20-1-20 FINAL DAY GROUPS EUROPE
CHAMPIONS CUP
POOL 1
BENITON 0-18 LEINSTER
TRACY ON TOP
The first points in the game came in the 35th minute when
Ross Byrne kicked a penalty goal as Leinster managed a slender 0-3 lead at the
end of the first half.
The home side started the second half with a setback when
Irne Herbst was yellow-carded and Byrne's second penalty kick increased the
Irish side's lead to six points.
The stress quickly repaid as the excellent Doris – buoyed by
his current telephone call- as much as the Irish team for the Six Nations –
gathered Luke McGrath’s clever, snapped pass and also compelled his means over
for the video game’s very first shot.
Six mins later on Leinster included in their rating with a
well- functioned rolling whip from the line- out, as substitute front- rower
Tracy went across in the edge. Byrne kicked the conversion which was like it
obtained for the site visitors, that did sufficient throughout to maintain
Benetton away.
MY
OPINION
This game was a bit of a concern
for Leinster but they were able to get the win needed to get through the top
seeded place for the quarter but this has to be seen as their worst win so far
they might have got more from a loss from a stronger team
LYON 24-36 NORTHAMPTON
FURBANK FANS
FANTASTIC
yon started the game with a setback as Francisco Gomez
Kodela was sin-binned in the 19th minute and Mikey Haywood allowed Northampton
to open their account with a 20th minute try.
Despite down on numerical advantage, Lyon went on to seize
the lead when Felix Lambey touched down in the 25th minute and Jonathan
Wisniewski followed with the conversion.
The French side doubled their tally when Liam Gill dotted
down in the 33rd minute and Wisniewski followed with the conversion and a
penalty to make the scoreline 17-5.
The visitors were the quickest to get off the block in the
second half with Teimana Harrison strolling over the line while Dan Biggar
kicked the conversion and a penalty to reduce the gap down to two points. The
difference between the sides remained two points with Cobus Reinach and Charlie
Ngatai exchanging tries before George Furbank and James Fish with their tries
in the closing stage sealed the game for the visitors.
MY
OPINION
This was a very good win for
Northampton as it kept them in the hunt for the quarters at this stage and a
lot of people would have thought that going to France would have made things a
lot more difficult for them. I think they are an outside bet but moving forward
they can learn
POOL 2
EXETER 33-14 LA
ROCHELLE
SIMODS SUBLIME
Exeter scored their first try after 11 minutes, Cowan-Dickie
finishing off a driving maul, but dropped passes and a charged-down kick
betrayed an anxiety at being on unfamiliar turf, professing for a home
quarter-final. When Dave Ewers finished off a quickly taken penalty, they did
not settle down.
West’s chip into space was picked up by Geoffrey Doumayrou,
who passed inside to Vincent Rattez on Exeter’s 22. As the full-back looked to
take the ball, Stuart Hogg stuck out his right hand and knocked it forward. The
referee Frank Murphy immediately sent the Scotland full-back to the sin-bin and
asked for a review of the incident to determine whether Rattez would probably
have scored a try had Hogg not palmed the ball. The evidence of the night, when
one handling error followed another, suggested not, but when the replay was
paused at the moment Hogg knocked on Rattez had a clear run to the line.
In real time, it looked as if Sam Simmonds would have had a
chance of catching Rattez, but the decision was a mere road bump. There are few
sides more ruthless than Exeter when it comes to sustaining pressure and, apart
from a horrible knock-on by Rattez, La Rochelle were in the second half little
more than training ground fodder. Ollie Devoto, who was in Eddie Jones’s first
England 23, gave the coach a reminder with a break from his own half that set
up Stu Townsend for Exeter’s fifth try.
MY
OPINION
This was exactly what Exeter needed
to reach the quarter final and show what type of damage that they can do and
get a home quarter against a familiar opponent. I think that this team is
developing fast and looks like your team to put your money for an outside bet
SALE 7-45 GLASGOW
JOHNSON JUMPS RIGHT
They consistently got quick ball and it was not long until
the Warriors had scored their first try when Van der Merwe broke down the left.
