Leinster steamroller 14-man Ospreys
Leinster became the seventh team to qualify for the European Cup quarterfinals with their bonus point victory over the Ospreys to win Pool One.
The 36-3 victory over a 14-man Ospreys side in Dublin means that the race is on to clinch the one remaining place in the knock-out phase.
Round Five saw Toulon, Toulouse, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ulster, Leicester Tigers and Munster all qualify for the last eight and Northampton Saints currently occupy the second best runners-up spot with 17 points thanks to their 13-3 home win over Castres Olympique that earned them second place in Pool One.
But Saints coach Jim Mallinder and his players face a nervous weekend as they wait to see if anyone can knock them out and possibly into the Challenge Cup quarterfinals. Three Pool runners-up from the European Cup move into the last eight in the Challenge Cup.
"We got the win and we are still in Europe, whatever competition that might be. We can sit back now and enjoy the weekend," said Mallinder after his side's hard fought win.
"They are a good side and they brought a good side with them. You like to talk about four tries and bonus points, but it is about winning. We probably kicked the ball a bit too much in the first half, ran it too much after that and didn't get our game plan right.
"But winning becomes a good habit and we are into that habit at the moment and it was really pleasing we beat the French champions."
Leinster reached the last eight for the 11th time in their history and won their Pool for the 10th time. But their 22 points may not be enough to earn them a home draw as five teams could pass that mark and push them down to the sixth best qualifier.
As for the Saints, they could be overtaken by Saracens, Connacht, Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh and Harlequins over the next two days.
Friday's scores and scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Penalty try 2, Healy, Murphy, Boss
Cons: Gopperth 4
Pen: Gopperth
For Ospreys:
Pen: Biggar
Red card: Ian Evans (Foul play, 20 mins)
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Martin Moore, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Mike Ross, 19 Leo Cullen, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Zane Kirchner.
Ospreys: 15 Sam Davies, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Ben John, 11 Aisea Natoga, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Tyler Ardron, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones (captain), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Dan Suter, 19 Lloyd Peers, 20 James King, 21 Morgan Allen, 22 Thomas Habberfield, 23 Matthew Morgan.
Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon, Eric Soulan
TMO: Laurent Valin
Northampton Saints 13-3 Castres
For Northampton:
Try: G. Pisi
Con: Dickson
Pens: Myler 2
For Castres:
Pen: Kockott
Northampton Saints: 15 Fa'atoina Autagavaia, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Steve Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Sam Dickinson, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Glenn Dickson, 23 Ken Pisi.
Castres: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Marcel Garvey, 13 Romain Cabannes (captain), 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Piula Faasalele, 7 Jannie Bornman, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Saimone Taumoepeau, 17 Antonie Claassen, 18 Mihaita Lazar, 19 Benjamin Desroche, 20 Yannick Caballero, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Paul Bonnefond, 23 Pierre-Gilles Lakafia.
Referee: Alain Rolland
Assistant referees: David Wilkinson, Michael Black
TMO: Simon McDowell
