Northampton Saints 27 Ulster Rugby 35

Ulster scrum-half John Cooney scored a try and kicked four conversions to secure his side’s passage to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.

After falling behind 7-0 to a converted Alex Mitchell try, Ulster were awarded a penalty try on 11 minutes, when their rolling maul was illegally held up by Northampton's Sam Matavesi, who followed fellow forward Nick Isiekwe into the sin bin.

However, Piers Francis kicked Northampton back into the lead with a penalty, only for a third yellow card – this time for David Ribbans – to hand Ulster the initiative as Rob Herring powered over the try line moments later to put the Irish province ahead for the first time.

A quickfire brace of tries from Saints full-back Tommy Freeman towards the end of the first half turned the tide back towards the English outfit, who led 22-14 at the break. His first was a close-range finish, while his second was a scintillating sprint from halfway after a glorious Mitchell offload.

However, Ulster responded early in the second period with a try from Marty Moore after some powerful forward play, only for the hosts to reply in kind as Ollie Sleightholme touched down in the corner to put Northampton 27-21 ahead with 20 minutes remaining.

The Irish province were not to be denied, though, as Cooney crossed to give the visitors a one-point lead as the match reached a tantalising conclusion.

The PRO14 side then sealed victory when Billy Burns feigned a kick through before finding Jacob Stockdale, who dotted down.

Our next contest to feature in our European Rugby Challenge Cup Matches of the Season series took place at Franklin’s Gardens, where Ulster Rugby marched into the last four with a five-try performance against Northampton Saints.