Saints book home semi-final

A dominant second-half display saw Northampton beat Ulster 23-13 in a gripping Heineken Cup quarter-final at stadium:mk on Sunday.

Having finished the Pool stages as the top-ranked team, Saints will now host Perpignan in the semi-finals later this month.

An enthralling first half came to end with Ulster leading 13-10 but, led by a fired-up pack, Northampton took control of the match in the second period.

While the home pack starved the Irish side of quality possession, it was their backline that provided the knock-out blow as England duo Ben Foden and Chris Ashton put Saints into pole position with a piece of counter-attacking from the top draw to create a try from scrum-half Lee Dickson.

In arguably the most exciting quarter-final of the weekend so far, the crowd at Milton Keynes were treated to a high-paced clash. There was no lack of intensity either as opposing captains and hookers Rory Best and Dylan Hartley's prolonged confrontation - in every sense of the word - made for real entertainment while second rowers Johan Muller and Courtney Lawes had a similar tussle.

Saints got off to a flyer when loosehead prop Soane Tonga'uiha stretched out an arm to score in the third minute.

After a hesitant start, Ulster found their feet and turned up the pace with Andrew Trimble and Simon Danielli asking plenty of questions, both on their wings and in midfield.

Ian Humphreys slotted his second penalty on the fifteen minute mark to reduce the gap to a single point before the visitors moved ahead in the 33rd minute when Best's no-look inside pass found a flying Trimble, who cruised over to score under the sticks.

The high tempo was maintained until the break with Stephen Myler pulling three points back for Saints just before the hooter to leave the sides separated by only three points.

With a little more than half-an-hour left on the clock, Myler was on target again to level the scores.

Foden and Ashton provided the moment of magic needed to break the deadlock, linking up to counter-attack from deep and set up Dickson's touch down.

Myler, who had provided the final pass for Dickson's try, added the conversion from the touch-line to give the hosts the all-important seven-point lead.

Ulster should have replied but full-back Adam D'Arcy dropped the ball with the try-line begging after Ruan Pienaar had taken a penalty quickly.

Another Myler penalty gave Saints a bit of breathing room as they closed out the game for a deserved win.

Man of the match: A few candidates here and a mention must go the Ulster wing pair. But you can't look behind the Northampton pack and Courtney Lawes gets the gong for his intensity in the tight stuff and his reliability in the line-outs.

The scorers:

For Northampton:
Tries: Tonga'uiha, Dickson
Cons: Myler 2
Pens: Myler 3

For Ulster:
Try: Trimble
Con: Humphreys
Pens: Humphreys 2

The teams:

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Stuart Commins, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Bruce Reihana.

Ulster: 15 Adam D'Arcy, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Nevin Spence, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Rory Best (capt), 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Andi Kyriacou, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Bryan Young, 19 Tim Barker, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Whitten, 23 Craig Gilroy.

Venue: stadium:mk
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garces (France), Cédric Marchat (France)
Television match official: Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Timekeeper: Brian Abrahams (England)
Assessor: Clayton Thomas (Wales)