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Munster into Heineken quarters
Rugby Union, 12:11, January 23, 2010 ,
Munster captain Paul O'Connell was delighted to secure a home quarter-final in the Heineken Cup with victory over Northampton.
The Irish outfit edged out the Saints 12-9 at Thomond Park thanks to four Ronan O'Gara penalties and they now sit at the top of Pool One and will play their quarter-final tie in Ireland.
In a game of few chances, O'Gara's two penalties to one by Bruce Reihana gave Munster a 6-3 half-time lead but Shane Geraghty landed a penalty after the break for Saints to level the match.
O'Gara kicked two more three-pointers to open up a six-point gap which proved to be crucial as Stephen Myler's late penalty cut the deficit to three.
But it was too little too late for the Franklin's Gardens side, who could also progress in the tournament thanks to earning a bonus point on Friday night.
O'Connell was pleased with the result after a below-par performance against a side near the top of their game.
"We knew it was going to be an unbelievably tough game - Northampton are a team with a lot of confidence," he said. "We are very happy to win here. We didn't play fabulously well but we dug deep and produced the result."