Although the wing was hauled down, Nakarawa was on hand to score and provide
the visitors with the lead.
Half-backs Ali Price and Hastings were dictating proceedings
superbly and Sale were unable to cope. That pressure soon resulted in a yellow
card as Jono Ross was sin-binned for leading with the forearm before it soon
became a 14-point buffer.
Glasgow set up a maul, charged towards the line and the
hosts failed to prevent Brown from crossing the whitewash.
The Sharks attempted to get back into the encounter, taking
advantage of some Warriors ill-discipline to move into the away side's 22, but
the Scotsmen were stout in defence.
Rennie's charges forced the English outfit into errors while
the PRO14 team were clinical in attack and good hands allowed Van der Merwe to
charge over the line.
Although Nakarawa was sin-binned for a series of team
indiscretions, Sale were not able to capitalise and instead the visitors added
to their score with the bonus-point try early in the second half. Price
benefited from some further slack defence by the hosts to take a quick tap
penalty and Johnson eventually touched down.
MY
OPINION
Glasgow looked very good in this
this match but I think that for them to go up a few levels things have to
change and I don’t think they have sorted out their problems against the big teams in Europe as they normally need
2 wins
POOL 3
QUINS 19-36 CLERMOUNT
BEAUTIFUL BETHAM
A flying start saw Clermont take the lead inside three
minutes when a perfectly-weighted crossfield kick found Peter Betham and he
touched down in the corner.
Parra added the extras with a pinpoint conversion, but
parity was restored moments later when a powerful break saw centre Luke
Northmore go over.
The boot of Parra then put Clermont back ahead and, despite
some positive Harlequins running, the visitors always looked the more likely in
attack.
After some last-ditch tackling held Nick Abendanon up on the
line, Quins were breached once more as the half-hour mark approached.
Again, the danger came out wide and a well worked move left
Apisai Naqalevu free to score Clermont's second try before Parra made it 17-7.
Another setback triggered another Quins response and a
well-worked driving maul saw Alex Dombrandt score to reduce the arrears to five
points.
They almost repeated the trick as they looked to set up
another maul, only to have their progress halted as Clermont took a 17-12 lead
into the half-time break.
A sloppy start to the second period resulted in Quins
coughing up a number of penalties and Parra duly added nine more points to his
tally from the kicking tee.
Now boasting a 26-12 lead and with genuine breathing space
to their name for the first time in the game, Clermont took their foot off the
gas somewhat.
MY
OPINION
This was a group between two
clubs and you could see the weakness in English sides even though the English
would have as much money as the French. This is showing what Rugby ca do if put
in the right hands and I do think this win changed the French side’s fate in
the competition
ULSTER 22-15 BATH
COZETTE CLASS
t took only six minutes for the home side to break the
deadlock when, from an attacking five metre line-out, the forwards set up a
driving maul.
The ball was dropped as it edged close to the line, and
South African No 8 Coetzee picked up and powered over from close range,
followed by scrum-half John Cooney adding the conversion.
Freddie Burns wasted the chance to open Bath's account,
missing a simple penalty from the Ulster 22, but the visitors scored a try in
the 18th minute thanks to England winger McConnochie.
Following a sustained period of pressure in the Ulster 22,
fly-half Burns put in a cross-field kick and Jacob Stockdale misjudged the
bounce, allowing the winger to pick up and dive over the line. Burns then
landed the conversion from a tight angle.
Four minutes later, Bath had flanker Tom Ellis sin-binned
for a push on Cooney , but Ulster could not capitalise and it was all level at
the interval.
Ulster got their second try a minute after the restart, Billy
Burns offloaded out of a tackle to Will Addison who wrong-footed Gabe
Hamer-Webb and drew the last defender before releasing winger Baloucoune to
dart over in the corner. Cooney added the extras.
Burns landed a long-range penalty for the visitors three
minutes later after Sean Reidy was guilty of not rolling away.
Addison got Ulster's third try in the 47th minute as
Stockdale put the full-back into space to dot down, although Cooney failed with
the conversion.
