A night for Saints and winners

AN OCCASION that every player dreams of! Ben Foden may be on the brink of a long and distinguished career as the England full-back but the star of Northampton’s victory over Perpignan last Sunday has only one thought in his mind right now – to be a member of the Saints side that beats Munster in tonight’s crunch Heineken Cup Pool One decider at Thomond Park.

Foden, man-of-the-match in the 34-0 drubbing of Perpignan, has looked a class act all season. So, too, has the Northampton team as a whole and even though Munster enjoy both home ground advantage and a two-point cushion at the head of the group, everything points to a memorable contest between two in-form teams this evening.

If only because of the venue, Munster are favourites but Northampton have travelled on the back of 10 straight wins in all competitions and with their confidence sky high. They desperately want to be the second team (after Leicester) to lower Munster’s colours in the Heineken Cup at Thomond Park and they believe they have the capacity to just do that.