All posts tagged: European Rugby Champions Cup

Bath break Northampton hearts on one of European club rugby’s great nights

Bath break Northampton hearts on one of European club rugby’s great nights

Published by Sam Flores

It would be doing Bath a massive disservice to suggest they were all route one as they demonstrated with their third try which was strike play perfection. The scrum was solid and Redpath felt Russell, who faked pumped once to draw a gap to send Henry Arundell scurrying under the posts. Then right on half-time came a try that both coaches identified as a key momentum shift as shortly after Smith missed a penalty to touch, replacement Francois van Wyk was driven over. Russell missed leaving the game tantalising poised at 35-26 to the visitors. After the madness of the first half, Smith took the first conservative decision of the game, by kicking a penalty in front of the posts. However, Saints were reduced to 14 men when JJ van der Mescht was sin-binned following repeated offences in the 22. Bath kicked to the corner and piled what seemed like half of Somerset into the maul with replacement Kepu Tuipulotu grounding the ball. Russell’s conversion made it a five-point game. Another Smith penalty gave Saints …

Bordeaux tear Leicester apart to set up mouthwatering quarter-final against Toulouse

Bordeaux tear Leicester apart to set up mouthwatering quarter-final against Toulouse

Published by Sam Flores

Leicester did not help themselves at times – some of the front-line defence, particularly in the first half, was woeful – but the Tigers were fighting fires everywhere. If Bielle-Biarrey, with that iconic red scrum cap, is not cutting you to shreds, then Jalibert will, or Lucu, one of European rugby’s most underrated players, will squeeze you out of the contest with his calmness, kicking and control. The ovation Lucu, Bordeaux’s scrum-half and captain, received on 50 minutes as he departed was cacophonous; as was the roar Ben Tameifuna ignited when the wardrobe-on-wheels thundered over for a score soon after coming on. If Bordeaux cannot go round you, they will go through you, instead. Outclassed, outfought and out-thought, the challenge for Leicester now is to ensure that there is a response in the league. For Bordeaux, it might only be Toulouse who can stand between them and an historic European and domestic double. Match details Scoring sequence: 3-0 Lucu pen, 8-0 Woki try, 10-0 Lucu con, 15-0 Rayasi try, 20-0 Lucu try, 22-0 Lucu con, …

Toulouse play rugby from the gods to demolish Bristol

Toulouse play rugby from the gods to demolish Bristol

Published by Sam Flores

Ramos was ubiquitous in the Toulousain assault, offering one sumptuous offload from an audacious counter for Gourgues’s first –but Bristol often did not help themselves. Williams, often distributing beautifully, had a couple of howlers which led to two tries while Ibitoye and Rees-Zammit never quite looked comfortable in the backfield against a Dupont-Ntamack-Ramos three-pronged aerial bombardment. Thomas added a quickfire double to a rapidly increasing scoreline, but what made it more remarkable was that it was during the period in which the hosts had been reduced to 14 players. Toulouse were in cruise control, knowing the game was over, while the Bears attempted to salvage some pride. Thankfully, the visitors managed it. For Toulouse, with the crowd jumping to the sounds of the stadium’s sunset DJ, the victor of Bordeaux’s hosting of Leicester awaits; for the Bears, some claw-sharpening and wound-licking is required. Match details Scoring sequence: 0-5 Harding try, 0-7 Williams con, 5-7 Willis try, 7-7 Ramos con, 12-7 Mauvaka try, 14-7 Ramos con, 19-7 Gourgues try, 21-7 Ramos con, 26-7 Mauvaka try, 28-7 …

Bath overcome Saracens in thrilling encounter to book spot in Champions Cup quarter-finals

Bath overcome Saracens in thrilling encounter to book spot in Champions Cup quarter-finals

Published by Sam Flores

Bath starting XV: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer, 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Archie Griffin, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Josh Bayliss, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Alfie Barbeary. Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Ted Hill, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Miles Reid. Saracens starting XV: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Tobias Elliott, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Charlie Bracken, 1 Rhys Carre, 2 Jamie George, 3 Marcus Street, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Hugh Tizard, 6 Theo McFarland, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 8 Tom Willis. Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Max Malins. Source link

Beware Scotland in the Six Nations after Glasgow Warriors hammer Saracens

Beware Scotland in the Six Nations after Glasgow Warriors hammer Saracens

Published by Sam Flores

And although Saracens were able to secure more possession and territory in the second half, their attack lacked the precision necessary to convert pressure into points, with Segun Rotimi one of the few to cause Glasgow problems in defence. The hosts, with dominance in the maul, breakdown and scrum, were able to soak it all up – even when they lost Kyle Rowe to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Segun – before landing the killer blow with the final play. Saracens were not lacking effort or spirit – Maro Itoje led the charge, so too Ben Earl – but their attacking ambitions were not connected and their discipline was poor. “We obviously started the game slowly,” said Mark McCall, Saracens’ director of rugby. “It was 7-3 after 24 minutes, but it didn’t feel that way. I felt that they were the team on the front foot, we were the team on the back foot. We had a hill to climb in the second half and I thought our effort and our fight in …