Rob Baloucoune pushed Ulster in front with a try early in
the second half
Bath set up a tense finish by scoring a second try with 15
minutes remaining. From a well-worked, five-metre lineout replacement hooker
Batty was propelled over the line. Freddie Burns missed the conversion.
Lock Kieran Treadwell had a try disallowed for Ulster by the
TMO in the 68th minute for a forward pass in the build-up.
But when Batty was red-carded with eight minutes remaining
for a no-arms tackle on Cooney, Billy Burns slotted over the resulting penalty.
MY
OPINION
Ulster knew that a win of any
sort would seal sixth spot for them which meant a quarter final spot. This
could be seen as a sign of weakness that they won by so little but this does
seem to be the story of their season and should be a reason why not to worry
about playing a quarter final
POOL 4
MUNSTER 33-6 OSPREYS
CASEY COOLS IT
Boosted by the inclusion of captain Justin Tipuric, Alun Wyn
Jones and George North, the visitors started well and Price landed a
seventh-minute kick from just inside the Munster 10-metre line after being
caught with a late tackle.
The 24-year-old fly-half doubled the lead when punishing a
Peter O'Mahony scrum infringement, before Nicky Smith's scrummaging earned
another shot but Cai Evans' monster penalty attempt fell wide.
Apart from some individual spark, Munster endured a sloppy
opening quarter and lost Andrew Conway to a failed HIA. Knee injury victims
Keith Earls and Chris Farrell were also absent from the back-line.
Things finally clicked for the hosts as the interval
approached. Sam Arnold and lively replacement Dan Goggin both featured in the
lead up to the tries, the former's strong run getting Munster in position for
Stander to burrow over from a ruck.
Goggin's excellent fielding of a JJ Hanrahan cross-field
kick drew one of the biggest cheers from the home crowd, Munster using the late
momentum to pummel away and a well-supported Archer grounded the ball against
the right-hand post for his first European try.
Hanrahan converted both scores to open up an eight-point
margin, and after Jones and impressive Champions Cup debutant Calvin Nash each
won a turnover penalty on the resumption, the Munstermen swept clear for their
third try.
Hanrahan and Arnold both pumped their legs to bring their
side within reach of the line before Murray had a simple finish near the right
corner. Hanrahan's conversion effort was off-target
. The bonus-point try
proved elusive - Rory Scannell and Haley both had near misses - until, with 58
minutes gone, promising scrum-half Casey cleverly stepped inside Dan Lydiate at
a five-metre scrum to score with just his second touch in a European home game.
MY
OPINION
Munster showed in this match
what they could do when they had the room to move but they had a lot of that
against the Welsh side but not the other 2 they might need to bring in someone
to be able to control things on the field to suppo0rt Stander and Murray
SARACENS 27-24 RACING
ITOJE INCHES IT
FURTHER
Saracens' next wound was self-inflicted, however, as
Australia lock Skelton was sent off for a high tackle on Brice Dulin moments
before half-time.
Extraordinary defence from Racing kept the black shirts at
bay in the closing minutes as 14 battled 14 due to visiting open Bernard Le
Roux being sin-binned, but Farrell intervened successfully when given his
chance.
As news filtered through about Billy Vunipola's injury, wing
Louis Dupichot picked off Farrell's pass to plunder an easy try.
Saracens continued to unravel as holes opened up in their
defence with uncharacteristic frequency, inviting irrepressible outside centre
Vakatawa to dance in for his second try.
Skelton was sent off on the cusp of half-time and when play
resumed, Iribaren landed a long-range penalty to extend Racing's lead to 24-17.
But Saracens were not done yet as Daly - among his team's
best performers - made ground for Brad Barritt to direct a chip over the
midfield that was gathered by Duncan Taylor for Itoje to score.
MY
OPINION
I am not sure after being relegated
whether or not Saracens should be allowed in the quarter finals but that seems
to be the way of it and I think that they are still a threat for the title and
few teams can beat them
POOL 5
MONPELLIER 35-29 CONNACHT
RELIHIC RELEASES DOG
onnacht's porous defence let them down as Montpellier
dominated the opening half hour. Attacking from a close-in ruck, Georgian prop
Cilachava got past Eoghan Masterson to touch down in the third minute.
