Toulouse cruise past Saints to semis

Toulouse 37 Northampton 9

Northampton crashed out of the Heineken Cup as Toulouse completed their expected procession into the semi-finals with a routine victory at Le Stadium.

Saints’ bid to book a last four appointment against Leinster or Leicester, who meet at Lansdowne Road tomorrow, was widely touted as mission impossible and the tag was fully justified.

Head coach Budge Pountney could have few complaints as the 2000 tournament champions were outclassed in every department except goalkicking where Shane Drahm’s three penalties from three attempts prevented a whitewash.

It was just as well the Australian fly-half had remembered his kicking boots because Saints never looked like scoring a try all night, with Toulouse’s defensive solidity matching their attacking endeavour.

Man of the match Frederic Michalak, Cedric Heymans, Vincent Clerc and Christian Labit ran in tries as the twice Heineken Cup winners’ enterprising play frequently brought the capacity 36,000 crowd to their feet.

Had they been more precise – their handling was occasionally sloppy – Saints would have been on the receiving end of an even bigger defeat and Guy Noves’ men were evidently coasting at times.