Butter-fingered hosts Northampton beat undisciplined visitors Castres 49-41 on Friday night to reach the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
The French side received two yellow cards in three minutes in the first half and another yellow card with 10 minutes remaining, but they also did not receive a card due to their poor tackling and covering in defense and three wrong conversions from six attempts. When Northampton did not give the ball away, or allow passes to their opponents, they threatened to score a try with every attack. He scored seven times, one from a penalty attempt, and his French fly-half Anthony Belleau made the other six conversions.
Christian Ambadiang dominated in the early stages. After seven minutes Castres winger ran onto a kick from his scrum-half Jeremy Fernandez and took a corner. Four minutes later, Ambadiang jumped up to intercept a pass on the counterattack, which ended with Theo Chabouni’s touch.
Three minutes later Ambadiang was the hero again, pulling the toe of James Rams on the touchline just before the diving wing touched the ball against the goalline. A minute later, as Archie McParland headed to score, Ambadiang yanked him by the collar to earn a yellow card and concede a penalty try.
A younger man, Castres, attacked. They were ready to attack from a ruck near the line, when second-row Guillaume Ducat threw himself at Saints flanker Henry Pollock, who had already unsettled the visitors with his antics. Ducat received a yellow card but even with two extra men, the Saints struggled to make saves, losing the ball repeatedly and giving away penalties which Fernandez converted. When Northampton kept the ball, he punished the underpowered defense by hitting prop Danilo Fischetti powerfully after a lineout.
Three minutes into the second half, Northampton beat Castres and Josh Kemeny took the lead. Nine minutes later they did it again and Tommy Freeman scored.
Castres responded with the help of the hosts when McParland tried to deliver a pass from the base of the ruck near his line and Tyler Ardron intercepted it to score. The Saints then lost the ball in the opposition half and McParland failed to field a Castres clearing kick. Northampton were saved when Santiago Arata dropped the ball as he was about to cross the line for Castres. Enzo Hervey advances from the scrum.
The hosts immediately threw another interception to Vuet Karawalevu, who ran into touch only to try for the first knock-on. Northampton held steady and found two more big holes through which George Firbank and McParland scored.
Vilimoni Botitu responded for Castres, but after Veresa Ramototabua received a yellow for a high tackle on McParland, Fraser Dingwall beat three unmotivated defenders to score. Ambadiang finished the game as he started with a try, but by then the Saints, the losers in the previous year’s final, already knew they would face either Bath or Saracens in the quarter-finals.
