SAINTS: Cup pool will 'go to the wire'
Blackpool tower Christian Day believes Saints' Heineken Cup pool will go down to the final game at Munster next February.
Saints head to Italy to take on Treviso on Saturday just one point behind leaders Munster, who travel to Perpignan on Sunday.
Northampton beat twice-Heineken-Cup-winners Munster at home in a pulsating pool one opener, but the Irish province took away a crucial bonus point and Day feels that the pair will be the ones pushing for qualification come the final round of games in February.
Blackpool-born Day, who has only reached the quarter-finals once before with Sale, said: "I have been unfortunate enough to be in Munster's group a few times now and you can guarantee that final game at Thomond Park will be a pressure game like no other.
"Perpignan were perhaps unlucky to lose their last weekend, but they are still in it because they got a bonus point, so they will send a strong team here.
"So many things can happen now, Munster will look to get five points at Treviso, which would put them in a very strong position, so we will need to do the same on Saturday.
"It will then be down to that massive game at Thomond Park which Munster seem to thrive on normally."
Saints have to grab a second bonus-point win against Treviso at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo this weekend to keep their qualification hopes on track and then beat Perpignan at Franklin's Gardens.
It would be very handy if they could pick up a bonus point in that clash as well or they could well end up going to Thomond Park needing to win to finish top of the group to guarantee a home quarter-final.
Winning at Thomond Park is a daunting prospect, as Day well knows, having been part of the Sale side that lost 31-9 in the final pool game in 2006, as Munster ran in the four tries they needed to top the group.
But Day says Saints will be prepared for the challenge of inflicting only the second Heineken Cup defeat on Munster in their own backyard.
Day said: "We have already discussed the fact that we need to thrive on that pressure to get a result to finish top of the group and get a home quarter-final.
"A previous coach of mine always said that only once has a team lost a home quarter-final in the European Cup. To get a home quarter-final would be huge for us, particularly at Franklin's Gardens where we get a huge support.
"We are certainly planning to go to Thomond Park to win the game. We won't be going to look for a bonus point, if you go there with that attitude you lose by a long way. We are going to go there to challenge Munster to play rugby and hopefully come away with a win."
Read Chris Gleadell and Will Greenwood in today's Chron
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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