Well that’s it from me tonight. It’s a job well done from Leinster and, assuming his job was securing a nice long break from the game, a job well done from dangerous Dylan Hartley too.

One win down for Irish provinces, three to go.

Here’s hoping Munster and Ulster can keep the momentum going tomorrow.

FULL-TIME: Northampton 10 Leinster 37

Nacewa ends with a second missed conversion, but his try capped a valuable away bonus point win for Leinster.

The Aucklander had a man spare out wide, but feigned his pass, darted inside. He was taken down, but rolled back onto his feet to ground Leinster’s fifth of the night.

TRY! Northampton 10 Leinster 37 (Nacewa ’79)

Nacewa takes a high shot now, George Pisi is the accuses. Not near as bad as our Dylan’s whack on the Tullow Tank, but still dangerous.

Yellow Card: George Pisi.

Leinster will attack a 13-man defence for the final two minutes.

There’s the bonus point signed, sealed and delivered after the replacement scrum-half ate up 40 metres on the left wing, jinking past the last two defenders to canter under the posts.

TRY! Northampton 10 Leinster 32 (Gibson-Park ’74)

A pin-point cross-field kick from Ross Byrne finds O’Loughlin with grateful hands plucking the ball out of the air before grounding a third Leinster try.

The angle’s too tight for Isa, but it’s the bonus point Leinster are after now.

TRY! Northampton 10 Leinster 25 ( O’Loughlin ’67)

In case you’re not in front of the tele, here’s what Dylan did this time

JJ Hanrahan has hobbled off with an ankle injury now. George Pisi on in his place. Shame to see him go, hopefully he’ll be back to play in the Aviva next weekend – a fitting stage for his talent.

The mind boggles when you consider Dylan Hartley’s disciplinary record. The man is just ludicrous.

He will receive a hefty ban this week on top of that red card.

Never mind all that now though, Leinster have an excellent chance to snap up a bonus point against 14 men in the final 20 minutes.

RED CARD! Dylan Hartley

The England captain had one of his many moments of madness as he swung a forearm at the back of Sean O’Brien’s head.

From a line-out Luke McGrath attempted to snipe through a gap next to a maul. He was stopped short, but Leinster quickly moved to ball to Sean O’Brien and with a little leaching help from Jamie Heaslip, he planted the pill over the line.

Nacewa adds the extras.

Northampton 10 Leinster 20

TRY! Northampton 10 Leinster 18 (O’Brien ’55)

Hartley hasn’t been able to make an impact at the set-piece as Jack McGrath and Tadhg Furlong continue to dominate the scrum.

Ross Byrne kicks the latest penalty into the 22.

Here comes the start of the scheduled replacements, Rhys Ruddock is sent into the second row in place of Hayden Triggs.

England captain Dylan Hartley is also unleashed for the Saints.

PENALTY! Northampton 10 Leinster 13 (Nacewa ’49)

A monster penalty from the captain edges Leinster back in front. Vital to re-take the lead with Saints building momentum.

That is absolutely brilliant from JJ Hanrahan. The Kerryman jinks through the yellow defensive line, hauled down five metres out. He pops up a phase later, just in time to spin a glorious pass out wide to Tuala who finishes in the corner.

Myler’s conversion is a thing of beauty too and Leinster have been pegged all the way back.

TRY! Northampton 10 Leinster 10 (Tuala ’45)

Leinster now have three Champions Cup debutants in the back-line as Byrne and O’Loughlin joined starter Adam Byrne.

Two minutes in to the second period, Rob Kearney is called ashore. Rory O’Loughlin is in the game and Isa Nacewa goes to fullback.

Here we go then, teams are out for the second half.

Leinster looked a cut above their hosts early on, but the injury to Carbery tilted the balance somewhat as Leinster attempted to steady while the Saints were emboldened.

Since then, Northampton have been on a par with Leinster and the late defensive stand will feel like a big missed opportunity for Cullen’s forwards in particular.

HALF-TIME: Northampton 3 Leinster 10

Well, for a second it looked like Sean O’Brien had ghosted through untouched from 20 metres, but a quick check with the TMO shows the ball ricocheted off him and behind the defensive line.

With each pass wide, they go a metre backwards though. Saints must be tiring though, we’re 20 phases in…

They stand firm. Cronin spills in contact and Foden is only too happy to smash the ball away to touch.

36 mins: Leinster laying siege to the try-line, forward after forward taking a pick and drive on….

