MORE MATCH REPORTS...

 

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MATCH 1

GLOUCESTER 40 - 32* CONNACHT

Kingsholm Stadium - Sunday 24 May 2015
KO: 15.30 HT: 15-17
Gloucester ‎T: Moriarty, Sharples, Meakes, Dawidiuk, May C: Laidlaw (3) P: Laidlaw (2), Hook Afoa
Connacht T: John Cooney, Carty (2), Healy C: Carty (3) P: Carty (2) Buckley, Masterson, Porter

*after extra time

MATCH 2

GLOUCESTER 22 - 23 BORDEAUX BÈGLES

Sixways Stadium - Sunday 31 May 2015
KO: 17.00 HT: 19-13
Gloucester T: Purdy C: Laidlaw P: Laidlaw (5) Afoa
Bordeaux T: Talebula (2) C: Bernard (2) P: Bernard (2) DG: Bernard Poirot

 

 

 

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Twickenham - Saturday 2nd May 2015
KO: 17:00 HT: 11-16 Att: 56,662

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

At Twickers soaking in atmosphere...ok we lie...all the hacks imbibing Heineken hospitality in Mr Carling's Suite! With you soon #CLEvTOU
Clermont v Toulon Here we are...Twickenham...teams are on the pitch for what should be blinder!
Clermont 0-0 Toulon 1m Clermont start well-fast work from Abendanon & they're just kept short of tryline
Clermont 0-0 Toulon 4m Clermont haven't left the Toulon 22 & are still in touching distance...
Clermont 0-0 Toulon 5m In warm up Brock James strained thigh so Camille Lopez starts & Mike Delany bench
Clermont 3-0 Toulon 8m Despite all the momentum, Clermont come away with just 3 points from Camille Lopez
Clermont 3-0 Toulon 10m Bit of a clash & Jamie Cudmore comes off worst...replaced by Julien Pierre
Clermont 3-0 Toulon 11m Clermont scrum on own 10m goes well & they shift action to just outside Toulon 22
Clermont 6-0 Toulon 13m Toulon gift a penalty which should be an easy 3...& it is for Lopez
Clermont 6-0 Toulon 15m Toulon are piling into rucks in Clermont's 22...pushed back but still coming
Clermont 6-3 Toulon 17m Like Clermont, Toulon only come away with 3 pts from Leigh Halfpenny for efforts
Clermont 6-3 Toulon 18m Toulon fans not liking ref Nigel Owens decision of penalty to Clermont on own 10m
Clermont 6-3 Toulon 19m Clermont defensive scrum & so far they drive over Toulon's 10 tho pushed back

Clermont 6-3 Toulon 21m Clermont take play right up to Toulon's 22 before turnover & cleared back to halfway
Clermont 6-3 Toulon 22m Toulon defensive scrum & it's ping pong for a bit before Clermont land in 22...
Clermont 6-3 Toulon 22m But Toulon ball & back they go over halfway...only to run straight back to 22...
Clermont 6-3 Toulon 24m This is far more like tennis than a rugby match! Until of course Toulon at 22...
Clermont 6-3 Toulon 25m ...Morgan Parra charges down & Sébastien Tillous-Borde misses out & ball lands…
Clermont 11-3 Toulon 25m ...lands in Wesley Fofana's hands who charges length of pitch to score! Beauty!
Clermont 11-3 Toulon 26m Lopez conversion clears front of uprights & misses the gap
Clermont 11-3 Toulon 28m Toulon win penalty from attacking scrum on Clermont's 22 & Halfpenny tees up...
Clermont 11-6 Toulon 29m It's an easy 3 for the Toulon superstar fullback, but incumbent champions trail
Clermont 11-6 Toulon 32m Halfpenny & Lopez get under high ball & Lopez comes away under the Welsman gifting a penalty
Clermont 11-9 Toulon 33m Halfpenny knocks over 3 from near touch & halfway
Clermont 11-9 Toulon 35m Matt Giteau nicely places a kick to touch to put Toulon almost to 22...
Clermont 11-9 Toulon 36m Halfpenny tees up from out wide inside 10m from another Clermont penalty gift...
Clermont 11-9 Toulon 36m ...but before you can say 3 points, Halfpenny actually misses a penalty!
Clermont 11-9 Toulon 38m A little time out before Toulon defensive scrum just inside 10m...
Clermont 11-9 Toulon 39m Scrum goes well & Toulon are on way to Clermont's 22...
Clermont 11-9 Toulon 40m Clermont turnover & clear it way back but Toulon come straight back in & pick & go...
Clermont 11-14 Toulon 40+1m Eventually it's Mathieu Bastareaud who bulldozes his way over the tryline for lead
Clermont 11-16 Toulon 40+2m Halfpenny bangs over the conversion & the champions are ahead at HT

Clermont 11-16 Toulon HT T: Fofana P: Lopez (2) | T: Bastareaud C: Halfpenny P: Halfpenny (3)

Clermont 11-16 Toulon 41m We're back for the final half of the Championship...
Clermont 11-16 Toulon 42m Whatever Laporte said mincing gloriously in the Toulon changing room, it worked!
Clermont 11-16 Toulon 43m Much refreshed side as Bastareaud battles thru & Armitage is having a super game
Clermont 11-16 Toulon 44m Giteau is within inches of tryline in corner but just doesn't quite make it over
Clermont 11-16 Toulon 46m Domingo on for Debaty; Taofifenua & Menini's on for Botha & Chiocci
Clermont 11-16 Toulon 50m Different tone this half...but time off while Halfpenny finds his contact lens!
Clermont 11-16 Toulon 51m Right then, now that's sorted, Toulon penalty for Noa Nakaitaci throwing ball away after whistle had gone
Clermont 11-19 Toulon 52m Halfpenny clocks up 3. Meanwhile, Rougerie & Bardy for Nalaga & Lee
Clermont 11-19 Toulon 55m Good work from Toulon to set up 22 attacking lineout; Radosavljevic for Parra
Clermont 11-19 Toulon 57m But Toulon throw away position & Clermont force play back up almost to halfway
Clermont 11-19 Toulon 58m Toulon secure scrum from lineout almost on halfway while Fernandez Lobbe on for Smith
Clermont 11-19 Toulon 60m Monster tackle from Drew Mitchell on Jonathan Davies but Clermont into Toulon 22
Clermont 11-19 Toulon 62m Clermont recycle in limited fashion & lose ball in offload to Bryan Habana!
Clermont 16-19 Toulon 63m Habana's kick is rubbish; Abendanon collects, chips ahead & scores while Toulon look on
Clermont 18-19 Toulon 64m Lopez converts & one still can't figure out what all of Toulon were doing then!
Clermont 18-19 Toulon 65m Time off momentarily whilst a disruptive fan is escorted away from the stadium
Clermont 18-19 Toulon 66m Toulon back over halfway, but not long til Clermont take possession & clear well
Clermont 18-19 Toulon 67m Toulon defensive lineout inside their 22 & clear but Clermont on attack & up to 22
Clermont 18-19 Toulon 67m Chilachava, Orioli & Wulf for Hayman, Guirado & Hernandez
Clermont 18-19 Toulon 68m Delany/ Pierre/ Ric/ Cudmore/ Ulugia for Nakaitaci/ Vahaamahina/ Zirakashvili/ Pierre/ Kayser

Clermont 18-24 Toulon 70m Toulon attacking lineout is excellent & Mitchell outruns 6 defenders to score!
Clermont 18-24 Toulon 71m Halfpenny misses another kick at the uprights! Now that is surprising...
Clermont 18-24 Toulon 73m Despite the Toulon superiority, it's still in Clermont's grasp with a converted try
Clermont 18-24 Toulon 75m Clermont make some headway into the 22 but Toulon do the repelling well...
Clermont 18-24 Toulon 76m Toulon throw in to lineout but knock on & hand possession back to Clermont in midfield
Clermont 18-24 Toulon 78m Clermont scrum > into Toulon 22 > recycle & have advantage...
Clermont 18-24 Toulon 79m Crossfield kick which Habana calls but gets tackled in air...
Clermont 18-24 Toulon 80m Clermont pinged for dangerous tackle & Owens blows whistle for 3rd Toulon title
Clermont 18-24 Toulon FT Huge CONGRATULATIONS to RC Toulon on winning the Champions Cup for a 3rd consecutive year!

Toulon lift the European Rugby @ChampionsCup after beating Clermont Auvergne in the final at Twickenham. http://t.co/8xzVpaN2hO

— BT Sport Rugby (@btsportrugby) May 2, 2015

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga, Brock James, Morgan Parra, Vincent Debaty, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili, Jamie Cudmore, Sébastien Vahaamahina, Julien Bonnaire, DAMIEN CHOULY (C), Fritz Lee BENCH: John Ulugia, Thomas Domingo, Clément Ric, Julien Pierre, Julien Bardy, Ludovic Radosavljevic, Camille Lopez, Aurélien Rougerie

SCORERS T: Fofana, Abendanon C: Lopez P: Lopez (2)

TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny, Drew Mitchell, Mathieu Bastareaud, Juan Martin Hernandez, Bryan Habana, Matt Giteau, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Xavier Chiocci, Guilhem Guirado, CARL HAYMAN (C), Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Juan Smith, Steffon Armitage, Chris Masoe BENCH: Jean-Charles Orioli, Alexandre Menini, Levan Chilachava, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Virgile Bruni, Rudi Wulf, Frederic Michalak, Romain Taofifenua

SCORERS T: Bastareaud, Mitchell C: Halfpenny P: Halfpenny (4)

Man of the Match: Ali Wlliams (Toulon)

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) Asst Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), George Clancy (Ireland) TMO: Graham Hughes (England) Citing Commissioner: Jeff Mark (Wales)

 

 

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Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne - Saturday 18th April 2015
KO: 16:15 CET/15:15 BST HT: 3-6 Att: 41,500

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 1m And we have kick off with George Clancy with the whistle... (uh oh!)
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 2m Clermont set up 22 attacking lineout early on but are a touch static at breakdown
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 3m But they make the yards & get deep into 22; forced back by George Kruis ...
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 4m Ball drops back to Brock James front & centre outside 22 & he misses a drop goal wide
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 4m Hodgson clears high ball to Jamie Cudmore; Clermont go wide but Napolioni Nalaga knock on
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 5m Sarries have first scrum on halfway & win penalty; clear but doesn't find touch...
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 6m Dangerous Nick Abendanon clears back to 10m for Sarries lineout; good but hits coming in fast
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 8m Billy Vunipola spills it & Clermont have defensive scrum on 10m; reset & Clermont clear
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 10m Bit of aerial football results before smart Clermont kick forces defensive lineout on Sarries
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 11m Sarries setpiece goes to plan & into Clermont half with lineout; pressure on Clermont
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 12m Throw isn't straight & Clermont scrum outside own 22...
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 13m Free kick Sarries & they head in & out of 22 but fluff it; lineout & Sarries regain possession
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 14m Billy Vunipola pulls in defenders while Hodgson pops over superb drop goal
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 16m You can guarantee exhaustion in final quarter at this pace; Clermont defensive scrum...
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 17m ...and what a drive from homeside; penalty to Clermont & James kicks to set up 5m lineout
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 18m Immense drive from Clermont from lineout but Sarries defence holds & play forced wide
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 19m Nalaga flies into corner but Chris Ashton tackles with no arms > TMO
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 19m TMO doesn't see Ashy illegal tackle which should've been PT & says no try as ball in touch
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 21m Sarries saved & play continues with Sarries lineout inside 10m...
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 22m lineout won & Sarries forced wide to opposite touchline where Chris Wyles dragged over it
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 23m Huge hits all round & Billy Vunipola wins over Cudmore who's off for blood; Julien Pierre on
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 24m Sarries back in Clermont territory but it's home ball; clear for 10m lineout
‪‎Clermont 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 25m Sarries defence doing far better than Saints last week & causing disruption but Clermont lineout
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 26m Clermont lineout is good & penalty to homeside for James to pop over via woodwork to equalise‪
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 27m Play flying from one 22 to the other; Clermont kick to touch & Sarries throw in quickly
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 29m Sarries penalty & Hodgson kicks from just inside halfway & wide but not quite accurate
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 30m High balls chased all over & no one's afraid of going for it despite recent tribulations
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 31m Clermont penalty coming in own half; clear over halfway & Sarries have defensive lineout
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 32m Quite beautiful watching these tackles & collisions & players bouncing away all over
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 32m 20 year old England U20s captain Maro Itoje makes superb break; just sublime
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 34m Cudmore returns while Sarries back deep in Clermont territory after Alex Goode break
‪‎Clermont 3-3 ‪‎Saracens 35m Cudmore knock on & Sarries advantageous scrum, but free kick to Clermont who clear out of 22
‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens 37m Clermont infringe Sarries maul & Hodgson tees up to riotous noise, & finds his mark
‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens 39m Clermont lineout inside own half but goes to Billy V; Jamie George isolated but Sarries scrum
‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens 40m Clermont add another penalty to count - 4 each - giving Sarries final opportunity for pts
‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens 40m Another serious distance strike from Hodgson & another one missed before HT

‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens HT P: James | P: Hodson DG: Hodgson
‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens HT Sarries lucky they weren't a wing down early on, but definitely have upper hand so far...

‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens 41m The noise has not abated a decibel while Clermont have scrum in Sarries 22...
‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens 42m Jacques Burger obstructs almost before ball is out so scrum reset...
‪‎Clermont 3-6 ‪‎Saracens 43m Damien Chouly bulldozes thru defence before ball recycled & Clermont are sharp as...
‪‎Clermont 8-6 ‪‎Saracens 44m Perfect chip ahead from James picked up by Wesley Fofana in gaping chasm to score perfectly
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 45m Sarries defence missed that one by a country mile; James add extras to take lead
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 46m French fans in fine voice rejuvenated while Clermont have defensive lineout on 22...
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 48m Aerial kicking game continues until Abendanon's kick goes awry; Sarries 22 attacking lineout
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 50m Sarries stay on the attack tho not making much forward gain til Hodgson chip into 22
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 52m But penalty to Clermont who sweep Sarries out of 22 & own half heading to opposite 22
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 53m Jim Hamilton & Itoje shut down Clermont momentum clearing them out
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 54m James Johnston & Schalk Brits for George & du Plessis; Morgan Parra for Radosavljevic
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 55m More high ball both ways as Parra thumps ball into touch; time off for Nalaga & Bardy (blood)
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 56m Lapandry on for blood for Bardy; Sarries lineout good but Clermont on the attack at Sarries 22
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 58m England's Owen Farrell returns to field after knee injury from Clermont match 3mths ago
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 58m Hodgson off, & Jackson Wray for Hamilton as Sarries backs shuffle
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 61m Sarries lose possession in Clermont 22 & suddenly homeside are almost at Sarries' 22
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 62m lineout is good for Clermont; high ball from James into 22 claimed by Goode & he runs it out
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 63m Immense work from Goode who kicks ahead ending in Wigglesworth tackle claiming ball in 22
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 64m Sarries scrum 8m from Clermont tryline...reset a couple of times;
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 65m Clancy unhappy with Clermont & free kick to Sarries for going early; choose scrum
‪‎Clermont 10-6 ‪‎Saracens 66m Vincent Debaty pinged for leaving bind & pulling down; penalty Sarries & Faz tees up
‪‎Clermont 10-9 ‪‎Saracens 67m Faz on target & only one point in it & 12 minutes to go...
‪‎Clermont 10-9 ‪‎Saracens 69m Sarries in trouble as Clermont threatening the tryline from restart but win penalty again
‪‎Clermont 10-9 ‪‎Saracens 70m Cudmore attempts to take Billy V's head off in ruck! Sarries clear Clermont way back...
‪‎Clermont 10-9 ‪‎Saracens 70m John Ulugia for Benjamin Kayser & Neil de Kock for Wigglesworth
‪‎Clermont 10-9 ‪‎Saracens 72m From one 22 to other before play returns to midfield with Clermont in possession...
‪‎Clermont 10-9 ‪‎Saracens 73m Sébastien Vahaamahina effects crucial turnover outside 22 & it's penalty to Clermont
‪‎Clermont 13-9 ‪‎Saracens 73m James adds 3 to widen gap while David Strettle & Rhys Gill on for Wyles & Mako Vunipola
‪‎Clermont 13-9 ‪‎Saracens 75m Aurélien Rougerie for Nalaga & Kelly Brown for Burger as La Marseillaise rings out
‪‎Clermont 13-9 ‪‎Saracens 77m Ref allows clock to tick down 60 seconds for nothing while Clermont faff before halfway scrum
‪‎Clermont 13-9 ‪‎Saracens 79m Sarries getting frustrated as long kick to Goode bounces away; Strets runs it but...
‪‎Clermont 13-9 ‪‎Saracens 80m ...Bosch ignores overlap & pass goes forward to Ashton; Clermont scrum is huge & win penalty
‪‎Clermont 13-9 ‪‎Saracens 80m Clancy stops clock to say there is time for lineout; Clermont throw in on Sarries 22 and ...
‪‎Clermont 13-9 ‪‎Saracens 80+1m Vahaamahina takes it; comes out to Parra who thumps it into stand for Twickenham place

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga, Brock James, Ludovic Radosavljevic, Vincent Debaty, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili, Jamie Cudmore, Sébastien Vahaamahina, Julien Bonnaire, Julien Bardy, DAMIEN CHOULY (C) BENCH: John Ulugia, Raphael Chaume, Clément Ric, Julien Pierre, Alexandre Lapandry, Morgan Parra, Camille Lopez, Aurélien Rougerie

SCORERS T: Fofana C: James P: James (2)

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Marcelo Bosch, BRAD BARRITT (C), Chris Wyles, Charlie Hodgson, Richard Wigglesworth, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, George Kruis, Jim Hamilton, Maro Itoje, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Schalk Brits, Rhys Gill, James Johnston, Kelly Brown, Jackson Wray, Neil de Kock, Owen Farrell, David Strettle

SCORERS P: Hodgson, Farrell DG: Hodgson

Referee: George Clancy (Ire) Asst Referees: Leighton Hodges (Wal), Dudley Phillips (Ire) TMO: Simon McDowell (Ire)

 

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Stade Vélodrome, Marseille - Sunday 19th April 2015
KO: 16:15 CET/15:15 BST HT: 6-9 Att: tbc

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

Toulon vs Leinster Almost ready for KO at Stade Vélodrome...
Toulon vs Leinster The teams: http://ow.ly/LOh3g 
Toulon 0-0 Leinster 1m Leinster begin with handing 1st scrum to Toulon; Wayne Barnes marshalling...
Toulon 0-0 Leinster 3m Matt Giteau chips it away; Jimmy Gopperth clears it & it's midfield play
Toulon 0-0 Leinster 4m Another scrum for Toulon but conditions aren't great in the rain...
Toulon 0-0 Leinster 6m Toulon have advantage coming & kick it; Fergus McFadden fluffs the retrieve...
Toulon 0-0 Leinster 6m ...Rob Kearney thinks he grounds it; Chris Masoe thinks not & grounds it for try...
Toulon 0-0 Leinster 7m Barnes goes to TMO & takes a while; no try as Masoe offside but back for penalty
Toulon 3-0 Leinster 9m Leigh Halfpenny teeing up just outside 22 & slightly off centre...easy work for him
Toulon 3-0 Leinster 11m Leinster lineout just off halfway; good & kick gets charged down. penalty from Bakkies Botha...
Toulon 3-3 Leinster 12m Ian Madigan takes easy penalty to equalise & Botha lucky to get away without YC
Toulon 3-3 Leinster 14m It's a Toulon scrum on halfway; Freddie Michalak clears & Leinster run it back
Toulon 3-3 Leinster 16m Massive turnover from Sean O'Brien & lineout outside 22 for Leinster
Toulon 3-3 Leinster 18m lineout's good & Toulon infringe at breakdown giving Madigan another chance for 3
Toulon 3-6 Leinster 19m Sweet kick & the visitors are a step ahead...
Toulon 3-6 Leinster 20m In this pouring rain, there will be little expansive play sadly...
Toulon 3-6 Leinster 19m So far Leinster only conceded one penalty to Toulon's 4 already
Toulon 3-6 Leinster 20m Toulon hand over another in lineout on own 22 & Madigan teeing up again...
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 21m Madigan having no trouble with his boot today as visitors creep further ahead
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 22m Toulon lineout on halfway but a resulting knock on gives Leinster the penalty; time off
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 24m It's Leinster's scrum almost at halfway; is reset & given free kick to boot...
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 25m Halfpenny calls mark & he whacks it back; not in touch & Barnes calls it forward
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 27m Toulon scrum outside Leinster's 22 & it's good > goes wide
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 27m Leinster turnover in 22 & Kearney clears it to 10m...
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 28m No one can handle the ball as both sides slide off it on floor
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 29m Leinster defensive scrum inside 10m but Toulon are the beneficiaries this time
Toulon 3-9 Leinster 29m Free kick for Toulon & they’re on Leinster's 22 & penalty coming...
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 30m Penalty given & Halfpenny neatly pops it over to play catch up
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 32m Toulon have another scrum on halfway; it's not bad but Leinster turnover & Juan Smith down
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 32m Leinster defensive scrum inside 10m again & win penalty...
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 34m Leinster set up lineout outside Toulon's 22 but knock on from O'Brien; penalty Toulon
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 35m Scrum's good for homeside but Michalak's kick not; Luke Fitzgerald breaks...
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 36m Steffon Armitage replaces limping Smith tho Toulon claim it's tactical
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 37m Kearney chases high ball but has little support; Steffon Armitage turns it of course
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 38m Toulon charge out of own half & it's time off; Toulon lineout just outside 22...
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 38m Juan Fernández Lobbe gets beaten at lineout & Leinster clear for territory
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 39m Toulon bring it back; Leinster possession & kick it away from 22 but comes back
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 40m Vast amounts of high ball & Leinster kick it to Delon Armitage; Toulon makes yards
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 40m Back & forth- back & forth- one could get dizzy watching kicking! Into touch for HT

Toulon 6-9 Leinster HT P: Halfpenny (2) | P: Madigan (3)
Toulon 6-9 Leinster HT So far neither side really has upper hand; weather hindering potentially awesome match

Toulon 6-9 Leinster 41m Poor kick at KO but Delon Armitage shows his class as he saves the day...
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 42m The rain's stopped too so bring on the rugby Toulon!
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 43m Toulon scrum halfway but Leinster get over it & steal it from homeside; good work
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 43m A little this way, a little that til Toulon get over halfway ...but Michalak spills it!
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 45m Isaac Boss feeds Leinster scrum on own 10m; Gopperth clears & Bryan Habana leaps!
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 46m Habana goes down hard with a little help from McFadden; Botha draws his handbag
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 47m Toulon lineout results & Cian Healey yanks down the maul; TMO
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 47m No reaction from Toulon from replays so just a penalty to Toulon...
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 48m Halfpenny fails to equalise while Michalak miffed at being taken off; Rudi Wulf on
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 49m Leinster prep for scrum on Toulon's 22 but Sebastien Tillous-Borde steals it
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 50m Gets charged down but is just saved 2m short of tryline & Toulon clear
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 50m Leinster ball but Steffon Armitage turns it over; good break from Wulf but fwd to Delon Armitage
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 51m Toulon had advantage so back for penalty; Toulon attacking lineout but a knock on...
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 52m Scrum for Leinster gets reset before they get it away; Toulon run it back
Toulon 6-9 Leinster 54m Toulon attacking scrum just inside 10m & win penalty; Halfpenny tees up the kick...
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 56m Halfpenny equalises in the sunshine & changes are happening...
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 58m Alexandre Menini for Xavier Chiocci & Martin Moore for Mike Ross
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 59m Toulon defending territory til they clear; Gopperth calls the mark....
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 60m Time off as Barnes has to tell Leinster management McFadden's broken his arm
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 60m Zane Kirchner for McFadden while Jocelino Suta on for Botha
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 62m Monster kick from Leinster setting up 22 lineout & that's good too...
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 63m Forced from one touchline to other & Kearney chips ahead; Halfpenny kicks to touch
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 64m lineout on opposite side for Leinster; visitors have advantage & penalty eventually comes
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 65m But Madigan kicks the ball wide & have no advantage from penalty...
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 65m Madigan's clearance kick gets charged down & Toulon are into Leinster 22
Toulon 9-9 Leinster 66m Strauss, McGrath & Reddan on for Cronin, Healy & Boss; Orioli for Guirado
Toulon 12-9 Leinster 68m Meanwhile, Toulon penalty & Halfpenny takes lead finally for incumbent champions
Toulon 12-9 Leinster 70m But Lobbe pinged for not releasing player at next breakdown & Leinster could equalise
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 71m A difficult kick for Madigan from far out but this time he does it & equalises
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 73m Toulon scrum on 10m won by Leinster; put in reversed...another scrum for visitors
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 74m Free kick to Leinster who clear to outside Toulon's 22; Levan Chilachava for Hayman
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 75m From lineout Toulon have defensive scrum & make to halfway before Leinster turnover
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 76m Madigan clear goes awry far too short & it's Toulon's attacking lineout
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 77m But Leinster win penalty on own 10m & Madigan clears for Toulon 22 lineout...
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 78m Extra time looming if no score in next 2 minutes...
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 78m Leinster hold onto possession & head into Toulon's 22 before Gopperth attempts DG...
Toulon 12-12 Leinster 79m ...but Barnes is right under it & it fails - no  points yet; 10 minutes each way
Toulon 12-12 Leinster XT 1m Toulon lineout on own 10m; it's good & Toulon have penalty from 55m; Delon tees up...
Toulon 12-12 Leinster XT 1m That was huge & sadly it's way off; O'Brien kicks it into touch & extra time's on
Toulon 12-12 Leinster FT Time for a quick break before 10 minutes extra time each way resumes...
Toulon 12-12 Leinster XT 2m Play resumes & Lobbe effects a turnover but pass to Menini called fwd; Leinster scrum
Toulon 12-12 Leinster XT 3m Toulon disrupt Leinster's scrum & win penalty; Halfpenny tees up inside halfway...
Toulon 15-12 Leinster XT 4m No miss this time & Toulon inch ahead; but Suta pinged for dangerous tackle...
Toulon 15-15 Leinster XT 6m Madigan tees up for penalty kick & just as quickly he equalises
Toulon 15-15 Leinster XT 6m Devin Toner leaps for high ball & Ali Williams follows; Toner down > TMO
Toulon 15-15 Leinster XT 6m Williams clearly has eye on ball but TMO, Nigel Owens & Barnes harshly dish YC
Toulon 15-15 Leinster XT 8m Accidental offside at breakdown & it's defensive scrum to Toulon on 10m
Toulon 15-15 Leinster XT 9m Scrum's good; Tillous-Borde chips down line & Kearney returns; penalty Toulon
Toulon 18-15 Leinster XT 10m Halfpenny tees up from inside halfway & is perfect in accuracy; Marshall for McCarthy
Toulon 23-15 Leinster XT 11m Leinster mispass on halfway from breakdown & Habana intercepts & sprints to score
Toulon 25-15 Leinster ET HT That was pure Habana magic...& while a man down; Halfpenny adds extras
Toulon 25-15 Leinster ET HT Now this is edge of seat rugby...what it's all about!
Toulon 25-15 Leinster ET HT La Marseillaise resonates while Ireland Coach Joe Schmidt thinks it's all over
Toulon 25-15 Leinster XT 1m Restart isn't good for Leinster as Reddan does no favours; Toulon attacking lineout
Toulon 25-15 Leinster XT 2m Toulon lineout's no good & Leinster have penalty but need to get out of own half
Toulon 25-15 Leinster XT 3m They do & up to Toulon's 22; cross over 22 & need to maintain discipline here
Toulon 25-15 Leinster XT 4m Phase after phase building; 3m out & penalty coming from attacking Leinster...
Toulon 25-15 Leinster XT 4m Leinster have the penalty but it's time off as Steffon Armitage is down...
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 5m Leinster 5m lineout & Sean O'Brien finds the whitewash to nudge closer!
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 6m But Gopperth misses the conversion as ball flies wide of furthest upright!
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 7m Leinster have just 4 minutes to score a converted try to get to Twickenham
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 7m But Toulon have the ball and are inside Leinster's 10m creeping up to 22...
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 8m Toulon maintain discipline but then knock on; Leinster kick it away while a cat is having nose around pitch!
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 9m Cat eventually runs off while Leinster has defensive scrum just outside 22
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 10m Leinster still have possession but struggle to get out of own half before turnover
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT 10m Toulon lineout inside Leinster 10m; time taken at breakdown before Steffon Armitage runs it out
Toulon 25-20 Leinster XT FT Barnes blows final whistle & it'll be an epic French final at Twickenham on 2 May

TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny, Delon Armitage, Mathieu Bastareaud, Matt Giteau, Bryan Habana, Frederic Michalak, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Xavier Chiocci, Guilhem Guirado, CARL HAYMAN (C), Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Juan Smith, Juan Fernández Lobbe, Chris Masoe BENCH: Jean-Charles Orioli, Alexandre Menini, Levan Chilachava, Steffon Armitage, Drew Mitchell, Rudi Wulf, Michael Claassens, Jocelino Suta

SCORERS  T: Habana C: Halfpenny P: Halfpenny (6) Williams

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney, Fergus McFadden, Ben Te'o, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald, Jimmy Gopperth, Isaac Boss, Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Jordi Murphy, Sean O'Brien, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Richardt Strauss, Jack McGrath, Martin Moore, Ben Marshall, Dominic Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Gordon D'Arcy, Zane Kirchner

SCORERS T: O'Brien P: Madigan (5)

Referee: Wayne Barnes (Eng) Asst Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wal), Greg Garner (Eng) TMO: Graham Hughes (Eng)

 

 

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AND then there were four! After another breathtaking weekend of European knockout rugby, just four clubs were left standing as the race for the 2015 Champions Cup crown really hots up.

If there was heartache, frustration and pragmatism in differing amounts for Bath Rugby, Northampton Saints, Racing Metro 92 and Wasps who all exited the tournament, the line-up for the semi-finals is a veritable who's who of the European club game.

ASM Clermont Auvergne, whose quest for a coveted European Cup title continues, take on last season's defeated finalists, Saracens, at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne on Saturday 18 April, while holders RC Toulon clash with Leinster Rugby at the 67,000-capacity Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Sunday 19 April.

With the Aviva Premiership, the Guinness PRO12 and the Top 14 represented in the semis, all roads will eventually converge on Twickenham Stadium for the season's showpiece final on Saturday 2 May.

The quarter-finals got underway at the Aviva Stadium where an attendance of close to 45,000 witnessed Leinster's narrow 18-15 success against Bath. Heineken Man of the Match, Ian Madigan, was in superb place kicking form landing six-out-of-six to push his points total for the season to an impressive 98.

Despite two pieces of brilliance from George Ford – one which he finished himself and one to create a try for Stuart Hooper – Bath were left to rue a number of errors and as close as they came in the dying minutes to grabbing the spoils, they departed Dublin pondering what might have been.

There was no such mindset for Northampton who could only shrug their shoulders after they were blown away at Stade Marcel-Michelin by one of the most irresistible 40-minutes of rugby ever witnessed in the 20-year history of the professional club game.

Clermont were simply magnificent as they stormed into a 27-0 interval lead with tries from Noa Nakaitaci (2) and Wesley Fofana, and when that advantage was increased to 37-0 early in the second half with the in-form Nick Abendanon adding another try, the winners could afford to coast to victory.

It was a vastly different story at Stade Yves-Du-Manoir where Racing and Saracens were locked in an intense battle which the home side looked to have won before Marcelo Bosch stepped up to land a dramatic last-play penalty to book Sarries' place in the last four.

The last spot was secured by Toulon who remain on course for a third title in succession. Twenty-two points from the boot of Frederic Michalak and tries by Mathieu Bastareaud and Ali Williams put the holders through but Wasps had their moments which augur well for the future and some scintillating attacking play led to a brace of tries from wing William Helu.

LEINSTER 18 - 15 BATH RUGBY

Aviva Stadium - Saturday 4th April 2015
KO: 15:15 HT: 15-5 Att: 43,958

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

Leinster v Bath Jérôme Garcès holds the balance of power as we prepare to KO
Leinster 0-0 Bath 1m George Ford kicks off & Leinster take it well; homeside kick to touch & Bath lineout
Leinster 0-0 Bath 2m lineout results in defensive one for Leinster in own 22...clear but not far & Bath lineout
Leinster 0-0 Bath 3m Bath pinged at lineout & Leinster have defensive scrum just in own half; is good
Leinster 0-0 Bath 3m But Bath regain possession & head to halfway but ball goes loose & Leinster capitalise
Leinster 0-0 Bath 4m But Leinster manage a forward pass & hand over a defensive scrum to Bath
Leinster 0-0 Bath 6m Bath do well at scrum & set up 10m attacking lineout; Kyle Eastmond bulldozes ahead
Leinster 0-0 Bath 7m Bath making yards but ball flies marginally forward; Leinster scrum on own 22...
Leinster 0-0 Bath 8m Penalty goes to homeside & Jimmy Gopperth clears smartly for Leinster lineout on 22
Leinster 0-0 Bath 10m Leinster forced back up towards halfway; but Matt Banahan collects chip thru & he's off
Leinster 0-0 Bath 10m Banahan's offload goes to no one & Leinster ball; Leinster scrum outside Bath's 22
Leinster 0-0 Bath 12m Eventually Leinster come away with ball & are deep into 22...having to recycle
Leinster 0-0 Bath 134m Garcès blows for penalty & Bath likely relieved at maybe conceding 3 rather than 7
Leinster 3-0 Bath 14m An easy kick for Ian Madigan & the scoreboard is opened
Leinster 3-0 Bath 16m Plenty of highball from both; Leinster run to get out of own territory but pinged
Leinster 3-0 Bath 16m Good work at breakdown from Horacio Agulla & Ford tees up from c. 50m
Leinster 3-0 Bath 17m Kick hasn't quite got the legs & its play on; Leinster relief & Ford frustration
Leinster 3-0 Bath 18m Leinster scrum inside own 10m is good; eventually ball appears...
Leinster 3-0 Bath 19m Leinster k/o advantage runs out with Gopperth kick which isn't so good...
Leinster 3-0 Bath 20m Anthony Watson finds space & Bath significantly on the attack; Francois Louw...
Leinster 3-0 Bath 21m ...makes serious yards til felled in 22; but it's young Ford who skips to whitewash
Leinster 3-5 Bath 22m There's no conversion after Ford splits the defence to score, but Bath are ahead
Leinster 3-5 Bath 24m But Bath's next move is not territory to gift a kickable penalty to Leinster...
Leinster 6-5 Bath 25m Nice work from Madigan to reclaim the lead, whilst no doubt Bath kick themselves
Leinster 6-5 Bath 26m But time out for Rob Kearney down injured from high ball challenge from Watson
Leinster 6-5 Bath 26m Watson's challenge is mistimed & clumsy; no malice or intent - it's a YC
Leinster 6-5 Bath 27m Last thing Bath needs to be a man down; Leinster get out of own half...
Leinster 9-5 Bath 28m Webber pinged at ruck & it's another easy 3 points for Madigan in front of posts
Leinster 9-5 Bath 29m Bath need to rein in discipline and sop gifting penalties - 5 to 2 so far
Leinster 9-5 Bath 30m Leinster draw penalty with Jonathan Joseph isolated & pinged for holding on
Leinster 9-5 Bath 31m After lineout, Leinster on the attack, tho so far Bath defence holding up not into 22
Leinster 9-5 Bath 32m Ball cleared into Kearney's hands who thumps it back to Banahan...
Leinster 9-5 Bath 32m But time off with Madigan down getting treatment...
Leinster 9-5 Bath 32m Madigan's fine & Leinster have scrum on Bath's 10m, which is reset
Leinster 9-5 Bath 33m Cian Healy stands up, but not penalised; Leinster win scrum & penalty against Bath
Leinster 9-5 Bath 34m Another easy 3 points for Madigan in front of posts again no doubt...
Leinster 12-5 Bath 35m The gap widens as HT approaches & Bath need to pull socks up; pointless penalties
Leinster 12-5 Bath 36m Relief for Bath as Watson's 10m punishment is up & he waits to come back on
Leinster 12-5 Bath 37m Bath attacking but the handling errors are mounting up with offloads to no one
Leinster 15-5 Bath 39m Another penalty for Leinster from lineout, & Madigan easily adds 3 more...
Leinster 15-5 Bath 40+1m Bath only go backwards with ball despite intent; huge hit on Eastmond & it's HT

Leinster 15-5 Bath HT P: Madigan (5) | T: Ford Watson
Leinster 15-5 Bath HT This is like watching Ireland break England all over again...

Leinster 15-5 Bath 41m We're back & Fergus McFadden tries to avoid Eastmond but knocks himself out
Leinster 15-5 Bath 41m Entirely self-inflicted dipping head into Eastmond's shoulder; the stretcher's on
Leinster 15-5 Bath 41m McFadden gets himself up & walks off the pitch, shunning stretchers & trucks
Leinster 15-5 Bath 42m Zane Kirchner replaces McFadden & makes an impact on the match...
Leinster 15-5 Bath 44m As Kirchner belts towards corner Watson charges behind but Ford bundles him short
Leinster 15-5 Bath 45m Kearney attempts a drop goal following Bath defensive lineout; way wide
Leinster 15-5 Bath 47m Sublime setpiece work from Ford & he jinks thru deep into 22 & offloads to Hooper
Leinster 15-12 Bath 48m & Hooper slides in over tryline for another try & Ford adds the extras; game on
Leinster 15-12 Bath 50m Changes begin for Leinster as Marty Moore replaces Mike Ross in front row
Leinster 18-12 Bath 52m Not good setpiece for Bath as Leinster win penalty & Madigan adds yet another 3
Leinster 18-12 Bath 53m Meanwhile Ross Batty has replaced Rob Webber in Bath front row
Leinster 18-12 Bath 54m Nick Auterac also on in Bath front row for Paul James; meanwhile...
Leinster 18-12 Bath 57m Bath k/o & Leinster clear for lineout outside Bath's 22, whilst more benchers coming
Leinster 18-12 Bath 59m Max Lahiff/Faosiliva for Palma-Newport/Fearns; Reddan/ McGrath for Boss/Healy
Leinster 18-12 Bath 60m Superb hit from Dave Attwood & Leinster cough up ball; good clear but fwd pass
Leinster 18-12 Bath 61m Leinster scrum and Sam Burgess replaces Eastmond; Watson breaks beautifully
Leinster 18-12 Bath 63m Pass results in suspected k/o from Agulla but replays confirms nope; Bath lineout
Leinster 18-12 Bath 65m Matt Garvey on for Attwood; Bath's attack doesn't last long...
Leinster 18-12 Bath 66m Roars & applause as 100 Eurorugby capped matches Peter Stringer for Mickey Young
Leinster 18-12 Bath 67m Tom Homer's on for Agulla while Bath have a far improved scrum
Leinster 18-12 Bath 69m Bath have to defend territory with lineout in own 22; is good & clear well
Leinster 18-12 Bath 70m Leinster defending lineout & doesn't clear well; back for Bath attacking lineout on 22
Leinster 18-12 Bath 71m Leinster clear Bath back but Watson charges; recycling but Garvey isolated
Leinster 18-12 Bath 72m Tom Denton on for Mike McCarthy; Kearney injured...
Leinster 18-12 Bath 73m But you can't keep a good man down & Kearney's back up & fine; Bath attack
Leinster 18-12 Bath 73m Just 7mins for Bath to beat Leinster; penalty Bath outside 22 just wide of centre
Leinster 18-15 Bath 74m Ford takes it to within penalty to equalise & 6 minutes to go...
Leinster 18-15 Bath 76m Leinster into Bath territory but Louw effects good turnover much to protestations
Leinster 18-15 Bath 77m Good field position for Bath; back & forth but Bath inside Leinster's 10m
Leinster 18-15 Bath 79m Bath: 16 handling errors & 11 penalties...far more than Leinster
Leinster 18-15 Bath 79m Ball charged down in Leinster 22 & they're forced to touch down for Fa'osiliva
Leinster 18-15 Bath 80m Bath attack 1 more time & at breakdown it's Bath's ball but ref hands penalty to Leinster

LEINSTER RUGBY: Rob Kearney, Fergus McFadden, Ben Te'o, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald, Jimmy Gopperth, Isaac Boss, Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Jordi Murphy, Sean O'Brien, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Richardt Strauss, Jack McGrath, Martin Moore, Tom Denton, Dominic Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Gordon D'Arcy, Zane Kirchner

SCORERS  P: Madigan (6)

BATH RUGBY: Anthony Watson, Horacio Agulla, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Matt Banahan, George Ford, Micky Young, Paul James, Rob Webber, Kane Palma Newport, STUART HOOPER (C), David Attwood, Carl Fearns, Francois Louw, Leroy Houston BENCH: Ross Batty, Nick Auterac, Max Lahiff, Matt Garvey, Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Peter Stringer, Sam Burgess , Tom Homer

SCORERS T: Ford, Hooper C: Ford P: Ford Watson

Referee: Jérôme Garcès Asst Referees: Christopher Berdos, Patrick Péchambert TMO: Eric Gauzins

 

 

CLERMONT 37 - 5 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS

Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin - Saturday 4th April 2015
KO: 18:45 HT: 27-0 Att: 17,730

