Chris Boyd smiling again as Northampton make comeback in Lyon

The Northampton players were castigated by their director of rugby Chris Boyd for their lacklustre display against Benetton Treviso last weekend but the Saints recovered to keep their faint hopes of reaching the Champions Cup quarter-finals alive with a 36-24 success at Lyon – and their place in the last eight was confirmed on Sunday with Saracens failing to score the points needed to overtake as one of the three best runners-up.

“We’re really pleased to come here and win, and to get five points I guess is a bonus given the situation,” said Boyd. “But probably more pleasing was we were down 17-5 at half-time, probably having created enough chances to be in front but we were just a little bit loose with our execution.

“There was real clarity at half‑time around what we needed to do in the second half and if we just tightened up our execution and stuck with what we needed to do then we’d be in with a chance.”

The hooker, Mikey Haywood, crossed for Saints’ solitary score in a first half that included too many Northampton errors for them to sustain any periods of real pressure. Lyon, who currently sit second in the Top 14, played with more precision and power in the opening period, with scores from their lock Felix Lambey and No 8, Liam Gill, giving them a deserved lead.

But Saints were much improved in the second half, with Teimana Harrison, Cobus Reinach, George Furbank and the replacement hooker, James Fish, crossing the line to seal a win with something to spare.

Leinster clinched top-seed status and a home quarter-final as they made it a record-breaking 16 wins in a row in all competitions this season with an 18-0 victory in Pool 1 against Benetton in Treviso. It betters the previous record of 15 wins set by Leinster in 2001-02 for successive victories by a European club.

Leo Cullen’s men had to battle hard against Benetton, with Caelan Doris and James Tracy tries in the second half helping them overcome the stubborn Italian side. Leinster advance through the pool stages with a record fifth European crown in their sights.

Ulster also qualified for the quarter-finals for a second consecutive season with a 22-15 victory over Bath. The England wing Ruaridh McConnochie scored an 18th-minute try for Bath but replacement hooker Ross Batty was shown a red card for a no-arms tackle after he also scored a try after the break. Bath have lost all six games in a miserable European campaign.

Harlequins have fared a little better in Pool Three and they went down 26-19 away against Clermont in Pool 3. Paul Gustard, their director of rugby, claims the youthful side he played can provide the blueprint for the club. “We have played against a side with 15 internationals and almost 400 caps. We had four internationals in our squad,” Gustard said.

“It is the next step for us to start growing our own internationals again and have the next period where Harlequins are going to be a big force. Brett Herron and Niall Saunders are both 22. Tom Penny is a young lad, Luke Northmore and Gabriel Ibitoye are 21 so we have a really youthful team.”