Munster have been beaten in their Heineken Cup campaign opener against midlands-giants Northampton. Re-live all the action from Franklin's Gardens with our live matchtracker by Tadhg Peavoy.
The best Heineken Cup game of the weekend by a country mile. Saints look like a side that could go far this year. Munster were far improved from their awful showing last week against Leinster at the RDS. However, O'Gara still looks lukewarm and needs to find better form.
The scrum at times looked rocky without John Hayes' stabilising influence
A bonus-point loss away from home is no disaster though. Come business end of the group it could prove to be a decent result for Munster. We shall see!
Thanks for joining us and see you next time.
80+2: They pick from the penalty and give to Marcus Horan. Horan goes weakly at the defence and the ball is swallowed up, nothing comes out. The referee blows up for holding on. It's all over. Munster have been put to the sword. Final score 31-27.
80+1: O' Connell charges from the penalty. Saints penalised at the breakdown. Munster are two yards from the line. They have a losing bonus point secure. They need a try.
80 mins: A long time stoppage for injuries. The scrum is set. Saints win it and lose a penalty for crossing. Last chance saloon!
78 mins: Free-kick for Munster from the scrum. They opt for another scrum. They are right in front of the posts in the 22. O'Leary breaks again, but he has much less space then he did for his try. Munster lose the ball in the ruck. That could be it for the Men in Red. They need to win this scrum against the head.
76 mins: From the kick-off Saints gather the ball and maul upfield. It's been a very useful weapon for them today, but they loose it this time. Scrum Munster. It's spun wide in the Saints 22. A terrible pass from De Villiers to Howlett ends the attack, but they recycle and go to the left wing. Munster win a scrum as the ball is not going out of the ruck and Munster are going forward.
74 mins: PENALTY: Jon Clarke rumbles from midfield up to the Munster line. Munster turn it over but then knock it on. Geraghty steps up for the peno. he hits it from just inside the 22 and between the posts. Saints edge four clear. 31-27.
72 mins: Saints kick to the touch and win the line-out in the 22. Ruck in the 22 and Saints set up a three-man maul. They gain five yards each time they roll.
71 mins: Good scrum from Saints, really good. Munster crumble. Saints pick and drive but Munster give away a peno for going over the top.
70 mins: Munster win the kick-off and set-up in midfield, but they lose it forward. Scrum for Saints.
68 mins: TRY AND CONVERSION: Munster turnover and set up a ruck in the Saints 22. O'Leary picks from the base of the ruck and runs around the Saints defence and over the line. Great solo effort from O'Leary. Munster are back in it. O'Gara kicks the extra points. 28-27.
67 mins: Dubliner James Downey is off for Saints, for Chris Mayor.
67 mins: Saints win their own line-out and clear upfield.
67 mins: Argentine Fernandez Lobbe is on for Saints.
66 mins: From the scrum, Geraghty is fed the ball inside his dead-ball line and under immense pressure gets it away, it clipped O'Callaghan, so line-out Saints.
63 mins: Leamy breaks from a scrum, resulting from a Foden fumble. But Saints turn it over. Dickson clears, O'Leary claims for Munster and charges through to the 22. Howlett picks up the torch and wriggles past Bruce Reihana. The ball is spun wide to De Villiers, he beats three men and feeds Ian Dowling for Munster, who pops to O'Gara with the line at his mercy. He knocks on! Shocker!
62 mins: Ben Foden misses another through ball from O'Gara. But Munster cannot capitalise and the ball is returned to Warwick at full-back. He kicks back to Saints into their 22. Foden looks weak under the high ball, they need to pressurise him.
60 mins: PENALTY: The ball is cleared by Howlett and claimed by Foden, who holds on and concedes a penalty inside the ten-metre line. O'Gara steps up and kicks it over. 28-20.
59 mins: Downey punches up the middle afte being fed by Geraghty. Lawes is fed from Dickson and then the ball is spun wide to Clarke, but he loses it and the siege is over.
