HEINEKEN CUP POOL FOUR Agen (3) 6 Pens: Gelez 2 Northampton (6) 19 Tries: Reihana Cons: Grayson Pens: Grayson 4

The French side had not lost a game at the Stade Armandie since October 2001 but a solid defensive display by the Saints quelled Agen's attack.

Bruce Reihana grabbed the only try for Northampton with Paul Grayson putting in a solid kicking performance.

Northampton now face a pool showdown with the Scarlets on 1 February.

Captain John Leslie and his team knew they would have to dig deep to come up with something special in France to stay in touch with the Scarlets.

Agen had taken the Scarlets' unbeaten record at Stade Armandie the previous week and had to win to stand a chance of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.

It was a tough encounter from the whistle and England international Ben Cohen was sin-binned along with centre Luc Lafforgue for fighting after 25 minutes.

Grayson had retained his composure to give the visitors an early lead with his first penalty after seven minutes.

Eight minutes after Lafforgue had been sent to the sin bin, Grayson hoisted his side into a six-point lead with another penalty.

Fly-half Francois Gelez tried to get Agen back in the game, hitting the mark with the first of his two penalties two minutes before half-time before levelling the scores after the break.

Tempers continued to fray in the murky, muddy conditions and lock Meaher Khala became the second Agen player to go to the sin bin.

Before he returned Saints struck their crucial blow as Grayson kicked ahead for Reihana to chase and touch down.

Grayson converted and then slotted over two more penalties to record the Saints their first Heineken Cup win on French soil in six attempts.