Our man in Franklin’s Garden has his eye on Big Rob

Leinster work it back to the right and JVDF gets a head of steam up, but it just wrestled out before he’s able to touch down a score.

They’re off again. Henshaw unleashes a gorgeous flat pass to give Byrne some grass to run into and Leinster build some phases in attack after a long stretch locked in their own half.

30 mins: Leinster coping well in defence as Northampton are going wide too and trying to stretch a bit too early, but the visitors are struggling to set a base camp in opposition territory.

That was Elliott’s last act. He limps off to be replaced by Ahsee Tuala.

Saints are slick off the line-out and quick hands make them dangerous going right to left, but Jamie Elliot can’t get a firm hand on the final pass and Kearney bats it away.

Northampton just tweaking the pressure up bit by bit. Myler has a chance to go wide, but stabs it to the corner. McGrath does well again to slide onto the pill and take the ball out with him.

The hosts got off the mark after Byrne was isolated and held on on the deck. Leinster roar back though, Luke McGrath bursting in to the 22, but Saints steal once again.

A great start just looking a little shaky at the minute.

PENALTY! Northampton 3 Leinster 10 ( Myler ’19)

For the unfamiliar, this is man is now Leinster’s out-half.

Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO

And just as I finish typing that, Ross Byrne emerges from under his jacket and steps on to the pitch.

Joey Carbery is off injured after just 15 minutes.

Carbery hasn’t quite settled into a comfortable rhythm since his knock. But Leinster’s pack is humming nicely.

11 mins: We’re with the TMO for a high tackle from Patterson on JVDF. Garces rules it just a penalty and that’s probably fair enough.

Penalty! Northampton 0 Leinster 10 (Nacewa ’10)

Joey Carbery takes a painful twist in the ankle, but he’s good to continue.

Ross Byrne is on the bench having only been registered for the European squad this week. He began the season as the fourth-choice out-half behind the injured Sexton and Cathal Marsh.

The old dog’s on the hard road.

6 mins: Tadhg Furlong is out doing Tadhg Furlong things, making his presence felt with a steal before packing down for the first scrum of the day.

The perfect start for Leinster as Rob Kearney storms onto a pass to scythe through the Northampton D. He fixes Foden and pops a perfect pass to Ringrose who charges under the posts.

Easy conversion to get Isa Nacewa off the mark.

TRY!  Northampton 0 Leinster 7 (Ringrose ’2)

KICK-OFF: We’re away. Northampton kicked us off, but Leinster have started well moving through phases in Saints territory.

Here come the teams then, Leinster are in those… er, easily spotted yellow jerseys while Northampton are in their traditional striped green.

Prediction time: Northampton will be hard to shake off, and I expect them to finish strong with Hartley and Ellison to come in. But Leinster, even without Sexton, have enough quality in the starting XV to give them a win by around five points.

Here are your teams for tonight’s match:

 Northampton Saints:

15. Ben Foden
14. Ken Pisi
13. Luther Burrell
12. JJ Hanrahan
11. Jamie Elliott
10. Stephen Myler
9. Nic Groom

1. Alex Waller
2. Mikey Haywood
3. Paul Hill
4. Michael Paterson
5. Courtney Lawes
6. Jamie Gibson
7. Tom Wood (captain)
8. Louis Picamoles

Replacements:

16. Dylan Hartley
17. Ethan Waller
18. Gareth Denman
19. Api Ratuniyarawa
20. Teimana Harrison
21. Tom Kessell
22. George Pisi
23. Ahsee Tuala

Leinster:

15. Rob Kearney
14. Adam Byrne
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Isa Nacewa (captain)
10. Joey Carbery
9. Luke McGrath

1. Jack McGrath
2. Sean Cronin
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Devin Toner
5. Hayden Triggs
6. Sean O’Brien
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jamie Heaslip

Replacements:

16. James Tracy
17. Cian Healy
18. Michael Bent
19. Rhys Ruddock
20. Jack Conan
21. Jamison Gibson-Park
22. Ross Byrne
23. Rory O’Loughlin

International rugby has been put into winter storage and the provinces are back on the centre stage. It’s a European weekend and a the beginning of the vital December back-to-backs.

Irish interest kicks off at 19.45 (BT Sport) at Franklin’s Gardens tonight where Leinster are seeking an overdue away win. In their way stand Northampton Saints, a badly wounded side, but an outfit who are always tough to undo on their home turf.

And with JJ Hanrahan in the Saints midfield and Dylan Hartley among the replacements, there’s sure to be plenty of spark.