57 mins: Saints set-up a ruck from a turnover at the lineout. Soane Tonga'uiha and Lawes pick and go inside Munster's 22. Saints win a scrum, ball not coming out of the ruck and Saints going forward.
56 mins: Munster clear from the 22 drop-out and Irishman James Downey charges back into the Munster half. Dickson feeds Geraghty who hits touch just outside Munster's 22 on the left hand side of the pitch.
55 mins: Geraghty pushed the kick from 20 metres out to the right of the post. Tough kick.
53 mins: Dowson and Dickson pick and go and take Saints into the Munster 22. Geraghty feeds Jon Clarke to Ben Foden. Saints win a peno in the 22 for a trip on Foden by Tomas O'Leary.
52 mins: Munster clear to touch and Saints setup a ruck inside the halfway from the line-out. They box-kick and De Villiers gathers again to run straight into James Downey and knock on.
50 mins: Munster turn over in their own 22 as Neil Best charges down a Warwick clearance. Saints gather and Dickson feeds Phil Dowson, who knocks on.
48 mins: PENALTY: O'Gara slots over the peno, right in front of the posts. 28-17. Still a long way back.
46 mins: Munster are in the Saints 22 again. They keep it tight in the pack, pick and drive from O'Connell and Flannery. They get right to the Saints line and the ball pops out of the ruck. There must have been a Saints hand in there. Peno Munster.
44 mins: TRY AND CONVERSION: Knock on Paul O'Connell. Third knock on from a line-out. Ben Foden breaks for Saints from the scrum. Courtney Lawes at second row row takes it forward too. Then Geraghty shows more genius at ten. Geraghty snipes clear and feeds Ashton for his second try of the game. Trouble time for Munster. Geraghty knock over the conversion. 28-14.
43 mins: Dickson box kicks to safety for Saints. Line-out in Munster's twenty-two.
42 mins: Five handling errors for Munster to Saints' zero.
40 mins: We're off again at Franklin's Gardens. Geraghty pops it right into Munster's corner again. He's having a stormer. O'Conelll wins the line-out and feeds Earls. Munster recycle several times just outside the 22-metre. Knock on from O'Gara. He's giving a mixed bag performance so far.
SECOND HALF:
40+3 mins: CONVERSION: Geraghty slots the conversion and his excellent first half is complete with a 16-point-haul. 21-14.
40 mins: TRY: Santiago Bonarino batters at Munster. Geraghty takes up the mantle and feeds the pack and also takes the ball on himself. Munster concede under pressure. Penalty to Saints in the 22-metre line. Geraghty takes it quick and Munster are facing the other way! No defence there and a scampered cover tackle from Flannery is of no avail. Try to Saints; egg on Munster's face. 19-14.
39 mins: From the kick-off Saints hold the ball in the pack, with an eight man maul. Dickson clears upfield and Earls claims the ball. The ball goes to the right wing to Howlett. Warwick goes for a grubber but it's blocked down. Saints take possession and set it up.
38 mins: PENALTY: Geraghty makes no mistake from 20-yards. Level again. 14-14.
37 mins: Donncha O'Callaghan concedes a penalty for holding on at the kick-off. Munster keep on giving away silly penalties right after scoring. Must do better.
36 mins: PENALTY: Sky Sports disagree and think Munster were lucky to get the decision. We disagree with Sky. O'Gara kicks sweetly and puts Munster ahead. 11-14.
35 mins: From the kick-off Geraghty clears to touch, but not far and stil inside his own half. Quinlan takes the line-out again. O'Leary is swallowed by the lineout, but the Saints pack go over the top at the ruck and Munster win a penalty.
34 mins: PENALTY: Geraghty levels the scores with a fine kick straight through the white bars. 11-11
33 mins: De Villiers clears straight to Ashton and Saints set up a ruck, Geraghty kicks for a drop-goal, which is blocked, but penalty back for Earls giving away a penalty at the ruck.
