Northampton Saints raised the European Challenge Cup after beating Bourgoin 15-3 at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday evening.

It was the second European trophy in their history after they won the Heineken Cup final in 2000 over Munster and a remarkable turnaround of their fortunes after promotion from Division one last season

A crowd of 9,260 witnessed a full blooded contest that saw two yellow and a red card brandished a tempers spilled over at the end of the first and second periods.

But despite the uglier moments of the match, Saints coaches Jim Mallinader and Dorian West can be justifiably proud of their success in a tournament that they targeted victory in at the start of the season

Saints were dominant through ant and rarely gave Bourgoin and opportunities to score over the 80 minutes.

The pattern of the match had been formed after just ten minutes. The tackle count read 28-1 and that was a ratio that was simply unsustainable for the French team.

Penalties were always going to come and when they did Steve Myler was up to the mark. His 100 per cent completion cemented his standing as the tournament's leading scorer.

He slotted five from five, he might have missed two drop goals but it didn't matter. His side had played the game in the right areas and won penalties he had no trouble notching over.

Next season the Saints will challenge for the Heineken Cup at the expense of two-time Heineken Cup winners London Wasps.

For Bourgoin, it's another season in the European Challenge Cup which was a bitter disappointment to their tearful players at the final whistle, as the famous chart of 'Saints go marching in' rang around the ground.