Saints off to a flyer as they cruise past Castres in Champions Cup opener

Man of the match Juarno Augustus scored twice during the second half as the black, green and gold took the game away from their French opponents at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

Saints had gone in 14-3 up at the break, having battled torrid conditions, including a strong wind, as they ensured their would be no repeat of the previous week's slow start against Gloucester.

And Phil Dowson's men eventually proved too strong and too sharp for Castres, who struggled to get any joy against the home defence.

Saints reached the Champions Cup semi-finals last season and headed into the home opener with high hopes of another extended run in the competition.

The black, green and gold made a fast, physical start to the match, taking a tap penalty five metres out and eventually going over as skipper Fraser Dingwall refused to be stopped from close range.

Fin Smith converted but Castres hit back with a Louis le Brun penalty after Temo Mayanavanua and Henry Pollock were penalised for being offside.

However, Mayanavanua soon made amends, running a lovely line and latching on to a pass before flying through the middle to score next to the left post.

Smith easily converted and Saints had two tries inside the opening 10 minutes of the match.

It looked like the black, green and gold had added a third soon after as Henry Pollock chased a Curtis Langdon kick ahead and seemed to collect superbly before grounding the ball.

But after going to the TMO, referee Sam Grove-White felt there had been a knock-on and ruled what looked to be a fine score out.

Castres had the chance to rub salt in the wounds with a penalty but Le Brun missed badly in the swirling wind.

Another big chance went begging for the French side soon after as Smith fumbled the ball, allowing Josaia Raisuqe to kick ahead, but the winger couldn't gather as Saints escaped.

The game was a real battle as the rain and wind swirled around the Gardens, and the early excitement subsided as the half went on.

Saints had to stand tall against a couple of Castres lineouts inside the home 22, pushing the Top 14 team back with brute force and determination as half-time approached.

Saints soon made the most of having the wind at their backs when the second half started, putting the pressure on Castres with a kick ahead before Pollock won the breakdown penalty.

Some quick thinking saw Tommy Freeman take the penalty quickly before firing a fantastic long pass out to the right, where Augustus was waiting to score in the corner.

Smith missed the incredibly tricky conversion from the touchline but he landed a much simpler effort soon after as Saints bagged their bonus-point try with Langdon diving on the loose ball to score.

Langdon's fellow Saints front rowers had to do some fine work at the other end of the field when Castres powered over the line on 56 minutes, with Elliot Millar Mills and Manny Iyogun holding them up to prevent the try.

And Saints were soon at the opposition door again as they took another tap penalty and Augustus powered over for his second try of the game.

Augustus was then replaced by Iakopo Mapu as the Samoa back row forward came on for his Northampton debut.

Castres continued to show fight and they eventually scored their first try of the game on 68 minutes as replacement hooker Pierre Colonna powered over.

James Ramm was producing an all-action performance for Saints and after the full-back raced back to stop a Castres try, he went up the other end and bundled an opposition player into touch to win Saints a lineout inside the 22.

Pollock made sure Ramm’s hard work was rewarded as he somehow found a way over the line under huge pressure, with Smith putting the icing on the cake with the conversion.

Saints: 15 James Ramm; 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 Ollie Sleightholme (Rory Hutchinson 63); 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell (Archie McParland 63); 1 Emmanuel Iyogun (Tom West 63), 2 Curtis Langdon (Craig Wright 58), 3 Elliot Millar Mills (Luke Green 63); 4 Temo Mayanavanua (Chunya Munga 58), 5 Tom Lockett; 6 Angus Scott-Young (Alex Coles 50), 7 Henry Pollock, 8 Juarno Augustus (Iakopo Mapu 63).

Castres: 15 Theo Chabouni; 14 Josaia Raisuqe, 13 Adrien Seguret, 12 Joris Dupont ((Vilimoni Botitu 50), 11 Nathanael Hulleu; 10 Louis le Brun (Rémy Baget 66), 9 Santiago Arata (c) (Jeremy Fernandez 50); 1 Lois Guerois-Galisson (Wayan de Benedittis 50), 2. Loris Zarantonello (Pierre Colonna 50), 3 Aurelien Azar (Nicolas Corato 50); 4 Guillaume Ducat, 5 Leone Nakarawa; 6 Yann Peysson (Mathieu Babillot 50), 7 Tyler Ardron, 8 Feibyan Tukino.

Referee: Sam Grove-White