1999/2000 final: Northampton Saints 9 Munster Rugby 8

Northampton and Munster clashed in the fifth Heineken Cup final, and the English side emerged victorious at Twickenham Stadium after nail-biting encounter.

Paul Grayson’s three penalties were enough for Saints, with Munster falling agonisingly short after David Wallace’s try and a Jason Holland drop-goal.

2009/10 pool stage: Northampton Saints 31 Munster Rugby 27

Another meeting came a decade later, and there was little to separate the sides again as tries from Chris Ashton (2) and the impressive Shane Geraghty helped Saints to a narrow win in the Pool 1 opener.

Munster were well in contention throughout the absorbing contest, crossing through David Wallace and Tomas O'Leary, with Ronan O'Gara tallying 14 points from the tee.

2009/10 pool stage: Munster Rugby 12 Northampton Saints 9

In the final round of pool stage fixtures, Munster secured a home quarter-final after edging another nervy game, Ronan O'Gara kicking all the Irish province’s points.

Northampton would secure the losing bonus point as they notched penalties through Bruce Reihana, Shane Geragthy and Stephen Myler, ultimately booking their place in the knockout stage.

2009/10 quarter-finals: Munster Rugby 33 Northampton Saints 19

The two sides faced off again in the quarter-finals, and Munster demonstrated their class in front of a bouncing Thomond Park as scores from Paul Warwick, Doug Howlett (2) and Jean De Villiers did the business.

Northampton led at half time thanks to Jon Clarke’s try and three penalties from Stephen Myler, but the visitors could only muster one more three-pointer through Myler after the break.

2011/12 pool stage: Munster Rugby 23 Northampton Saints 21

Ronan O’Gara was the hero in the opening round of the 2011/12 campaign, kicking a drop-goal in the final play of the game to snatch victory for Munster.

The Ireland fly-half had racked up 10 points prior to that, with Damien Varley and Doug Howlett also going over for the hosts, but his last-gasp effort was needed after tries from Chris Ashton and James Downey, plus 11 points from Ryan Lamb, had Northampton leading at 80 minutes.

2011/12 pool stage: Northampton Saints 36 Munster Rugby 51

It was slightly more straightforward for Munster in the final round of pool games that year, with the visitors running in five tries through BJ Botha, Johne Murphy and Simon Zebo (3), while Ronan O’Gara chipped in with 24 points.

The result saw Munster finish 10 points clear at the summit of Pool 1, while Northampton, who responded with two penalty tries and a Scott Armstrong score, in addition to 19 points from Ryan Lamb, missed out on the knockout stage after ending up third.

With the pool draw for the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup completed, we’re looking back at the previous European meetings between opposing sides. Next up, we take a look at the series of European Cup thrillers between Northampton Saints and Munster Rugby, who face off in Pool B next season.