32 mins: PENALTY: O'Gara knock over the three points and Munster take the lead for the first time. 8-11
29 mins: Flannery hits Quinlan in the line-out, it's a good avenue of attack and working well. Horan breaks down the right wing and feeds Howlett, Mafi drops it in midfield but it goes back. Breakdown in midfield, and recycled, Munster have put together six phases. Penalty for Munster, Saints killing the ball. Great chance for O'Gara.
28 mins: Horan is still down and being nursed back to health with the magic sponge. Scrum-down. Munster have re-gathered and win a penalty; great turnaround. Scuffle with Jerry Flannery grabbing a Noethampton palyer in a headlock. No cards given and O'Gara kicks the peno to touch.
28 mins: Munster's scrum is in disarray - are they missing 'The Bukll' John Hayes? Yes. The scrum collapses, Marcus Horan is on the ground injured.
26 mins: Tomas O'Leary knocks on from the restart. Poor from the scrum-half.
25 mins: TRY: Earls back himself down the wing against Chris Ashton and beats him and then chips. There is no-one at home for Saints and David Wallace canters across the line. O'Gara's place-kicking is off today and he misses the conversion. 8-8.
24 mins: Saints win the line-out at the back, just. Howlettt and Mafi run it back from Geraghty's clearance.
23 mins: Clearance from Ben Foden at full-back. Alan Quinlan wins good line-out ball. O'Gara again kicks to touch and again it's inch-perfect.
22 mins: O'Connell charges at Saints from the kick-off and O'Gara hits touch with the recycled ball. Good stuff from Munster.
21 mins: DROP-GOAL: Paul Warick hits a sensational drop-goal from inside just inside the ten-metre line. Superb. Munster are off the mark. 8-3.
20 mins: Warwick kicks right into the corner for men in red after turning over Saints from the restart.
17 mins: TRY: Saints are pummeling the Munster defence. Harltey and Lee Dickson batter away. The ball is given to Geraghty who chips over, Keith Earls fumbles the ball and it falls for scrum-half Chris Ashton to score. Try for Saints. The conversion is missed by Geraghty. 8-0.
15 mins: Geraghty misses the penalty, O'Gara restarts.
14 mins: Not straight from Dylan Hartley for the Saints lineout. Scrum Munster, but Saints win a penalty for the scrum going 180.
13 mins: Saints clear downfield, but O'Gara returns it and another line-out. It's all ping-pong at the minute. With little ball-in-hand play.
12 mins: Jean de Villiers hits a wall, in the form of James Downey and knocks on.
11 mins: Another Geraghty kick caused panic in the Munster back three. Earls claims a bouncing ball. Paul O'Connell sets it up and O'Gara clears but misses touch. Geraghty punches his kick back down to Munster and into touch.
8 mins: PENALTY: Mafi is punchig holes in Saints midfield, but a downfield kick is gathered by Ben Foden at full-back. He kicks downfield and Shane Geraghty chips over the Munster defence. David Wallace claims the ball and ground over the line. Penalty back for Saints for offside. Geraghty kicks over the ensuing penalty. 3-0 Saints.
6 mins: Munster win another penality at the breakdown. Ronan O'Gara steps up to the tee...He gets it all wrong and puts it left of the upright, the kick coming from the right touch just outside the 22-metre line.
4 mins: Phil Dowson makes a half break to the Munster 10-metre line, but the Saints concede a penalty for not releasing at the breakdown. munster break and Lifiemi Mafi makes a half-break but is put into touch.
2 mins: Northampton kick for position and Paul Warwick returns to touch again.
0 mins: We're off at Franklin Gardens. O'Gara is fed the ball from the kick-off and clears to touch. Line-out Saints.
17.58: it's been a mixed weekend so far for Irish rugby with wins for Ulster and Connacht, but defeat for Leinster. Here's hoping Munster can make it three wins from four for the provinces.
17.55: Welcome to our live matchtracker for Munster's opening Heineken Cup clash of 2009/10. This is Munster's 102nd European Cup match - more than any other team has played in the competition.