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saints 1m And we have kick with John Lacey with the whistle...
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saints 2m The French crowd is deafening already with their chanting & percussion!
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saints 2m Saints have first lineout & it's an attacking one...but Clermont turnover & kick
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saints 3m Plenty of aerial ball already & hard hits mean Saints ball is getting coughed up
‪‎Clermont 0-0 ‪‎Saints 4m Huge scrum for Clermont outside Saints 22 & is excellent; penalty in front of posts
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 5m Brock James pops it over & Clermont are off on the scoreboard
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 8m Clermont heaping on the pressure as the teams prepare for another scrum...
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 9m Scrum collapses before Lee Dickson can get ball in
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 10m Better for Saints as Alex Corbisiero gets upper hand on David Zirakashvili
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 11m Saints' penalty & clear but Clermont bring it back; superb kick to touch in corner
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 12m Dylan Hartley puts in to lineout & it works well; but Myler kick rotten...
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 13m Clermont have 22 lineout & it goes to plan & Noa Nakaitaci gets over tryline
‪‎Clermont 3-0 ‪‎Saints 13m Hartley insists to ref it was a double movement who goes to TMO...
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 14m TMO Simon McDowell reviews & try is given...seems clear enough; James converts
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 15m Saints in right half of pitch but Clermont with possession but Calum Clark turnover
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 16m It's a penalty to Saints & Stephen Myler tees up - but he pulls it wide
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 17m It is very windy down at pitch level - not like Myler to miss from there
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 19m Saints pinged at scrum for pushing too early & another penalty to Clermont
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 20m Saints defensive lineout is good & Clermont have a long way to come back from own 22
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 20m Wesley Fofana makes a massive break & a final fwd pass ends in a scrum
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 23m Scrum goes once, twice, penalty to Saints, & not long til another
‪‎Clermont 10-0 ‪‎Saints 25m Another Saints scrum & it goes to the French & ref has word with Salesi Ma'afu
‪‎Clermont 13-0 ‪‎Saints 26m Brock has the swirling wind completely under control as he adds 3 penalty pts
‪‎Clermont 13-0 ‪‎Saints 28m Saints land an attacking lineout & they battle to get into Clermont's 22
‪‎Clermont 13-0 ‪‎Saints 29m George Pisi goes in but gets turned over & cleared; Jamie Elliott runs it back
‪‎Clermont 13-0 ‪‎Saints 30m Another Englishman gets isolated *storyoftheday* & turnover
‪‎Clermont 13-0 ‪‎Saints 31m Saints wrestle back possession & clear over halfway & Fofana charges into 22 again
‪‎Clermont 13-0 ‪‎Saints 31m Saints have to stop kicking possession away coz Clermont will keep in scoring!
‪‎Clermont 18-0 ‪‎Saints 32m Clermont's electric efforts are finished by another Nakaitaci try
‪‎Clermont 20-0 ‪‎Saints 33m James adds the extras; Saints attack well from restart but lose at breakdown
‪‎Clermont 20-0 ‪‎Saints 34m Ref appears oblivious to Clermont players lying all over breakdown
‪‎Clermont 20-0 ‪‎Saints 36m Clermont k/o & Saints' attacking scrum outside 22 much to annoyance of crowd
‪‎Clermont 20-0 ‪‎Saints 36m Saints scrum has been broken & Clermont have the get out of jail kick
‪‎Clermont 20-0 ‪‎Saints 38m Clermont lineout on Saints' 10m & Nick Abendanon breaks eloquently...
‪‎Clermont 25-0 ‪‎Saints 38m Defence is way off & Fofana picks up offload to score in excellent fashion
‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints 39m James conversion floats over & Clermont make win nigh on impossible for Saints
‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints 40m Ball is hoisted into touch for HT whistle to go. Got to feel for Saints fans

‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints HT T: Nakaitaci (2), Fofana C: James (3) P: James (2) | -

‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints HT Courtney Lawes taken off & Christian Day on; 'tactical' apparently
‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints 41m Lawes looked mightily annoyed on sidelines; Clermont have been incredible
‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints 42m Clermont have attacking lineout & Saints end up with scrum put in outside on 10m
‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints 44m Saints get ball away but clear only moves Clermont lineout to halfway...
‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints 45m Ken Pisi takes high ball well but ensconced in own 22 not going anywhere
‪‎Clermont 27-0 ‪‎Saints 46m Saints lose possession at breakdown but it's time off for Tom Wood down
‪‎Clermont 30-0 ‪‎Saints 47m Wood's up & fine & James tees up from in front of posts for easy 3 points
‪‎Clermont 30-0 ‪‎Saints 48m Clermont don't even have their captain Aurélien Rougerie on the field today!
‪‎Clermont 30-0 ‪‎Saints 51m Ooh! Saints making yards, territory, an impact almost into Clermont 22!
‪‎Clermont 30-0 ‪‎Saints 53m Even win a penalty...but the lineout goes awry & forced to scramble
‪‎Clermont 30-0 ‪‎Saints 53m Another penalty goes their way & Saints go for 5m lineout - better than last
‪‎Clermont 30-0 ‪‎Saints 54m Luther Burrell gets within touching distance of the whitewash...but...
‪‎Clermont 35-0 ‪‎Saints 54m Clermont get turnover ball & Abendanon runs from own tryline to that of Saints to score
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 56m James takes score to 37-0 while Saints look on in...horror? awe? fear?
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 57m Waller, Denman, Fisher & Fotuali'i for Corbs, Ma'afu, Dickinson & Dickson
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 58m Domingo on for Debaty while Julien Bonnaire sent to bin for infringing at breakdown
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 59m So Saints have man up, & Fofana getting treatment too so can they do something?
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 61m Fofana's heads off while Rougerie on in the pouring rain & Clermont 5m out
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 62m Ah See Tuala & Mike Haywood on for Wilson & Hartley; Clermont don't score
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 64m Ulugia, Ric & Pierre on for Kayser, Zirakashvili & Cudmore
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 65m Meanwhile, Saints head deep into Clermont's 22 & are within touching distance
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 67m Julien Bardy replaces limping Fritz Lee; Waller flies over tryline to score but...
‪‎Clermont 37-0 ‪‎Saints 67m Waller kicks off big time on ground so TMO checks
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 67m That could've been a RC but ref awards try & Saints have 5 points at least
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 69m There's no conversion, crowd is in uproar but Clermont on the attack again
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 70m Clermont lose possession in Saints 22; Saints clear to halfway but slippery ball
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 70m Saints still in possession & keeping Clermont to halfway line...
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 72m Clermont win it back & clear for 22 lineout; Lacrampe & Delany on for Radosavljevic & Abendanon
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 74m Saints defend well & force Clermont back over halfway; pinged for not rolling away
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 76m Saints kick to corner for lineout & hold on 6m out...scrum goes to Clermont
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 77m Nick Abendanon awarded Man of the Match & Clermont destroy Saints at scrum
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 78m Stadium sounds like France just beat All Blacks in RWC! Saints scrum on halfway
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 79m Scrum goes well with a minute to go...could do with a try!
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 80m But play still on halfway as a faint rendition of Saints Go Marching In is heard
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints 80m Clermont nick ball & as clock ticks over 80 minutes, they bang it into stand
‪‎Clermont 37-5 ‪‎Saints FT Well that was magnificent from Clermont who are unbeaten at home since 2008!

ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga, Brock James, Ludovic Radosavljevic, Vincent Debaty, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili, Jamie Cudmore, Sébastien Vahaamahina, DAMIEN CHOULY (C), Julien Bonnaire, Fritz Lee BENCH: John Ulugia, Thomas Domingo, Clément Ric, Julien Pierre, Julien Bardy, Thierry Lacrampe, Mike Delany, Aurélien Rougerie

SCORERS T: Nakaitaci (2), Fofana, Abendanon C: James (4) P: James (3) Bonnaire

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: James Wilson, Ken Pisi, George Pisi, Luther Burrell, Jamie Elliott, Steve Myler, Lee Dickson, Alex Corbisiero, DYLAN HARTLEY (C), Salesi Ma'afu, Samu Manoa, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Calum Clark, Sam Dickinson BENCH: Mikey Haywood, Alex Waller, Gareth Denman, Christian Day, Jonathan Fisher, Kahn Fotuali'i, Tom Stephenson, Ah See Tuala

SCORERS T: Waller

Referee: John Lacey Asst Referees: Leighton Hodges, David Wilkinson TMO: Simon McDowell

 

 

RACING MÉTRO 92 11 - 12 SARACENS

Stade Yves Du Manoir - Sunday 5th April 2015
KO: 13:45 HT: 5-6 Att: 12,113

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

RM92 v ‪‎Saracens A moment's silence & applause for 2 former Racing stalwarts of the game...
RM92 0-0 ‪‎Saracens Nigel Owens holds the balance of power & Charlie Hodgson kicks off on a glorious day
RM92 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 1min The sunshine is in fact blinding for Sarries in this half; Sarries defensive lineout
RM92 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 2m Sarries get deep into Racing's 22 with a dribble from Chris Ashton but Racing collect
RM92 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 3m Johnny Sexton attempts to clear but doesn't find touch...
RM92 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 4m But a penalty goes Racing's way & they clear Sarries back to halfway & have lineout
RM92 0-0 ‪‎Saracens 5m Sarries have scrum & it's good; win penalty after Racing pinged for back row binding
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 6m Hodgson tees up from out wide & he's bang on target for opening points
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 8m From restart, Richard Wigglesworth clears Racing out of 22 & eventually get over halfway
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 9m But Racing head back & into 22 before pinged; Sarries clear to halfway
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 10m Racing pinged again for lifting leg too high in ruck; Sarries attacking lineout
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 11m But lineout lost & suddenly Racing deep into Sarries 22 with chip thru from Teddy Thomas
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 11m Play is halted when it looks like Alex Goode blocks Thomas; but its penalty Sarries
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 12m Racing fans not happy while Sarries clear Racing out of 22 again...
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 13m Racing slowly but steadily make ground into Sarries territory; offload goes fwd
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 15m Sarries scrum which collapses; reset on halfway...
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 16m Luc Ducalcon drags Mako Vunipola down in front row & he can't hold on; penalty Racing
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 16m Racing drive with massive intent right over Sarries tryline > TMO as unclear
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 16m Derek Bevan confirms ball clearly lost forward; scrum V for Sarries
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 17m Mako V now wise to Ducalcon in scrum & Sarries clear Racing well away
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 18m Racing charge back right up to Sarries 22 with Sexton carrying but loses it
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 19m Jackson Wray being perfectly disruptive for Sarries; Sarries in possession...
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 20m Wigglesworth makes another neat tactical kick away from halfway; forcing Racing back
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 20m Racing double tackling every Sarries break; time off for nosebleed; Sarries scrum
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 21m Scrum 'up before round; same ball' as scrum reset for Sarries
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 22m Good work from Sarries & super kick from Goode; Racing get to it 1st but Sarries scrum
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 23m Racing win the scrum & clear Sarries out of their 22 to much relief
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 25m Play resumes on halfway & Billy Vunipola steals but Owens says he's offside; Racing pen
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 26m Racing drive deep into Sarries 22 again & their inches away; penalty coming too
RM92 0-3 ‪‎Saracens 27m Owens blows; penalty Racing & Jim Hamilton can't keep quiet enough to earn YC
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 27m There's little doubt Racing wouldn't make it from so close & Maxime Machenaud scores
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 29m Sexton tees up for conversion but knocks upright hard enough to rock it
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 30m Sarries attacking lineout is good outside 22 but little go forward yet...
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 32m Still not made any ground, but also not coughed up possession...
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 33m Ref has word with Francois van der Merwe for collision style & it's penalty Sarries
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 34m Swirling wind make Hodgson's kick at posts go awry but he's not happy; play on
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 36m Sarries scrum just inside own 10m & ball flies out back; black ball but at own 22
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 37m Clear is taken well & Racing straight back in Sarries' 22; Sarries saved by penalty
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 38m Ball cleared & Racing have lineout just back over halfway; Sarries steal possession...
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 39m Sarries all over ball but Racing defence makes life damn hard; Mike Phillips pinged
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 39m Had he not been, Racing were away back over halfway with open field
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 39m But it's Sarries scrum on Racing's 10m...
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 40m Sarries do well & chip into the 22 but it's Thomas who collects & swerves...
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 40m Sarries wrestle back possession & Camille Gerondeau is pinged for offside
RM92 5-3 ‪‎Saracens 40+1m Racing have something to say & Owens sends them back 10m with warning of more & YC
RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens 40+2m Hodgson tees up for final penalty kick from out wide but this one's perfect for lead

RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens HT T: Machenaud | P: Hodgson (2) Hamilton

RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens 41mins Restart not perfect from Sexton & David Strettle's off but fractionally in touch
RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens 43mins Sarries scrum working well; set up a drive but Racing drag them into touch
RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens 45mins Sarries scrum again on halfway & it's quick ball for the visitors; Goode chips ahead
RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens 46m Ball dribbles over line & Racing touch it down then clear
RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens 47m Walloping tackle on Hodgson by Wenceslas Lauret & he's down; time off
RM92 5-6 ‪‎Saracens 47m Next phase & Racing are all pretty much off feet; Sarries penalty
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 48m Play back on & Goode takes over kicking duties perfectly with 3 more points
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 49m It's a Sarries scrum on halfway & Chris Wyles is off on a rampage...
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 50m Brice Dulin knocks ball on to give Sarries a scrum on 22...
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 51m But Wigglesworth not quick enough off mark at breakdown & k/o; Racing scrum
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 52m Racing defend scrum well & Machenaud thumps ball out of danger zone of won 22
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 53m Sarries attack into Racing's 22 but Racing recapture & they're off over halfway
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 53m Racing gallop into Sarries 22 but Marcelo Bosch takes down Juan Imhoff spills it 2m short
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 54m Sarries defending in own 22 & Billy V saves the day on the ground
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 56m Mujati, Brugnaut, Lacombe & Dumoulin for Ducalcon, Be Arous, Szarzewski & Roberts
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 57m Brits, Gill, Brown & Johnston on for George, Mako V, Wray & du Plessis
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 57m Meanwhile a lineout 5m from Sarries tryline which they clear for Racing to run back
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 58m As Racing attack, Imhoff gets knocked out by Sexton's knee coming thru; Goosen on
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 59m Dubarry for Gerondeau & Itoje for Hamilton while Racing have poor attacking lineout
RM92 5-9 ‪‎Saracens 60m Sarries clear Racing back for lineout further back; Racing penalty for Sarries crossing
RM92 8-9 ‪‎Saracens 61m Machenaud's pumps the penalty over & it's back to just 1 point in the game
RM92 8-9 ‪‎Saracens 64m Plenty of high balls both ways while Neil de Kock comes on for Wigglesworth
RM92 8-9 ‪‎Saracens 66m Sarries up to Racing's 22 but homeside kick possession away to halfway Sarries lineout
RM92 11-9 ‪‎Saracens 71m But Sarries hand over a penalty in kickable range & Machenaud takes the lead
RM92 11-9 ‪‎Saracens 73m Racing scrum is good in midfield& Sarries have long way to come back...
RM92 11-9 ‪‎Saracens 75m Tension showing in Saracens now & thumping tackles incoming
RM92 11-9 ‪‎Saracens 75m Racing scrum on halfway & Machenaud makes 20m before Sarries can stop him
RM92 11-9 ‪‎Saracens 77m Sarries charge back other way & almost to 22 but lose possession
RM92 8-9 ‪‎Saracens 77m Phillips on for Sexton & Metz for van der Merwe; Machenaud Man of the Match
RM92 11-9 ‪‎Saracens 77m Four consecutive mistakes for Sarries as Racing prep for halfway scrum
RM92 11-9 ‪‎Saracens 80m Racing gift one last penalty & it's up to Bosch to steal the win...
RM92 11-12 ‪‎Saracens 80m Bosch blocks out horrendous booing & jeering & from wide & far back, he does it!
RM92 11-12 ‪‎Saracens FT Saracens breathe a massive sigh of relief & are through to semi final v Clermont

RACING MÉTRO 92: Brice Dulin, Juan Imhoff, Henry Chavancy, Jamie Roberts, Teddy Thomas, Jonny Sexton, Maxime Machenaud, Eddy Ben Arous, DIMITRI SZARZEWSKI (C), Luc Ducalcon, Luke Charteris, Francois van der Merwe, Wenceslas Lauret, Camille Gerondeau, Antonie Claassen BENCH: Virgile Lacombe, Julien Brugnaut, Brian Mujati, Fabrice Metz, Thibault Dubarry, Mike Phillips, Johannes Goosen, Alexandre Dumoulin

SCORERS  T: Machenaud P: Machenaud (2)

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Marcelo Bosch, Chris Wyles, David Strettle, Charlie Hodgson, RICHARD WIGGLESWORTH (C), Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, George Kruis, Jim Hamilton, Jackson Wray, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Schalk Brits, Richard Barrington, James Johnston, Maro Itoje, Kelly Brown, Matt Hankin, Neil de Kock, Nick Tompkins

SCORERS P: Hodgson (2), Goode, Bosch Hamilton

Referee: Nigel Owens Asst Referees: Ian Davies, Ben Whitehouse TMO: Derek Bevan

 

 

RC TOULON 32 - 18 WASPS

Stade Félix Mayol - Sunday 5th April 2015
KO: 16:15 HT: 22-6 Att: 15,228

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

‪‎Toulon v ‪‎Wasps Toulon are missing Bryan Habana & Wasps short of Nathan Hughes, Christian Wade & Losi Tagicakibau
‪‎Toulon v ‪‎Wasps May as well as be the All Blacks with the chanting at Toulon - marvellous build up
‪‎Toulon 0-0 ‪‎Wasps 1m And we have KO in Toulon; Wasps have Everest to climb...George Clancy with whistle
‪‎Toulon 0-0 ‪‎Wasps 3m Wasps have 1st scrum & win penalty; lineout on Toulon's 10m
‪‎Toulon 0-0 ‪‎Wasps 5m Great work from Andrea Masi after forcing turnover
‪‎Toulon 0-0 ‪‎Wasps 6m Masi gets floored, but it's not long til Toulon are showing their mettle...
‪‎Toulon 0-0 ‪‎Wasps 6m Bradley Davies offside; Toulon take full advantage & Mathieu Bastareaud bullocks over from lineout
‪‎Toulon 7-0 ‪‎Wasps 8m TMO confirms the try & Freddie Michalak adds the extras while can all but look on
‪‎Toulon 7-3 ‪‎Wasps 13m Apologies. Interweb having a moment; Wasps fans pleased at Alex Lozowski's kicking prowess
Toulon 22-6 ‪‎Wasps Completely shocking when you have to argue with technology...& it wins! No more tho ;-)

‪‎Toulon 22-6 ‪‎Wasps HT T: Bastareaud C: Michalak P: Michalak (5) | P: Lozowski (2) Miller
‪‎
‪‎Toulon 22-6 ‪‎Wasps 52m Delon Armitage got to the whitewash a moment ago but held up
‪‎Toulon 22-11 ‪‎Wasps 54m But Wasps have had it good for few mins & as Tuisova & Toulon slip up, Will Helu scores
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 55m Andy Goode adds the extras & it doesn't look so tragic for visitors with 25 mins to go
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 57m Meanwhile, Festuccia, Cooper-Woolley & Goode on for Shervington, Cittadini & Lozowski
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 58m Matt Giteau for Mermoz & Joe Simpson runs Toulon close
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 60m Wasps have definitely found their feet & are threatening with intent finally
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 61m But for now play is in the mid-field with Toulon in possession
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 63m Toulon drive into Wasps territory & after a time out, are deep in the 22; Wasps scrum
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 66m Scrum is reset, Simpson box kicks it away & Toulon lineout just inside Wasps' half
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 67m Leuia for Varndell & Fernandez Lobbe & Chiocci for Gorgodze & Menini
‪‎Toulon 22-13 ‪‎Wasps 67m Orioli for Guirado; Gaskell & Charlie Davies on for Masi & Bradley Davies
‪‎Toulon 25-13 ‪‎Wasps 69m Meanwhile, Wasps cough up another penalty & Michalak adds 3 more points
‪‎Toulon 25-13 ‪‎Wasps 70m Another good attacking lineout for Toulon as Suta & Claassens on for Botha & Tillous-Borde
‪‎Toulon 25-13 ‪‎Wasps 71m Young & McIntyre on for Mullan & Thompson while Simpson threatens the Toulon tryline again
‪‎Toulon 25-13 ‪‎Wasps 72m Toulon pushing the boundaries of defence as Wasps attack along the tryline but forced back 5m
‪‎Toulon 25-18 ‪‎Wasps 73m But Toulon can't close gaps out wide & Helu slips thru again thanks to Simpson & Daly
‪‎Toulon 25-18 ‪‎Wasps 75m No conversion but Wasps need a converted try to push it to extra time...
‪‎Toulon 25-18 ‪‎Wasps 76m 4minutes to go & Toulon of course are sauntering; kick to corner for 5m lineout
‪‎Toulon 30-18 ‪‎Wasps 77m The lineout is good & no amount of effort will stop Toulon as Ali Williams flies over in corner
‪‎Toulon 32-18 ‪‎Wasps 78m Michalak converts & Toulon just need to keep in Wasps half now...
‪‎Toulon 32-18 ‪‎Wasps 80m They do just that, threatening the 22 for the last 2 minutes until 80mins clicks over

RC TOULON: Delon Armitage, Josua Tuisova, Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz, Drew Mitchell, Frederic Michalak, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Alexandre Menini, Guilhem Guirado, CARL HAYMAN (C), Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Mamuka Gorgodze, Steffon Armitage, Chris Masoe BENCH: Jean-Charles Orioli, Xavier Chiocci, Levan Chilachava, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Rudi Wulf, Matt Giteau, Michael Claassens, Jocelino Suta

SCORERS  T: Bastareaud, Williams C: Michalak (2) P: Michalak (6)

WASPS: Rob Miller, William Helu, Elliot Daly, Andrea Masi, Tom Varndell, Alex Lozowski, Joe Simpson, Matt Mullan, Edd Shervington, Lorenzo Cittadini, Bradley Davies, Kearnan Myall, Ashley Johnson, JAMES HASKELL (C), Guy Thompson BENCH: Carlo Festuccia, Simon McIntyre, Jake Cooper-Woolley, James Gaskell, Thomas Young, Charlie Davies, Andy Goode, Alapati Leiua

SCORERS T: Helu (2) C: Goode P: Lozowski (2) Miller

Referee: George Clancy Asst Referees: Dudley Philips, Greg Conway TMO: Marshall Kilgore

 

 

---

IF proof was needed, the revised European Rugby Champions Cup format delivered in spades with a Round 6 that had just about everything in terms of joy, heartache, relief, tension, and some truly brilliant rugby into the bargain.

Who could have imagined that Bath Rugby and Wasps – two clubs who had both lost their opening two pool games – would be celebrating places in the knockout stage? That feat had never been achieved before in Europe's storied history.

And who could have imagined that Toulouse, one of the tournament's traditional powerhouses, would miss out after winning their first four pool matches?

With so many twists and turns, and so much hanging in the balance, the ultra-competitive nature of the tournament meant that more records tumbled as Saracens and Wasps made it through as best runners-up on 17 and 18 points respectively. Since bonus points were introduced in 2003, no club had ever qualified as a best runner-up on less than 19 points.

While Toulouse were left wondering where it all went wrong after their one-point defeat by Montpellier at Altrad Stadium, there was good news elsewhere for the Top 14 as Racing Metro 92, holders, RC Toulon, and ASM Clermont Auvergne ended up occupying the top three positions in the rankings to guarantee themselves vital home quarter-finals.

The Aviva Premiership representatives also had a strong weekend with Bath, Northampton Saints, Wasps and Saracens reaching the last eight. On the debit side, all four will be on the road in the quarter-finals with Saints, Wasps and Sarries travelling to France, and Bath heading for a clash with Leinster Rugby in Dublin.

When the dust settled, the most relieved club was probably three-time champions, Leinster, who after an impressive first-half at the Ricoh Arena, could only draw 20-20 with a resurgent Wasps. When the calculations were completed, that was still enough to earn them a home quarter-final from Pool 2 while Wasps grabbed a best runner-up spot.

And spare for a thought for Glasgow Warriors who were looking to reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history. At times, the Scots produced some breathtaking rugby at The Rec, scoring two superb tries by Alex Dunbar and Richie Vernon, only to be eventually edged out 20-15 by Bath.

In order to map out a path to the London 2015 finals, the semi-final draw was made at Stade Marcel-Michelin – where a 17,787 attendance was a season's best - with either Toulon or Wasps having home country advantage against the winners of the Leinster v Bath tie, and either Clermont or Northampton taking on Racing or Saracens at a venue designated by EPCR in either France or England.

Perhaps the performance of the weekend came from Racing who crushed Northampton 32-8 at Franklin's Gardens to take the No 1 seeding and reach Europe's knockout stage for the first time.

There was a first win this season for Benetton Treviso who defeated Ospreys 23-20 while Munster Rugby notched up their 100th win in Europe's top flight and a record 65-point total on the way to seeing off Sale Sharks at Thomond Park.

RESULTS

POOL 1

MUNSTER RUGBY 65 - 10 SALE SHARKS

Thomond Park - Sunday 25 January 2015
KO: 15:15 HT: 13-10 Att: 17,685

MUNSTER: Simon Zebo, Andrew Conway, Keith Earls, Denis Hurley, Ronan O'Mahony, Ian Keatley, Duncan Williams, James Cronin, Duncan Casey, BJ Botha, Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell, Dave O'Callaghan, Tommy O'Donnell, PETER O'MAHONY (C) BENCH: Eusebio Guiñazú, John Ryan, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Robin Copeland, Ivan Dineen, JJ Hanrahan, Pat Howard

SCORERS T: Zebo (2), Earls, PT, Howard, Conway (2), O'Donnell, Williams C: Keatley (4), Hanrahan (3) P: Keatley (2) YC Conway

SHARKS: Luke McLean, Tom Brady, Andy Forsyth, Mark Jennings, Tom Arscott, Nick MacLeod, Will Cliff, Alberto de Marchi, Tommy Taylor, Ross Harrison, Andrei Ostrikov, Josh Beaumont, Mark Easter, DAVID SEYMOUR (C), Vili Fihaki BENCH: Cameron Neild, James Flynn, Ciaran Parker, George Nott, Andrew Hughes, Nathan Fowles, Joe Ford, Michael Haley

SCORERS T: Arscott C: Macleod P: Macleod

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 18 - 6 SARACENS

Stade Marcel-Michelin - Sunday 25 January 2015
KO: 16:15 HT: 10-3 Att: 17,787

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga, Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra, Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili, Julien Pierre, Sébastien Vahaamahina, DAMIEN CHOULY (C), Julien Bardy, Fritz Lee BENCH: John Ulugia, Vincent Debaty, Clément Ric, Loic Jacquet, Julien Bonnaire, Ludovic Radosavljevic, Brock James, Zac Guildford

SCORERS T: Abendanon, Debaty C: Lopez P: Lopez, James YC Vahaamahina

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Chris Wyles, Brad Barritt, David Strettle, Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, Jim Hamilton, ALISTAIR HARGREAVES (C), Kelly Brown, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Brett Sharman, Richard Barrington, James Johnston, Maro Itoje, Ernst Joubert, Neil de Kock, Charlie Hodgson, Marcelo Bosch

SCORERS P: Hodgson (2) YC Strettle

Referee: George Clancy

 

 

