Castres send Saints crashing

Samu Manoa attempts to stop a Castres attack

Northampton Saints have been eliminated from the Heineken Cup after suffering a third successive Pool One defeat at the hands of Castres on Saturday afternoon.

Last year's runners-up paid the price for an ill-disciplined display in the south of France, where both Stephen Myler and Tom Wood spent time in the sin bin during a 41-22 reverse.

Jim Mallinder's men did grab four tries - two of which were scored by winger Jamie Elliott - to claim a losing bonus-point, however they were also cut open almost at will by their slick French opponents.

Powerful wing Roman Martial made the most of a rare first team start with his first two tries for Castres, while full-back Romain Teulet enjoyed a near-flawless kicking display, booting over 21 points.

The bonus-point victory is Castres' first win in all rugby since October 22 and keeps their slender qualification hopes alive with three pool games remaining.

Pressure

After previous pool defeats to Munster and Scarlets, Northampton were keen to make an early impression at Stade Pierre Antoine, but it was the hosts who drew first blood.

Flanker Steve Malonga started and finished a flowing move in the corner to put Castres ahead after barely three minutes. Teulet added the extras with a precise touchline conversion.

With the bright sun causing problems for the Castres defence, Elliott caught out Teulet and only some smart defensive covering from Max Evans prevented Saints from scoring an instant reply.

The early Saints pressure was rewarded on 10 minutes, though, Kiwi Mark Sorenson powering through a host of bodies to touch down and Myler's routine conversion levelled the match.

The high-octane contest continued to ebb and flow from one end to the other, however an infringement at the scum allowed Teulet the opportunity to kick Castres back in front, which he took with the minimum of fuss.

Northampton turned down the opportunity to level the scores moments later, Myler opting to kick to the corner instead of taking the three points, however the gamble failed to pay off and Castres cleared.

A high tackle from Myler on the half hour gifted Teulet and Castres another three points and with the French side looking threatening on every attack, Saints faced an uphill task to save their European challenge heading towards half time.

But a stunning break from George Pisi took Northampton close to the Castres line off the next attack and when the ball was recycled, Elliott strolled in at the corner to cut the deficit to 13-12. Myler was off target with the conversion.

Ill-discipline continued to cost Saints dear, though, and when Tom May was pinged for offside, Teulet stepped up to kick Castres back into a four-point lead.

A second high tackle from Myler saw him sent to the sin bin two minutes before the interval and Castres made their numerical advantage count when Martial collected Chris Masoe's grubber kick to put another dagger in Saints' qualification hopes.

Teulet's flawless afternoon then continued and the conversion put Castres in command at 23-12 ahead at the break.

Prolific

Northampton came out for the second period knowing they had 40 minutes to save their campaign and they made a dream start when, despite carrying a one-man disadvantage, Elliott intercepted a loose pass from Ibrahim Diarra and dashed 60 yards to score.

May, assuming kicking duties in place of Myler, was just off target with the conversion and Teulet swiftly made Saints pay with another successful penalty, his sixth from as many attempts.

With Myler back on the pitch and Northampton back at full strength, Mallinder's men notched a bonus-point try on 57 minutes when Samu Manoa latched onto Lee Dickson's pass and touched down. Myler was once again off target with the conversion, though.

But, no sooner had Northampton worked a route back into the match then they had given it away, England flanker Wood the latest player to be sent to the sin bin for a cynical infringement.

Teulet then slammed over a seventh penalty to increase Castres' lead to seven points and with gaps appearing in the Saints defence, Martial crashed over in the corner for his second try to all-but seal Saints' fate.

Two more points from the prolific boot of Taulet extended Castres' lead to 36-22 and the bonus point was sealed in the closing stages when Diarra slid home unopposed in the corner.