Leicester Tigers’ Champions Cup hopes in tatters after Stormers defeat

Leicester Tigers’ Champions Cup hopes in tatters after Stormers defeat

Published by Sam Flores

Tom Manz charged down Imad Khan to present Leicester with their own four-try bonus point but the latter converted a penalty and then, on the final play, darted over to reward his muscular scrum. Unless Harlequins do something improbable in La Rochelle, Tigers are bound for the Challenge Cup. Stormers stay at the top table and are on course to host a last-16 tie. South African efforts have been largely underwhelming in the Champions Cup to date. Bulls look poised to progress with one win and a points difference of -68, which is yet another indictment of the absurd format. But Feinberg-Mngomezulu and friends can be commendable flag-bearers. Team details Stormers: Simelane, Maart, Hartzenberg, Roche, Zas, Feinberg Mngomezulu, Ungerer, Mchunu, Venter, Fouche, Schickerling, van Heerden, de Villiers, Dixon, Roos.Replacements: Kotze, Matongo, Porthen, Evans, Theunissen, Khan, Burger, Mars. Leicester Tigers: Pearson, Hamer-Webb, Wand, Woodward, Hassell-Collins, Searle, Whiteley, Haffar, Blamire, Hurd, Thompson, Wells, Moro, Williams, Cracknell.Replacements: Theobald-Thomas, van der Flier, Loman, T. Manz, Ilione, Allan, Bailey, Crowley. Referee: Jeremy Rozier (FRA) Source link

Bath run riot against Edinburgh but Champions Cup credibility takes another hit

Bath run riot against Edinburgh but Champions Cup credibility takes another hit

Published by Sam Flores

The same combination instantly combined again, this time Ojomoh pulled the ball back to Cokanasiga cutting a devastating line. The wing could easily have scored himself but unselfishly obeyed his captain Spencer’s instruction to pass inside. By now Edinburgh were waving the white flag as Arundell, Cokanasiga and Ojomoh each finished well to put an exclamation point on an emphatic performance. Match details Scoring sequence: 0-3 Thompson pen, 5-3 Du Toit try, 7-3 Russell con, 14-3 pen try, 19-3 Obano try, 21-3 Russell con, 21-8 O’Conor try, 21-10 Thompson con, 26-10 Dunn try, 28-10 Russell con, 33-10 Cokanasiga try, 35-10 Russell con, 40-10 Spencer try 42-10,Russell con, 47-10 Arundell try, 49-10 Russell con, 54-10 Cokanasiga try, 56-10 Russell con, 61-10 Ojomoh try, 63-10 Russell con. Bath: T De Glanville (S Carreas 54); J Cokanasiga, M Ojomoh, O Lawrence (C Redpath 64), H Arundell; F Russell, B Spencer (T Carr-Smith 64); B Obano (F Van Wyk 64), T Dunn (D Frost 64), T Du Toit (A Griffin 64), Q Roux, R Molony (T Hill 64), G …

Henry Pollock revels in pantomime villain role but Northampton still thrashed by Bordeaux

Henry Pollock revels in pantomime villain role but Northampton still thrashed by Bordeaux

Published by Sam Flores

At half-time, Saints trailed by 17 points and against Jalibert, Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and company the scoreline could easily have turned pear-shaped. To their credit, the visitors did not fold, even if a couple of the hosts’ tries were soft. Tommy Freeman crossed from close range, as did Pollock, before Fischetti – who had to return late on for Emmanuel Iyogun after his early hooking – bagged the consolation bonus. Northampton, despite their Prem hegemony, were beaten and humbled in the bear-pit; Pollock, however, cannot stop catching the eye. Match details Scoring sequence 5-0 Rayasi try, 5-5 Pollock try, 5-7 Belleau con, 10-7 Rayasi try, 12-7 Page-Relo con, 17-7 Page-Relo try, 19-7 Page-Relo con, 24-7 Woki try, 29-7 Rayasi try, 31-7 Page-Relo con, 36-7 Woki try, 38-7 Page-Relo con, 38-12 Freeman try, 38-14 Belleau con, 43-14 Woki try, 45-14 Page-Relo con, 50-14 Jalibert try, 50-19 Pollock try, 50-21 Belleau con, 50-26 Fischetti try, 50-28 Belleau con. Bordeaux Bègles S Rayasi; D Penaud, N Depoortere, Y Moefana (Janse van Rensburg 58), L Bielle-Biarrey; M Jalibert (Carbery …

Jack Kenningham pushes England claims as nine-try Harlequins thrash insipid Stormers

Jack Kenningham pushes England claims as nine-try Harlequins thrash insipid Stormers

Published by Sam Flores

Jason Gilmore did not offer up any grand proclamations. Harlequins had lost their last three games before this one, shipping a combined total of 149 points in the process. Even so, this represented a heartening response as the hosts sealed their passage through to the knockout rounds. “The boys are working really hard, we just have to make sure that it’s a catalyst for us,” the Harlequins head coach said. “Win, lose or draw, we want to make sure we’re putting out performances that we’re proud of. We’ve changed up training a little bit and the rhythm we’re building with our attack is nice. “Our defence was much better. The Stormers have a big pack. They’re a mauling team and they’ve been opening teams up all year. We stood in front of the fire.” Kenningham was saluted as “outstanding” and there were more compliments for Friday, whose crisp service helped Smith. “He’s a great player and his ceiling is so high,” Gilmore added of Friday, a highly rated England age-group international who returned from knee …