Heroic 14-man Saints claim incredible win against Munster at Thomond Park

Langdon was dismissed for what referee Tual Trainini felt was reckless contact with the head of Tom Ahern at the breakdown.

The Saints hooker's knee had accidentally hit Ahern's head as he was on the way down but then as Langdon went in to clear the ruck out, his other knee also hit the head of the same player.

The Munster lock was forced off for a concussion check, while Trainini reviewed the incident and decided it was reckless from Langdon, meaning he was shown the red card.

Saints were already a man down at that point as George Furbank had earlier been yellow carded for a tip tackle.

And Munster rubbed salt in the wounds before the break as Peter O'Mahony scored to put them 15-7 up going in at half-time.

It looked like a Limerick mountain for Saints to scale, but they set about their work with real belief in the second half, with Fin Smith producing an incredible fly-half performance.

Smith kept adding to the tally with the boot and when Sam Graham broke away from a maul to score, Saints led.

Smith converted and Saints shut the door on Munster, penning them in their own half as they wrote a sensational away story in the Thomond Park rain.

Saints had gone into the game on an eight-match winning run and, playing against a strong wind in the first half, they made a front-foot start.

Munster were having to do a huge amount of defending in the opening 15 minutes but much of it was in the middle of the field as Saints struggled to find a way upfield.

But finally some Saintly steel and then style opened the door as Juarno Augustus made a huge initial carry before Alex Mitchell took over, weaving his magic with a couple of dummies before managing to apply the finish under pressure.

Smith added the simple conversion and Saints had a lead that they fully deserved.

Munster were struggling to get any sort of foothold in the game but after Saints took a quick lineout, Fraser Dingwall found himself submerged and a penalty was awarded, allowing Jack Crowley to cut the gap to four points.

Another penalty arrived soon after, and again Munster opted to go for goal, this time from very close to halfway.

Crowley couldn't bisect the posts on this occasion, but it felt the tide was really starting to turn in Munster's favour.

Furbank was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle before Crowley found space to send Antoine Frisch over.

Crowley added the extras and Munster had a 10-7 lead with a minute to go before the break.

But there was still time for a big flashpoint as referee Trainini and his TMO once again intervened as Langdon was shown a red card.

Tom Ahern accidentally hit Langdon's knee on the way down at a breakdown and when Langdon went in to clear out, his other leg made contact with the head of Ahern.

The referee decided it was a reckless act and Saints were down to 13 men.

That opened the door for one final Munster attack as O'Mahony scored out wide.

Crowley missed the conversion from out wide but Munster had an eight-point lead and Saints were facing a real uphill battle as they started the second half two men light.

Smith reduced the deficit with a lengthy penalty soon after the restart but Munster were fired up to respond quickly.

They came flying at Saints, who initially resisted, but eventually the home side went over, with No.8 Gavin Coombes finishing off a spell of pressure for his fifth try in three games against the black, green and gold.

Crowley missed the conversion but Munster were now 10 points up and the home fans were lifting the noise levels minute by minute as they smelled Saints blood.

But Saints responded with a surge into enemy territory and they came away with three points as Smith opted to go for goal and slotted the kick successfully.

Smith did something even more impressive soon after, dropping back into the pocket and slotting a beauty of a drop goal to reduce the deficit to four points with 20 minutes to play.

Munster restored their seven-point advantage when Crowley slotted a penalty, but it shouldn't have been allowed as the shot clock had hit zero.

Smith soon cancelled that effort out as he slotted a superb penalty from halfway after Saints had earned the decision at the scrum.

Saints were still believing and after they won another penalty, they kicked to the corner.

A maul pushed Munster back before Graham broke away and dived over for the score to put his side ahead.

Smith converted and Saints led 26-23 with 10 minutes remaining.

Munster needed to respond, but they couldn't find a way upfield as Saints penned them in superbly, stopping them from claiming any sort of momentum.

And after Munster kicked the ball away in their own half, Saints pouched it before going through the phases and booting it out to claim the most heroic of wins.

Munster: Zebo (O'Brien 43); Nash, Frisch, Nankivell (Carbery 77), Daly; Crowley, Casey; Loughman (Wycherley 68), Scannell (Clarke 68), Jager (Ryan 50); Ahern (Gleeson 39), Beirne (c); O’Mahony (Kendellen 66), Hodnett, Coombes.

Saints: Furbank (c); Freeman, Dingwall, Hutchinson (Odendaal), Sleightholme (R Smith 46); F Smith, Mitchell; A Waller (Iyogun 58), Langdon, Davison (Millar Mills 53); Mayanavanua (Moon 58), Coles; Lawes, Pearson, Augustus (Graham 48).

Referee: Tual Trainini

Attendance: 24,620