---

POOL 2

WASPS 20 - 20 LEINSTER RUGBY

Ricoh Arena - Saturday 24 January 2015
KO: 13:00 HT: 6-20 Att: 23,493

WASPS: Rob Miller, Christian Wade, Elliott Daly, Ben Jacobs, Tom Varndell, Andy Goode, Joe Simpson, Matt Mullan, Edd Shervington, Lorenzo Cittadini, Bradley Davies, James Gaskell, Ashley Johnson, JAMES HASKELL (C), Nathan Hughes BENCH: Carlo Festuccia, Simon McIntyre, Jake Cooper-Woolley, Kearnan Myall, Guy Thompson, Ed Jackson, Alex Lozowski, Andrea Masi

SCORERS T: Mullan Hughes C: Goode (2) P: Goode (2) YC Johnson, Cittadini

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney, Fergus McFadden, Luke Fitzgerald, Ian Madigan, Dave Kearney, Jimmy Gopperth, Eoin Reddan, Michael Bent, Sean Cronin, Martin Moore, Devin Toner, Kane Douglas, Dominic Ryan, Jordi Murphy, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Richardt Strauss, Jamie Hagan, Tadhg Furlong, Mike McCarthy, Jack Conan, Isaac Boss, Gordon D'Arcy, Darragh Fanning

SCORERS T: McFadden, Boss C: Madigan (2) P: Madigan, Gopperth Douglas

Referee: Jérôme Garcès

 

CASTRES OLYMPIQUE 19 - 47 HARLEQUINS

Stade Pierre Antoine - Saturday 24 January 2015
KO: 14:00 HT: 14-21 Att: 6,800

CASTRES: Julien Dumora, Remi Grosso, Thomas Combezou, Romain Cabannes, Marcel Garvey, Remi Tales, Antoine Dupont, Yannick Forestier, Marc-Antoine Rallier, Ramiro Herrera, Richie Gray, Christophe Samson, Piula Faasalele, YANNICK CABALLERO (C), Johnnie Beattie BENCH: Brice Mach, Paea Fa’anunu, Mihaita Lazar, Rodrigo Capo Ortega, Jannie Bornman, Remi Lamerat, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Cedric Garcia

SCORERS T: Dupont, Cabannes, Beattie C: Dumora (2) Combezou, Grosso

HARLEQUINS: Mike Brown, Marland Yarde, Matt Hopper, George Lowe, Charlie Walker, Nick Evans, Danny Care, JOE MARLER (C), Joe Gray, Will Collier, Charlie Matthews, George Robson, Jack Clifford, Chris Robshaw, Nick Easter BENCH: Rob Buchanan, Mark Lambert, Darryl Marfo, Sam Twomey, Joe Trayfoot, Karl Dickson, Ben Botica, Ollie Lindsay- Hague

SCORERS T: Marler, Walker, Care, Clifford, Lambert, Yarde, Lowe C: Evans (6)

Referee: Leighton Hodges

 

 

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POOL 3

SCARLETS 3 - 26 RC TOULON

Parc y Scarlets - Saturday 24 January 2015
KO: 17:30 HT: 3-19 Att: 9,267

SCARLETS: Steven Shingler, Harry Robinson, Regan King, SCOTT WILLIAMS (C), Hadleigh Parkes, Rhys Priestland, Aled Davies, Rob Evans, Ryan Elias, Peter Edwards, George Earle, Lewis Rawlins, Aaron Shingler, John Barclay, Rob McCusker BENCH: Darran Harris, Wyn Jones, Jacobie Adriaanse, Sion Bennett, Rory Pitman, Rhodri Williams, Josh Lewis, Kristian Phillips

SCORERS P: Steve Shingler

TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny, Drew Mitchell, Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz, Bryan Habana, Nicolas Sanchez, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Xavier Chiocci, Guilhem Guirado, CARL HAYMAN (C), Romain Taofifenua, Jocelino Suta, Juan Smith, Steffon Armitage, Chris Masoe BENCH: Jean-Charles Orioli, Alexandre Menini, Martin Castrogiovanni, Mamuka Gorgodze, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Rudi Wulf, Eric Escande, Bakkies Botha

SCORERS T: Bastareaud, Habana C: Halfpenny (2) P: Halfpenny (3) DG: Sanchez Suta

Referee: Wayne Barnes

 

ULSTER RUGBY 26 - 7 LEICESTER TIGERS

Kingspan Stadium - Saturday 24 January 2015
KO: 17:30 HT: 12-0 Att: 15,659

ULSTER: Jared Payne, Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy, Ian Humphreys, Ruan Pienaar, Callum Black, RORY BEST (C), Wiehahn Herbst, Alan O'Connor, Franco Van Der Merwe, Iain Henderson, Mike McComish, Roger Wilson BENCH: Rob Herring, Andy Warwick, Bronson Ross, Lewis Stevenson, Clive Ross, Neil McComb, Paul Marshall, Michael Allen

SCORERS T: Cave (3), Gilroy C: Pienaar (3) Black, Herbst

TIGERS: Matthew Tait, Adam Thompstone, Vereniki Goneva, Seremaia Bai, Miles Benjamin, Freddie Burns, BEN YOUNGS (C), Marcos Ayerza, Tom Youngs, Logovi’i Mulipola, Graham Kitchener, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft, Julian Salvi, Jordan Crane BENCH: Leonardo Ghiraldini, Michele Rizzo, Fraser Balmain, Sebastian De Chaves, Robert Barbieri, Sam Harrison, Owen Williams, Niall Morris

SCORERS T: Thompstone C: Burns Goneva

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère  

 

 

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POOL 4

BATH RUGBY 20 -15 GLASGOW WARRIORS

The Rec - Sunday 25 January 2015
KO: 13:00 HT: 6-7 Att: 13,349

BATH: Anthony Watson, Horacio Agulla, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Matt Banahan, George Ford, Chris Cook, Paul James, Rob Webber, David Wilson, STUART HOOPER (C), Dominic Day, Matt Garvey, Francois Louw, Leroy Houston BENCH: Ross Batty, Nick Auterac, Henry Thomas, David Attwood, Carl Fearns, Peter Stringer, Ollie Devoto, Sam Burgess

SCORERS T: PT (2) C: Ford, Devoto P: Ford (2)

WARRIORS: Sean Maitland, Tommy Seymour, Mark Bennett, Alex Dunbar, DTH van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Henry Pyrgos, Gordon Reid, Pat MacArthur, Michael Cusack, Jonny Gray, AL KELLOCK (C), Leone Nakarawa, Fraser Brown, Richie Vernon BENCH: Kevin Bryce, Jerry Yanuyanutawa, Jon Welsh, James Eddie, Sean Lamont, Niko Matawalu, Peter Horne, Pete Murchie

SCORERS T: Dunbar, Vernon C: Russell P: Russell Kellock

Referee: John Lacey

 

MONTPELLIER 27 - 26 TOULOUSE

Altrad Stadium - Sunday 25 January 2015
KO: 14:00 HT: 9-13 Att: 10,467

MONTPELLIER: Pierre Berard, Rene Ranger, Anthony Tuitavake, Robert Ebersohn, Lucas Dupont, Benjamin Lucas, Benoit Paillaugue, Mikheil Nariashvili, Charles Geli, David Attoub, Tom Donnelly, Thibaut Privat, FULGENCE OUEDRAOGO (C), Antoine Battut, Akapusi Qera BENCH: Mickael Ivaldi, Yvan Watremez, Pat Cilliers, Robins Tchale Watchou, Alexandre Bias, Jonathan Pelissie, Enzo Selponi, Benoit Sicart

SCORERS T: Dupont (2) C: Lucas P: Lucas (3), Paillaugue (2) Ranger

TOULOUSE: Maxime Médard, Vincent Clerc, Gael Fickou, Clément Poitrenaud, Yoann Huget, Luke McAlister, Jean-Marc Doussain, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Corey Flynn, Census Johnston, Yoann Maestri, Patricio Albacete, THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C), Yannick Nyanga, Gillian Galan BENCH: Julien Marchand, Vasil Kakovin, Cyril Baille, Joe Tekori, Gregory Lamboley, Jano Vermaak, Toby Flood, Florian Fritz

SCORERS T: Poitrenaud, Flood C: McAlister, Flood P: McAlister (2), Flood (2)

Referee: Greg Garner

 

 

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POOL 5

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 8 - 32 RACING MÉTRO

Franklin's Gardens - Saturday 24 January 2015
KO: 15:15 HT: 3-11 Att: 13,362

SAINTS: James Wilson, Ken Pisi, George Pisi, Luther Burrell, George North, Steve Myler, Lee Dickson, Alex Corbisiero, DYLAN HARTLEY (C), Salesi Ma'afu, Sam Dickinson, Christian Day, Tom Wood, Calum Clark, Samu Manoa BENCH: Mikey Haywood, Alex Waller, Gareth Denman, Phil Dowson, Teimana Harrison, Kahn Fotuali'i, Tom Stephenson, Jamie Elliott

SCORERS T: North P: Myler Hartley

RACING: Benjamin Lapeyre, Juan Imhoff, Henry Chavancy, Jamie Roberts, Teddy Thomas, Benjamin Dambielle, Maxime Machenaud, Eddy Ben Arous, DIMITRI SZARZEWSKI (C), Luc Ducalcon, Luke Charteris, Francois van der Merwe, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Antonie Claassen BENCH: Virgile Lacombe, Julien Brugnaut, Brian Mujati, Juandré Kruger, Camille Gerondeau, Mike Phillips, Johannes Goosen, Yoan Audrin

SCORERS T: Imhoff (2), Lapeyre, Roberts C: Machenaud (2), Dambielle P: Machenaud (2) Lapeyre

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

BENETTON TREVISO 23 - 20 OSPREYS

Stadio Comunale di Monigo - Saturday 24 January 2015
KO: 16:15 HT: 16-12 Att: 2,780

TREVISO: Jayden Hayward, Angelo Esposito, Michele Campagnaro, Luca Morisi, Andrea Pratichetti, Samuel John Christie, Edoardo Gori, Matteo Zanusso, Albert Alfred Anae, Salesi Manu, Marco Fuser, Cornelius van Zyl, Marco Barbini, ALESSANDRO ZANNI (C), Mathew Henry Luamanu BENCH: Davide Giazzon, Jose Francisco Novak, Rupert Harden, Antonio Pavanello, Francesco Minto, Enrico Bacchin, Simone Ragusi, James Ambrosini

SCORERS T: Esposito, Barbini, PT C: Hayward P: Hayward (2)

OSPREYS: Richard Fussell, Thomas Grabham, Hanno Dirksen, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker, Sam Davies, Martin Roberts, Marc Thomas, Scott Baldwin, Aaron Jarvis, Rynier Bernardo, James King, Sam Lewis, Justin Tipuric, TYLER ARDRON (C) BENCH: Sam Parry, Gareth Thomas, Dmitri Arhip, Morgan Allen, Olly Cracknell, Thomas Habberfield, Aisea Natoga, Daniel Evans

SCORERS T: King, Walker, Fussell C: Davies P: Davies

Referee: Mathieu Raynal

 

 

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THE new-look European Rugby Champions Cup is proving itself to be ultra-competitive as only one club so far – title holders RC Toulon - booked a place in the quarter-finals going into a Round 6 rollercoaster.

At this stage last season, as many as six clubs had secured their passage into the last eight while in 2012/13, four clubs had made it through. And if more proof was needed that a lifeline can exist right up until the conclusion of Round 6, both Bath Rugby and Wasps could make history next weekend by becoming the first clubs to reach the knockout stage of Europe's top flight after losing their opening two pool games.

Round 5 proved to be hugely positive for the tournament's Aviva Premiership representatives with Bath and Wasps in particular catapulting themselves back into contention. Bath produced a scintillating performance to get the better of Toulouse by 35-18 at Stade Ernest Wallon where Jonathan Joseph and Francois Louw scored magnificent tries in a bonus-point victory, while Wasps stunned Harlequins at The Stoop with a James Haskell-inspired defensive display which will live long in the memory.

Saracens convincingly doused Munster Rugby's fire in Pool 1, Leicester Tigers saw off the challenge of the Scarlets to keep themselves in the qualification race, and Northampton Saints defeated the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.

Meanwhile, Racing Métro 92 moved to the top of Pool 5 with a big 53-7 win over Benetton Treviso which featured a hat-trick by skipper, Dimitri Szarzewski, and at Stade Mayol, there was another hat-trick by Steffon Armitage as Toulon stormed into the quarter-finals with a runaway 60-22 win over Ulster Rugby.

ASM Clermont Auvergne stayed on track with a battling 22-13 success over Sale Sharks, and Leinster Rugby and Glasgow Warriors kept the Guinness PRO12 flag flying with wins over Castres Olympique and Montpellier respectively.

So, with the five pool winners and the three best runners-up securing quarter-final spots, those intriguing results from last weekend have set up a whole host of winner-take-all clashes in Round 6. In Pool 1, leaders Clermont host second-placed Saracens on Sunday, and in Pool 2, table-toppers Leinster have to go to in-form Wasps on Saturday.

Pool 4 is full of permutations as Bath take on Glasgow Warriors at the Rec on Sunday with leaders Toulouse travelling to Montpellier, while in Pool 5, Northampton and Racing go head-to-head at Franklin's Gardens.

With games in the same pools scheduled to kick off at the same time, Leicester Tigers, who are away at Ulster in Pool 3, and Harlequins who visit Castres in Pool 2 are also very much in the qualification mix.

It has never been tighter heading into Round 6 with those prized knockout places as well as the bonus of a home quarter-final on the line.

