Northampton 36 Munster 51:Munster's pure will to win against any odds in the Heineken Cup was to the fore at the stadium:mk tonight as they scored a stunning victory over Northampton to make it six from six in Pool One on a night when Simon Zebo announced himself on the European stage with a stunning hat-trick.

On just his fourth appearance in the competition the 21-year-old flyer from Cork opened his try-scoring account in thrilling fashion, the second a brilliant interception which sealed the win on a night when they were pushed around in the scrum but still found a way to get the job done.

Zebo’s second was also Munster’s fourth and earned the two-time champions the top seeding going in to the quarter-finals, pushing Leinster into second spot and setting up a possible last eight clash against Ulster for the defending champions.

It marked a perfect end to the week for winger Zebo after he was invited to train with Declan Kidney’s Six Nations squad.

The home side came into the game on the back of five successive wins in all competitions and were seeking revenge for having victory snatched from their grasp by an 84th-minute Ronan O’Gara drop goal on match-day one.

They started well and Ryan Lamb rewarded their dominance with two early penalties. O’Gara was quick to respond, but a penalty try awarded when the Munster pack disintegrated at a scrum in the shadow of their posts allowed Saints to move into a 10-point lead.

Munster looked slightly stunned, but their wealth of experience came to the fore and the metronomic boot of O’Gara gave them some impetus.

The tantalising prize of a record unbeaten march through their pool for the first time in their 17 years in the tournament seemed to inspire Munster despite their problems at scrum time.

Things were looking good when BJ Botha burrowed his way over from close range for a try and O’Gara’s conversion was followed by a penalty that gave them the lead for the first time in the 37th minute. But Lamb had the last laugh in the first half with another penalty and it was all square at the break.

The capacity 22,000 crowd were gripped by the action and there was no let up in the intensity when the action resumed.

With their home draw under threat, Munster flexed their muscles and two tries in a breathtaking burst seemed to have put the result beyond doubt. Johne Murphy rounded off some great play in the right corner and then Denis Hurley sent Zebo racing clear a few minutes later.

The 12-point lead was cut by a second penalty try awarded for another total destruction of the Munster scrum from five metres out, but the home side could not cut the gap to anything less than four points.

At 26-31 it was still anyone’s game but even though Lamb matched two more O’Gara penalties, Zebo’s interception try from 60 metres not only sealed the victory but guaranteed a home draw.

It was the first time this season in Europe that Munster had picked up a bonus point and now they have to break the Heineken Cup hoodoo by becoming the only team to win the trophy by winning nine straight games.

Zebo’s hat-trick try and Ian Keatley’s conversion took the score over 50 points and Scott Armstrong’s last-minute try was hardly any consolation for the shattered Saints.