Munster player ratings: Tadhg Beirne the bright spot for Reds in Champions Cup exit

15 Mike Haley – 5

Took his try well and showed up defensively at times, while he was solid in the back-field on a windy afternoon.

14 Sean O'Brien – 5

A fine finish and some really good attacking moments, but errors came at key times and he had a mixed day defensively.

13 Antoine Frisch – 4

If he'd held Simon Zebo's first half pass it might have been a different story. Needed a big game after declaring for France and didn't deliver.

12 Alex Nankivell – 6

Beautiful pass for the O'Brien and he worked hard, but ran out of steam as the game went on. Was still a surprise when he was taken off.

11 Simon Zebo – 6

On what could be his final outing in Europe, the winger did everything his power to make it happen for Munster before finishing on one leg. Northampton exploited his lack of mobility late on.

10 Jack Crowley – 4

He needed a top performance, but instead Munster's out-half gave an off-colour display and threw in some costly errors.

9 Craig Casey – 6

The scrum-half gave everything despite carrying an illness into the game, keeping Munster's tempo high with his passing before he made way early in the second-half.

1 Jeremy Loughman – 7

Won a breakdown penalty, carried really well and forced a scrum penalty to boot during an excellent half-hour but couldn't sustain it as the Saints scrum got on top.

2 Niall Scannell – 6

A couple of costly handling errors will haunt him, but his lineout throwing was largely reliable and he gave it everything.

3 Stephen Archer – 6

The only fit tighthead in the squad, he was as physical as possible and threw in some excellent carries but ran out of steam understandably.

4 Thomas Ahern – 6

Made a couple of lung-busting carries on the wing, but wasn't able to influence the game in the tight.

5 Tadhg Beirne – 8

Clearly unwell in the aftermath, the captain did everything in his power to get his team over the line.

6 Peter O'Mahony – 7

Was a surprise when he was withdrawn early in the second-half, because he'd had an influential game with some lovely passing touches and a lineout steal.

7 John Hodnett – 5

Won't be happy with getting held up early on and struggled to have as much influence on the ball as he'd have liked.

8 Gavin Coombes – 6

Another surprising early exit, the No 8 got his team on the front foot repeatedly in a typically abrasive display.

Replacements

16 Eoghan Clarke: On too late to rate

17 Josh Wycherley: On too late to rate

19 Jack O'Donoghue – 5: Came on as Munster were chasing the game, but dropped ball was costly.

20 Alex Kendellen – 6: Showed up well repeatedly in contact.

21 Conor Murray – 5: On reasonably early for Casey, but couldn't change the course of the game.

22 Joey Carbery – 5: Couldn't have an influence.

23 Shay McCarthy – 5: Came on twice and showed up well a couple of times, without ever threatening to break free.