RESULTS

POOL 1

SARACENS 33 - 10 MUNSTER RUGBY

Allianz Park - Saturday 17 January 2015
KO: 13:00 HT: 23-3 Att: 9,999

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Marcelo Bosch, Brad Barritt, David Strettle, Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, Jim Hamilton, ALISTAIR HARGREAVES (C), Kelly Brown, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Brett Sharman, Richard Barrington, James Johnston, Maro Itoje, Ernst Joubert, Neil de Kock, Charlie Hodgson, Chris Wyles

SCORERS T: Wyles, Ashton (2) C: Farrell (3) P: Farrell (4)

MUNSTER: Felix Jones, Andrew Conway, Pat Howard, Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo, Ian Keatley, Duncan Williams, James Cronin, Duncan Casey, BJ Botha, Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell, PETER O'MAHONY (C), Tommy O'Donnell, CJ Stander BENCH: Eusebio Guiñazú, John Ryan, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Dave O'Callaghan, Ronan O'Mahony, JJ Hanrahan, Keith Earls

SCORERS T: Hurley C: Keatley P: Keatley Cronin

Referee: Romain Poite

 

SALE SHARKS 13 - 22 CLERMONT AUVERGNE

AJ Bell Stadium - Saturday 17 January 2015
KO: 17:30 HT: 3-6 Att: 6,108

SHARKS: Michael Haley, Will Addison, Johnny Leota, Sam Tuitupou, Mark Cueto, Danny Cipriani, Chris Cusiter, Ross Harrison, Marc Jones, Vadim Cobilas, Jon Mills, Nathan Hines, Dan Braid (C), David Seymour, Josh Beaumont BENCH: Tommy Taylor, Eifion Lewis-Roberts, Ciaran Parker, Mark Easter, Magnus Lund, Will Cliff, Nick MacLeod, Tom Arscott

SCORERS T: PT C: Cipriani P: Cipriani (2)

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Aurélien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga, Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra, Raphael Chaume, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili, Jamie Cudmore, Sébastien Vahaamahina, DAMIEN CHOULY (C), Julien Bonnaire, Fritz Lee BENCH: John Ulugia, Vincent Debaty, Clément Ric, Loic Jacquet, Julien Bardy, Ludovic Radosavljevic, Mike Delany, Benson Stanley

SCORERS T: Lee C: Lopez P: Lopez (5) Fofana, Cudmore

Referee: Ian Davies

 

 

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POOL 2

LEINSTER RUGBY 50 - 8 CASTRES OLYMPIQUE

RDS Arena - Saturday 17 January 2015
KO: 17:30 HT: 31-3 Att: 18,018

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney, Fergus McFadden, Luke Fitzgerald, Ian Madigan, Dave Kearney, Jimmy Gopperth, Eoin Reddan, Michael Bent, Sean Cronin, Martin Moore, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Jack Conan, Jordi Murphy, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Richardt Strauss, Jamie Hagan, Tadhg Furlong, Kane Douglas, Dominic Ryan, Luke McGrath, Gordon D'Arcy, Darragh Fanning

SCORERS T: Dave Kearney, Moore, Reddan, Cronin, Furlong, Fanning, McGrath C: Madigan (6) P: Madigan

CASTRES: Julien Dumora, Romain Martial, Thomas Combezou, ROMAIN CABANNES (C), Marcel Garvey, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Rory Kockott, Saimone Taumoepeau, Marc-Antoine Rallier, Ramiro Herrera, Richie Gray, Christophe Samson, Ibrahim Diarra, Jannie Bornman, Johnnie Beattie BENCH: Mathieu Bonello, Paea Fa'anunu, Benjamin Desroche, Yohan Montes, Piula Faasalele, Remi Tales, Remi Grosso, Antoine Dupont

SCORERS T: Martial P: Kockott Diarra

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

HARLEQUINS 3 - 23 WASPS

The Twickenham Stoop - Saturday 17 January 2015
KO: 19:45 HT: tbc Att: tbc31-3 Att: 18,018

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney, Fergus McFadden, Luke Fitzgerald, Ian Madigan, Dave Kearney, Jimmy Gopperth, Eoin Reddan, Michael Bent, Sean Cronin, Martin Moore, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Jack Conan, Jordi Murphy, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Richardt Strauss, Jamie Hagan, Tadhg Furlong, Kane Douglas, Dominic Ryan, Luke McGrath, Gordon D'Arcy, Darragh Fanning

SCORERS T: Dave Kearney, Moore, Reddan, Cronin, Furlong, Fanning, McGrath C: Madigan (6) P: Madigan

CASTRES: Julien Dumora, Romain Martial, Thomas Combezou, ROMAIN CABANNES (C), Marcel Garvey, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Rory Kockott, Saimone Taumoepeau, Marc-Antoine Rallier, Ramiro Herrera, Richie Gray, Christophe Samson, Ibrahim Diarra, Jannie Bornman, Johnnie Beattie BENCH: Mathieu Bonello, Paea Fa'anunu, Benjamin Desroche, Yohan Montes, Piula Faasalele, Remi Tales, Remi Grosso, Antoine Dupont

SCORERS T: Martial P: Kockott Diarra

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

 

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POOL 3

RC TOULON 60 - 22 ULSTER RUGBY

Stade Félix Mayol - Saturday 17 January 2015
KO: 16:15 HT: 27-10 Att: 13,781

TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny, Drew Mitchell, Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz, Bryan Habana, Nicolas Sanchez, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Xavier Chiocci, Guilhem Guirado, Martin Castrogiovanni, Jocelino Suta, Ali Williams, Juan Smith, Steffon Armitage, CHRIS MASOE (C) BENCH: Jean-Charles Orioli, Florian Fresia, Carl Hayman, Mamuka Gorgodze, Rudi Wulf, David Smith, Eric Escande, Romain Taofifenua

SCORERS T: Sanchez, Habana, Bastareaud, Castrogiovanni, Armitage (3), Gorgodze C: Halfpenny (7) P: Halfpenny

ULSTER: Jared Payne, Louis Ludik, Darren Cave, Stuart Olding, Michael Allen, Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar, Andy Warwick, Rob Herring, Bronson Ross, Alan O'Connor, Franco Van Der Merwe, Clive Ross, Mike McComish, ROGER WILSON (C) BENCH: John Andrew, Callum Black, Declan Fitzpatrick, Lewis Stevenson, Robbie Diack, Paul Marshall, Ian Humphreys, Michael Heaney

SCORERS T: Jackson, McComish (2), Payne C: Pienaar

Referee: Leighton Hodges

 

LEICESTER TIGERS 40 - 23 SCARLETS

Welford Road - Friday 16 January 2015
KO: 19:45 HT: 14-11 Att: 18,913

TIGERS: Matthew Tait, Adam Thompstone, Vereniki Goneva, Seremaia Bai, Miles Benjamin, Freddie Burns, BEN YOUNGS (C), Michele Rizzo, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Logovii Mulipola, Brad Thorn, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft, Julian Salvi, Jordan Crane BENCH: Tom Youngs, Marcos Ayerza, Fraser Balmain, Graham Kitchener, Robert Barbieri, Sam Harrison, Owen Williams, Matt Smith

SCORERS T: Benjamin, Crane, Thompstone, Tom Youngs (2), Harrison C: Burns (4), Williams Kitchener

SCARLETS: Jordan Williams, Harry Robinson, Regan King, SCOTT WILLIAMS (C), Hadleigh Parkes, Rhys Priestland, Aled Davies, Rob Evans, Ryan Elias, Jacobie Adriaanse, Jake Ball, George Earle, Aaron Shingler, John Barclay, Rob McCusker BENCH: Darran Harris, Wyn Jones, Peter Edwards, Lewis Rawlins, James Davies, Rhodri Williams, Steven Shingler, Rory Pitman

SCORERS T: Evans, Robinson (2) C: Steve Shingler P: Priestland (2) Aaron Shingler

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

 

 

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POOL 4

GLASGOW WARRIORS 21 - 10 MONTPELLIER

Scotstoun Stadium - Sunday 18 January 2015
KO: 13:00 HT: 7-10 Att: 6,056

WARRIORS: Pete Murchie, Tommy Seymour, Alex Dunbar, Peter Horne, DTH van der Merwe, Finn Russell, Niko Matawalu, Ryan Grant, Pat MacArthur, Jon Welsh, Tim Swinson, Jonny Gray, Leone Nakarawa, Ryan Wilson, Josh Strauss BENCH: Fraser Brown, Jerry Yanuyanutawa, Michael Cusack, James Eddie, Richie Vernon, Henry Pyrgos, Mark Bennett, Sean Maitland

SCORERS T: van der Merwe (3) C: Russell (3)

MONTPELLIER: Benoit Sicart, Yohann Artru, Robert Ebersohn, Wynand Olivier, Lucas Dupont, Benjamin Lucas, Teddy Iribaren, Yvan Watremez, Mickael Ivaldi, Pat Cilliers, Robins Tchale Watchou, THIBAUT PRIVAT (C), Antoine Battut, Akapusi Qera, Ben  Mowen BENCH: Thomas Bianchin, Na'ama Leleimalefaga, David Attoub, Alexandre Bias, Kelian Galletier, Benoit Paillaugue, Enzo Selponi, Viriviri Nasagavesi

SCORERS T: Privat C: Lucas P: Lucas Cilliers, Dupont

Referee: Luke Pearce

 

TOULOUSE 18 - 35 BATH RUGBY

Stade Ernest Wallon - Sunday 18 January 2015
KO: 16:15 HT: 15-25 Att: 16,061

TOULOUSE: Maxime Médard, Vincent Clerc, Yann David, Luke McAlister, Yoann Huget, Toby Flood, Jean-Marc Doussain, Gurthro Steenkamp, Corey Flynn, Census Johnston, Joe Tekori, Yoann Maestri, Yannick Nyanga, THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C), Louis Picamoles BENCH: Julien Marchand, Vasil Kakovin, Kisi Pulu, Patricio Albacete, Gillian Galan, Jano Vermaak, Clément Poitrenaud, Gregory Lamboley

SCORERS T: Maestri, Huget C: Flood P: Flood (2)

BATH: Anthony Watson, Horacio Agulla, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Matt Banahan, George Ford, Chris Cook, PAUL JAMES (C), Rob Webber, David Wilson, Dominic Day, David Attwood, Matt Garvey, Francois Louw, Leroy Houston BENCH: Ross Batty, Nick Auterac, Henry Thomas, Stuart Hooper, Carl Fearns, Peter Stringer, Ollie Devoto, Olly Woodburn

SCORERS T: Banahan, Cook, Joseph, Louw C: Ford (3) P: Ford (3)

Referee: George Clancy

 

 

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POOL 5

OSPREYS 9 - 20 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS

Liberty Stadium - Sunday 18 January 2015
KO: 17:30 HT: 9-17 Att: 7,308

OSPREYS: Daniel Evans, Aisea Natoga, Ashley Beck, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Marc Thomas, Scott Baldwin, Aaron Jarvis, Rynier Bernardo, ALUN-WYN JONES (C), James King, Justin Tipuric, Tyler Ardron BENCH: Sam Parry, Gareth Thomas, Dmitri Arhip, Morgan Allen, Sam Lewis, Martin Roberts, Sam Davies, Hanno Dirksen

SCORERS P: Biggar (3)

SAINTS: Ben Foden, Ken Pisi, George Pisi, Luther Burrell, George North, Steve Myler, Lee Dickson, Alex Waller, DYLAN HARTLEY (C), Gareth Denman, Sam Dickinson, Christian Day, Tom Wood, Calum Clark, Samu Manoa BENCH: Mikey Haywood, Ethan Waller, Alex Corbisiero, Phil Dowson, Teimana Harrison, Joel Hodgson, James Wilson, Jamie Elliott

SCORERS T: Clark, North C: Myler (2) P: Myler (2) George Pisi

Referee: Jérôme Garcès

 

RACING MÉTRO 92 53 - 7 BENETTON TREVISO

Stade Yves-du-Manoir - Sunday 18 January 2015
KO: 18:30 HT: 19-0 Att: 5,817

RACING: Benjamin Lapeyre, Juan Imhoff, Casey Laulala, Henry Chavancy, Marc Andreu, Benjamin Dambielle, Maxime Machenaud, Eddy Ben Arous, DIMITRI SZARZEWSKI (C), Brian Mujati, Luke Charteris, Francois van der Merwe, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Antonie Claassen BENCH: Virgile Lacombe, Julien Brugnaut, Walter Desmaison, Tomas Lavanini, Juandré Kruger, Camille Gerondeau, Mike Phillips, Yoan Audrin

SCORERS T: Chavancy, Lapeyre (2), Szarzewski (3), Imhoff (2), PT C: Machenaud (2), Dambielle (2)

TREVISO: Angelo Esposito, Simone Ragusi, Michele Campagnaro, Enrico Bacchin, Andrea Pratichetti, Joe Carlisle, Edoardo Gori, Matteo Zanusso, Albert Alfred Anae, Rupert Harden, ANTONIO PAVANELLO (C), Marco Fuser, Meyer Swanepoel, Alessandro Zanni, Francesco Minto BENCH: Amar Kudin, Jose Francisco Novak, Cosma Garfagnoli, Tomas Vallejos, Mathew Henry Luamanu, Marco Barbini, James Ambrosini, Alberto Lucchese

SCORERS T: Campagnaro C: Carlisle Harden

Referee: JP Doyle

 

 

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ANOTHER thrilling instalment of European Rugby Champions Cup Round 4 action is over throwing up some unexpected results, and the final schedule for Rounds 5 and 6 will be announced later this week.

As European professional club rugby catches its breath until the New Year, there might be daylight between RC Toulon and the chasing pack in Pool 3, and Toulouse have something of a cushion at the top of Pool 4, but elsewhere, the race for the Champions Cup quarter-finals looks set to boil over in the last two rounds in January.

In a heavyweight Pool 1, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Saracens and Munster Rugby are all still right in the hunt for qualification, and the same applies to Pool 2 where Harlequins, Leinster Rugby and Wasps have the knockout stage very much in their sights. Equally, the fight for a place in the last eight from Pool 5 will spill over into January as Northampton Saints, Racing Metro 92 and Ospreys are all in contention.

Toulon are now favourites to top Pool 3, and while Scarlets and Leicester Tigers will have their work cut out to overtake the reigning champions, both clubs will be at least eyeing one of the three best runner-up spots which are now available under the new qualification format.

