Northampton edged Castres 49-41 to reach the Champions Cup quarter-finals in a high-scoring, breathless encounter.
Castres burst out of the blocks, racing to a 12-0 lead inside 10 minutes with tries from Christian Ambadiang and Theo Chabouni. Northampton were awarded a penalty try soon after, with Ambadiang shown a yellow card for a high tackle. Castres were later reduced to 13 men when lock Guillaume Ducat was sin-binned for a ruck infringement, yet they still kicked a penalty and Danilo Fischetti went over to leave Castres 15-14 up at the interval.
Northampton took the lead five minutes into the second half when Archie McParland’s pass put Josh Kemeny in, and Tommy Freeman’s try stretched the advantage. Castres fought back through scores from Tyler Ardron and Vuate Karawalevu to cut the gap to a single point, but George Furbank and McParland crossed to restore Northampton’s control.
Vilimoni Botitu’s try narrowed the deficit again, and when Castres lost Veresa Ramototabua to the sin bin Northampton capitalised—Fraser Dingwall powered over to swing the game in the Saints’ favour. Ambadiang produced a late, long-range effort in the final minute, but Northampton held out to seal the win.
The victory sends Saints into the last eight, where they will face either Bath or Saracens in the next round.