In a match dominated by defense and only decided on a combination of a late drop goal and intercept try Northampton rescued their quarterfinal hopes with a 18-9 win over Leinster. With the win the Saints are now only four points back of Leinster with two games remaining. Northampton got the scoring started early with a George North try in the fifth minute, but after that penalties ruled that day as each team's defense was outstanding. After Ian Madigan hit a penalty in the 72nd minute the score was 10-9 to Northampton. When Kahn Fotuali'i hit a superb drop goal to increase the lead to 13-9 with a minute remaining Leinster looked finished. But in a wild ending Leinster came just inches from the tryline before Jamie Elliott collected a loose ball and ran the length of the field of the sealing try. Because of that try Leinster failed to earn a bonus point. Also in Pool 1, the Ospreys beat Castres 21-12.
Take the jump to read more.
Elsewhere there were similarly close matches as teams tried to earn as many points as possible. Leicester needed a try from Niki Goneva in the 79th minute to pull in front of Montpellier 15-14. The Tigers now sit three points behind Ulster, who beat Benetton Treviso 35-3, in Pool 5. Montpellier's hopes have all but ended. In Pool 6 Edinburgh earned a surprise win over Gloucester 16-10 while Munster still lead the pool after their 18-17 win over Perpignan. That match was only decided after a 80th minute try by JJ Hanrahan. In Pool 2 Toulon have a narrow two point lead over Cardiff. They beat Exeter 32-20 while Cardiff beat Glasgow 9-7.
Pool 3 is the closest pool in the competition with Toulouse and Saracens tied at 15 points a piece. Saracens destroyed bottom clubs Zebre 64-3 while Toulouse did the same to Connacht 37-9. Lastly in the Pool 4 Clermont have the advantage over Harlequins thanks to their 31-12 win over Scarlets. The Quins got by Racing Metro 17-3. Click here to see the latest standings.
Amlin Challenge Cup
Things are very tight in the Amlin Challenge Cup through four rounds. In only one of the five pools is the top teams separated from second place by more than three points. Pools 5 and 3 are tied. In Pool 5 Stade Francaise beat London Irish 32-14 to draw those two teams level. Cavalieri Prato also beat Lusitanos XV 30-19. In Pool 3, Brive beat Bucuresti 20-9 and Newcastle beat Calvisano 25-10. The only pool to see separation is Pool 2 where Bath continue to dominate. They beat Mogliano 63-0. The Dragons and Bordeaux are the next closest teams. Bordeaux came out ahead in their clash 32-13.
Pool 1 is only separated by one point. Biarritz may be struggling in the Top 14 but they are winning in Europe. They beat Worcester 33-25. Still, Sale lead the group after they destroyed Oyonnax 53-14. Finally in Pool 4, Wasps lead thanks to their 32-12 win over Grenoble. Bayonne still have a chance after beating Arix Viadana 80-19. Click here to see the latest standings.
British & Irish Cup
Rounding out the cross-border competition from last weekend is the British & Irish Cup where things are similarly tight. Leinster A hold the top spot in Pool 1 after beating Cross Keys 30-14. Ealing also picked up a 21-18 win over Moseley. In Pool 2 London Scottish beat Pontypridd 26-21 to grab a share of the pool lead. London Welsh managed to their second big win in a row over Edinburgh Academicals 33-7. Rotherham hold a narrow lead in Pool 3. They beat Llanelli 20-16 while Connacht beat Bedfored 17-8.
Over in Pool 4 Plymouth and Munster A share the lead. Munster came out on top of their battle 23-9. Also in the pool Nottingham beat Stirling County 24-24. Bristol lead Pool 5 thanks to two wins this week. They beat Gala 17-6 on Saturday but on Wednesday beat Aberavon 78-0 in a make-up match. Leeds also beat Aberavon big this week 72-0. Pool 6 is the Cornish Pirates's to lose after they beat Jersey 24-0. The Ulster Ravens are more than 10 points back despite beating Ayr 38-21.
Top League
It doesn't happen very often but Suntory Sungoliath failed to win over the weekend. They were beaten by the new Group 1 leaders Panasonic Wildknights 42-13. Suntory are now tied for second with Toshiba Fuchu Brave Lupus, who beat the NEC Green Rockets 22-18. Also in Group 1, Yamaha Jubilo beat the Canon Eagles 23-19 and the Kobelco Steelers beat Toyota Verblitz 34-18. Group 2 has a three-way tie between the Kubota Spears, Toyota Shokki Shuttle, and the Kintetsu Liners with a bunch of teams close behind. The Spears lost to the NTT Shining Arcs 20-18, the Liners beat Kyuden Voltex 31-15, and Shuttle beat the Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 29-24. Lastly, the Ricoh Black Rams beat NTT-Docomo Red Hurricans 36-20.
Pro D2
The most notable thing about Pro D2 leaders Lyon's 20-19 loss to Agen was the huge punch Sebastian Chabal threw during the match. Oh, and the fact that Agen have now pulled closer in the standings. La Rochelle are still second. They beat Tarbes 18-3. In other scores Beziers beat Narbonne 16-15, Albi beat Bourgoin 12-19, Bressance earned a much needed 19-17 win over Carcassonne, and Colomiers beat Aurillac 50-. Auch drew with Dax 16-16 while Mont-de-Marsan and Pau drew 12-12.
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza is on winter break.