IAN MADIGAN WAS right when he admitted a week was a long time in rugby.

The bonus point win of last week suddenly meant nothing and it was as clear from the first minute that this was a different Northampton Saints team. They kept getting across the gainline in every attack and when Leinster tried to counter they were double-teamed in the tackle and got nowhere.

It was payback time for Northampton. My God, the physicality was there from the off. They won every single collision. You can’t win a game, if you’re Leinster, getting knocked back each time you attack.

They were hungrier and outplayed, and out-fought, Leinster at the scrum, lineout and at rucks. When I saw Sean O’Brien wasn’t starting, I did not read too much into it but he was dearly missed. This is taking nothing away from Shane Jennings, who did fine, but O’Brien’s presence and carries would have made a difference, I feel. Until Mike Ross made a big hit, around the 30 minute mark, there was nothing to get the crowd going.

Another player Leinster missed was Leo Cullen. I genuinely think they were missing his leadership out there. You could see at their lineouts that Northampton were happy to take it into a maul. They threw straight to their two big guys and held on; Leinster never adjusted. At the very least, they could have put a big guy at the front of their line to make it hard for the Saints.

Added to that you had dropped passes, knock-ons and kicking away possession. After five or six phases, rather than build pressure, they were trying miracle passes. You had a crowd of over 47,000 and the atmosphere was fantastic as it was such a tight game. As poor as Leinster were, they were still in with a shout going into the closing stages but surrendered the game with the breakaway from Jamie Heaslip’s fumble. To end the game without even a point was a huge blow.

The loss means they left the job half done. It takes away all that hard work of last week. They now have to win their next two games and that trip away to Castres next month is not going to be easy. Everything always seems to rest on a hair’s breadth in the Heineken Cup but that is the beauty of the competition.

Rugby is over 80% mental. You can be the biggest, strongest bloke out there but if you are not mentally up for a game these things will happen. Matt O’Connor’s job will be to find out why it happened because they knew a Northampton backlash was coming but could not prevent it.

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Paul O’Connell celebrates after Munster’s late, late victory in France. INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Munster’s 18-17 win over Perpignan was a cracking game, with the lead changing hands so much in the closing stages. Munster brought a huge physicality to the game and were dominant in the scrum, which not many people expected.

That was a big win for them — absolutely fantastic — and to do it like that, with JJ Hanrahan’s magnificent side-step, must rank it up there with some of their best ever.

It was a shame Leicester Tigers got their late try against Montpellier as it keeps them in touch with Ulster. Mark Anscombe’s men did exactly what they needed to in their two games against Teviso. On Saturday, they were very workmanlike in horrendous conditions in securing the bonus point victory. They have it all in their hands.

The flu virus that ran through the Connacht ranks was terrible for them and the 37-9 losing scoreline against Toulouse does not reflect the effort they put in. Toulouse went back to basics and had a straightforward gameplan — attack Connacht physically and play direct, direct, direct.

*Shane Byrne’s publication, Club Rugby Magazine is available monthly in the Irish Independent. You can also follow Shane on Twitter @shanebyrneoffic

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