away and you just want to be out there with them."

Coach Tony McGahan also delighted with the win commented, "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.  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." 

And looking to the quarter final, "We have the benefit of a home quarter final but there’s a lot of time and rugby to be played before then."

Munster:  P Warwick, D Howlett, K Earls, J de Villiers, I Dowling, R O’Gara, T O’Leary, W du Preez, D Fogarty, J Hayes, D O’Callaghan, P O’Connell [capt], A Quinlan, N Ronan, D Wallace. Replacements: D Varley, M Horan, T Buckley, D Ryan, J Coughlan, P Stringer, L Mafi, T Gleeson.