Although captain Jarrad Butler led Connacht's determined
response, they fell further behind in the 23rd minute when tricky winger
N'gandebe evaded the clutches of both Tiernan O'Halloran and Healy to go in
under the posts.
Montpellier let their footballing skills do the talking five
minutes later, Handre Pollard and Reilhac both kicking through before full-back
Johan Goosen retrieved possession near the Connacht line. Quick ruck ball
allowed N'gandebe to beat the first defender and crash over.
Yet, as the interval approached, Connacht made timely
inroads. Montpellier were suddenly caught for numbers on the left and returning
scrum half Marmion and Godwin combined to send winger Healy scampering over.
Try number two followed from a Masterson interception, the
ball being moved wide for Australian Porch to finish acrobatically in the right
corner. Carty converted and also tagged on the extras to Marmion's score, set
up by Bundee Aki cleverly drawing in three defenders.
Into the second half, Carty's terrific pass put centre
Godwin through to make it 26 points without reply. Montpellier hit back with
their own bonus point score soon after, a Goosen kick bouncing up favourably
for Reilhac to run in behind the posts.
South African star Pollard's conversion was cancelled out by
Carty's well-struck 57th-minute penalty, and Montpellier's decision to then
turn down a simple three points almost cost them as Connacht survived some
set-piece pressure.
The visitors were struggling for territory, though, and were
not helped by loose kicking and an under-fire lineout. It was Pollard's
midfield break which inspired Montpellier, and lock Nico Janse van Rensburg was
able to float a pass out for Reilhac to go over in the corner.
Pollard's excellent conversion put six points between them
and despite van Rensburg seeing yellow for taking out Porch in the air, his team-mates
won a last-gasp turnover to send Connacht to the bottom of the table.
MY
OPINION
Connacht are going to have to
learn one big thing in Europe if they are to be a threat first and that is how
to win in France and both times they tried it was a disaster. Connacht are
moving up levels but for Irish rugby not quick enough and seem to still be the
development province
TOLOUSE 35-14 GLOCESTER
NIFTY NTAMACK
The English side were celebrating their first try after two
minutes, with a well-timed cross kick from Lloyd Evans allowing Rees-Zammit to
touch down.
Twelvetrees converted to give the visitors an early 7-0
lead. But Toulouse hit back soon after when Samoa international Tekori powered
over from short-range courtesy of a well-worked driving lineout, with Ramos
adding the extras.
The hosts took the ascendancy with an imperious break from
scrum-half Antoine Dupont, who drew his man to put Ntamack over.
Ramos converted but Gloucester regained possession and came
mightily close to a second try.
Inside centre Mark Atkinson fumbled the ball forward into
the hands of Ramos with the try line at his mercy. Ramos sped from his own five
metre line into Gloucester's 22 but was stopped in his tracks by a magnificent
cover tackle from Rees-Zammit.
The ball was recycled to Cheslin Kolbe who was the victim of
a high tackle by Gloucester outside-half Evans, who was given 10 minutes in the
sin bin.
Toulouse made the most of their numerical advantage when
Ntamack danced his way past three defenders for their third try, with Ramos
converting.
Just when Toulouse looked to be coasting to a comfortable
victory, a break from Evans put Woodward over for a try. Twelvetrees converted
meaning Gloucester turned around 21-14 behind.
Toulouse flexed their muscles in the early stages of the
second-half with a terrific break from Kolbe and some lovely hands from Ramos,
resulting in Marchant crossing from short-range.
MY
OPINION
Tolouse have come back from
whatever type of financial issues that they have had to become a force in
French and thereby European ruby again. I think that their going forward they
should use this season as a strong guide
CHAMPIONS
CUP QUARTERS
Clermount v Racing
Tolouse v Ulster
Exeter v Northampton
Leinster v Saracens
CHALENGE
CUP QUARTERS
Bordeaux v Edinburgh
Toulon v Scarlets
Leicester v Castres
Bristol v Dragons
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