Saints crash out of Heineken Cup
Northampton's indiscipline cost them dearly as Castres ended their participation in this season's Heineken Cup with 41-22 success.
The Aviva Premiership side produced a real Jekyll and Hyde performance and were well beaten, with fly-half Stephen Myler and flanker Tom Wood both sin-binned.
The French side took full advantage, with Steve Malonga, Romain Martial (two) and Ibrahim Diarra all crossing for tries. Romain Teulet also kicked 21 points for the hosts. Mark Sorenson, Samu Manoa and a brace from Jamie Elliott were the try-scorers for the Saints, but it was not enough.
Ronan O'Gara celebrated his 100th Cup appearance with 12 points as Munster saw off the Scarlets 17-14 in a rousing European clash at Parc y Scarlets.
London Irish, meanwhile, kept their hopes alive with a stunning 34-14 bonus-point success over Racing Metro.
A brace of tries in less than five minutes halfway through the second period set the Exiles on their way to their first win of the competition as they bounced back from previous defeats to Edinburgh and Cardiff Blues.
Impressive scores from Joe Ansbro and Adam Thompstone turned the game on its head after 54 and 57 minutes respectively, before the latter claimed his second with seven minutes remaining at the Stade Yves Du Manoir.
Freddie Burns landed the decisive penalty as Gloucester clawed their way past Connacht 14-10 - their first win in this season's competition - while the boot of Kristopher Burton (13 points) helped Benetton Treviso secure an impressive 30-26 win over French side Biarritz.
Saracens marched to the top of their Heineken Cup pool with a 31-26 victory over the Ospreys in an entertaining clash at Wembley Stadium.
Rhys Gill, Ernst Joubert and Chris Wyles scored the tries and Owen Farrell, the 20-year-old who is in contention for a place in England's RBS 6 Nations squad, kicked 16 points.
