Saints lads have hope despite hammering

A BEST runners-up spot is the most Northampton Saints can hope in the Champions Cup quarterfinals after Leinster ran in seven tries for the second week running.

- Ronan O'brien

Garry Ringrose scored a hat-trick as Leinster secured top spot in Pool 1 with two games to spare, while Dave Kearney, James Lowe and Caelan Doris also crossed for the rampant Blues.

Saints clung on to their coat tails thanks to tries from Dan Biggar, Ollie Sleightholme and Ahsee Tuala but they couldn’t find a fourth which would have given them a bonus-point.

Leinster continued where they left off last week, and after receiving the kick-off they ran through a handful of phases and gobbled up some yardage, only for a knock-on to end their foray.

Andy Symons saw his clearance kick blocked by Ringrose who raced in for his first try. Ross Byrne made no mistake with the extras.