It's a similar story for Glasgow Warriors and Bath Rugby who trail Toulouse by six points in Pool 4. The four-time champions are the only club with four wins to date (Racing are also unbeaten with three wins and a draw) and while they will no doubt be hell-bent on topping the pool, they might be aware of the haunting fact that no club which has reached the quarter-finals with six victories has ever gone on to be crowned kings of Europe in the same season.

The six-out-of-six has been achieved 12 times since 1997/98 and most recently last season by Ulster Rugby who were subsequently knocked out in the quarter-finals by Saracens.

So, as the clubs reflect on the key back-to-back fixtures – Toulouse were the only away winner in Round 4 - and look ahead to next month's decisive clashes, they will be mindful that despite the fact that the required qualification total for a best runner-up might drop this season, no runner-up has booked its place in the last eight on less than 19 points since bonus points were introduced in 2003/04.

Equally, in the past five years, Leicester are the only club to have reached the quarter-finals without winning at least one of the back-to-back fixtures. In 2010, they lost away to Perpignan, then drew the return game at Welford Road, and still made the knockout stage.

That exception probably does not augur too well for Munster whose 26-19 defeat by Clermont at Stade Marcel-Michelin means that the Irish province has lost both back-to-back games for the first time in their history. On the credit side, Ian Keatley's nerveless last-play penalty to earn a bonus point keeps their qualification fires burning.

Toulon maintained their unbeaten home run in Europe's top flight with a convincing 23-8 victory over Leicester while Toulouse battled their way to a hard-earned success in Glasgow.

Wasps signed off with aplomb with a 7-try routing at Adams Park before their permanent move to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry by putting Castres to the sword, while Northampton ran in 10 tries to equal their record for a game in Europe's top flight in the 67-0 demolition of Benetton Treviso at Franklin's Gardens.

There were hat-tricks for the Saints pair, Ken Pisi and Samu Manoa, a feat equalled by Matt Banahan as Bath clinched a late, late bonus point with Horacio Agulla's try in the 32-12 win over Montpellier.

Racing moved their game to the MMArena in Le Mans and survived a strong second-half comeback by the Ospreys to hold on to their unbeaten record in Pool 5.

While there were a host of spectacular scores over the weekend, the tries by Noa Nakaitaci for Clermont against Munster and by Ben Ransom in Saracens' 28-15 success against Sale Sharks took some beating for both individual and collective brilliance.

In the four rounds of the Champions Cup to date this season, there have been 157 tries at an average of just under four per game, and 1,574 points at an average of nearly 40. And following the announcement later this week of the dates and kick-off times for the games in Rounds 5 and 6, there's plenty more quality and quantity to come from Europe's elite club tournament.

RESULTS

POOL 1

SARACENS 28 - 15 SALE SHARKS

Allianz Park - Saturday 13 December 2014
KO: 17:15 HT: 11-8 Att: 7,561

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Chris Wyles, Duncan Taylor, David Strettle, Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, George Kruis, ALISTAIR HARGREAVES (C), Kelly Brown, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Brett Sharman, Richard Barrington, James Johnston, Jim Hamilton, Jackson Wray, Neil de Kock, Charlie Hodgson, Ben Ransom

SCORERS T: Goode, Ransom, Billy Vunipola C: Farrell (2) P: Farrell (3) Sharman

SHARKS: Michael Haley, Tom Brady, Will Addison, Mark Jennings, Mark Cueto, Nick MacLeod, Will Cliff, Ross Harrison, Shalva Mamukashvili, Vadim Cobilas, Nathan Hines, Andrei Ostrikov, Mark Easter, DAN BRAID (C), Josh Beaumont BENCH: Cameron Neild, Eifion Lewis-Roberts, James Flynn, Jon Mills, Andrew Hughes, Nathan Fowles, Joe Ford, Andy Forsyth

SCORERS T: Hines, Lewis-Roberts C: Ford P: Macleod

Referee: Jérôme Garcès

 

CLERMONT AUVERGNE 26 - 19 MUNSTER

Stade Marcel-Michelin - Sunday 14 December 2014
KO: 16:15 HT: 15-6 Att: 17,723

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Aurélien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana, Zac Guildford, Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra, Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili, Jamie Cudmore, Sébastien Vahaamahina, DAMIEN CHOULY (C), Alexandre Lapandry, Fritz Lee BENCH: John Ulugia, Raphael Chaume, Clément Ric, Julien Pierre, Julien Bardy, Ludovic Radoslavjevic, Brock James, Benson Stanley

SCORERS T: Chouly (2), Nakaitaci C: Lopez P: Lopez (3)

MUNSTER: Felix Jones, Andrew Conway, Andrew Smith, JJ Hanrahan, Simon Zebo, Ian Keatley, Conor Murray, John Ryan, Duncan Casey, BJ Botha, Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell, PETER O'MAHONY (C), Tommy O'Donnell, CJ Stander BENCH: Kevin O'Byrne, Eusebio Guiñazú, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Robin Copeland, Duncan Williams, Denis Hurley, Johne Murphy

SCORERS T: Casey C: Keatley P: Keatley (4) Jones

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

 

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POOL 2

LEINSTER RUGBY 14 - 13 HARLEQUINS

RDS Arena - Saturday 13 December 2014
KO: 19:45 HT: 11-0 Att: 38,500

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney, Zane Kirchner, Luke Fitzgerald, Ian Madigan, Darragh Fanning, Jimmy Gopperth, Isaac Boss, Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Kane Douglas, Rhys Ruddock, Dominic Ryan, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Bryan Byrne, Michael Bent, Tadhg Furlong, Mike McCarthy, Jack Conan, Eoin Reddan, Noel Reid, Mick McGrath

SCORERS T: Boss P: Madigan (3)

HARLEQUINS: Mike Brown, Marland Yarde, Matt Hopper, George Lowe, Aseli Tikoirotuma, Tim Swiel, Danny Care, JOE MARLER (C), Dave Ward, Will Collier, Charlie Matthews, George Robson, Luke Wallace, Jack Clifford, Nick Easter BENCH: Joe Gray, Mark Lambert, Kyle Sinckler, Sam Twomey, Joe Trayfoot, Karl Dickson, Tom Casson, Ross Chisholm

SCORERS T: Brown C: Swiel P: Swiel (2) Matthews

Referee: Romain Poite

 

WASPS 44 - 17 CASTRES OLYMPIQUE

Adams Park - Sunday 14 December 2014
KO: 13:00 HT: 25-5 Att: 6,507

WASPS: Rob Miller, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Ben Jacobs, Andrea Masi, Tom Varndell, Andy Goode, Charlie Davies, Matt Mullan, Edd Shervington, Jake Cooper-Woolley, Bradley Davies, Kearnan Myall, Ashley Johnson, JAMES HASKELL (C), Nathan Hughes BENCH: Tom Lindsay, Simon McIntyre, Lorenzo Cittadini, James Gaskell, Guy Thompson, Joe Simpson, Alex Lozowski, Chris Bell

SCORERS T: Cooper-Woolley, Hughes, Varndell (2), Jacobs (2), Thompson C: Goode, Lozowski (2) P: Goode

CASTRES: Julien Dumora, Max Evans, Thomas Combezou, Geoffrey Palis, Remi Grosso, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Cedric Garcia, Saimone Taumoepeau, Marc-Antoine Rallier, Yohan Montes, Piula Faasalele, Benjamin Desroche, Ibrahim Diarra, YANNICK CABALLERO (C), Jannie Bornman BENCH: Brice Mach, Florian Houerie, Paea Faanunu, William Whetton, Mathieu Babillot, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Victor Moreen, Antoine Dupont

SCORERS T: Rallier, Evans, Houerie C: Palis

Referee: John Lacey

 

 

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POOL 3

RC TOULON 23 - 8 LEICESTER TIGERS

Stade Félix Mayol - Saturday 13 December 2014
KO: 16:15 HT: 16-5 Att: 15,045

TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny, Delon Armitage, Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz, Bryan Habana, Nicolas Sanchez, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Alexandre Menini, Guilhem Guirado, Levan Chilachava, Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Juan Smith, Steffon Armitage, CHRIS MASOE (C) BENCH: Jean-Charles Orioli, Florian Fresia, Carl Hayman, Mamuka Gorgodze, James O'Connor, Jocelino Suta, Michael Claassens, Romain Taofifenua

SCORERS T: Williams, Bastareaud C: Halfpenny (2) P: Halfpenny (3)

TIGERS: Matthew Tait, Blaine Scully, Matt Smith, Anthony Allen, Vereniki Goneva, Owen Williams, BEN YOUNGS (C), Marcos Ayerza, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Dan Cole, Brad Thorn, Geoff Parling, Jamie Gibson, Julian Salvi, Robert Barbieri BENCH: Tom Youngs, Michele Rizzo, Fraser Balmain, Sebastian De Chaves, Jordan Crane, Tom Croft, Sam Harrison, T: Scully P: WilliamsFreddie Burns

SCORERS

Referee: George Clancy

 

SCARLETS 22 - 13 ULSTER RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - Sunday 14 December 2014
KO: 17:15 HT: 12-0 Att: 7,230

SCARLETS: Liam Williams, Kristian Phillips, Regan King, SCOTT WILLIAMS (C), Michael Tagicakibau, Rhys Priestland, Rhodri Williams, Rob Evans, Emyr Phillips, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Johan Snyman, Aaron Shingler, James Davies, Rob McCusker BENCH: Kirby Myhill, Wyn Jones, Rhodri Jones, George Earle, Rory Pitman, Aled Davies, Steven Shingler, Hadleigh Parkes

SCORERS T: James Davies C: Priestland P: Preistland (5)

ULSTER: Louis Ludik, Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy, Ian Humphreys, Ruan Pienaar, Callum Black, RORY BEST (C), Declan Fitzpatrick, Dan Tuohy, Franco Van Der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Clive Ross, Roger Wilson BENCH: Rob Herring, Andy Warwick, Bronson Ross, Alan O'Connor, Mike McComish, Paul Marshall, Michael Heaney, Michael Allen

SCORERS T: Cave C: Humphreys P: Pienaar (2) Fitzpatrick

Referee: JP Doyle

 

 

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POOL 4

BATH RUGBY 32 - 12 MONTPELLIER

The Rec - Friday 12 December 2014
KO: 19:45 HT: 17-0 Att: 13,282

BATH: Anthony Watson, Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Sam Burgess, Matt Banahan, George Ford, Chris Cook, PAUL JAMES (C), Ross Batty, David Wilson, Dominic Day, David Attwood, Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Francois Louw, Leroy Houston BENCH: Rob Webber, Nick Auterac, Henry Thomas, Stuart Hooper, David Sisi, Micky Young, Ollie Devoto, Horacio Agulla

SCORERS T: Banahan (3), Agulla C: Ford (3) P: Ford (2)

MONTPELLIER: Pierre Berard, Yohann Artru, Robert Ebersohn, Wynand Olivier, Viriviri Nasagavesi, Enzo Selponi, Jonathan Pelissie, Na'ama Leleimalefaga, Charles Geli, Pat Cilliers, Robins Tchale Watchou, Thibaut Privat, FULGENCE OUEDRAOGO (C), Akapusi Qera, Alex Tulou BENCH: Mickael Ivaldi, Yvan Watremez, David Attoub, Tom Donnelly, Alexandre Bias, Benoit Paillaugue, Rene Ranger, Benoit Sicart

SCORERS T: Tulou, Ivaldi C: Paillaugue Paillaugue

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

 GLASGOW WARRIORS 9 - 12 TOULOUSE

Scotstoun Stadium - Saturday 13 December 2014
KO: 13:00 HT: 3-6 Att: 6,894

WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Richie Vernon, Alex Dunbar, Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Henry Pyrgos, Ryan Grant, Pat MacArthur, Jon Welsh, Tim Swinson, Jonny Gray, Ryan Wilson, Robert Harley, JOSH STRAUSS (C) BENCH: Fraser Brown, Gordon Reid, Euan Murray, Leone Nakarawa, Niko Matawalu, Duncan Weir, Peter Horne, Sean Lamont

SCORERS P: Russell, Weir (2)

TOULOUSE: Clément Poitrenaud, Yoann Huget, Yann David, Gael Fickou, Maxime Médard, Jean-Marc Doussain, Sébastien Bézy, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Corey Flynn, Census Johnston, Joe Tekori, Yoann Maestri, Yannick Nyanga, THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C), Louis Picamoles BENCH: Julien Marchand, Vasil Kakovin, Kisi Pulu, Romain Millo-Chluski, Gregory Lamboley, Luke McAlister, Vincent Clerc, Alexis Palisson

SCORERS P: Bezy (4)

Referee: Wayne Barnes

 

 

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POOL 5

NORTHAMPTON 67 - 0 BENETTON TREVISO

Franklin's Gardens - Saturday 13 December 2014
KO: 15:15 HT: 24-0 Att: 13,344

SAINTS: James Wilson, Ken Pisi, George Pisi, Tom Stephenson, George North, Steve Myler, Kahn Fotuali'i, Ethan Waller, DYLAN HARTLEY (C), Salesi Ma'afu, Sam Dickinson, Courtney Lawes, Calum Clark, Tom Wood, Phil Dowson BENCH: Mikey Haywood, Alex Waller, Gareth Denman, Christian Day, Samu Manoa, Lee Dickson, Luther Burrell, Ben Foden

SCORERS T: PT, North, Fotuali'i, Ken Pisi (3), George Pisi, Manoa (3), Foden C: Myler (4), Wilson (2)

TREVISO: Jayden Hayward, Simone Ragusi, Luca Morisi, Enrico Bacchin, Ludovico Nitoglia, Joe Carlisle, Edoardo Gori, Matteo Zanusso, Albert Alfred Anae, Matteo Muccignat, ANTONIO PAVANELLO (C), Marco Fuser, Meyer Swanepoel, Francesco Minto, Mathew Henry Luamanu BENCH: Amar Kudin, Josè Francisco Novak, Romulo Acosta, Tomas Vallejos, Marco Lazzaroni, Simone Favaro, Ruggero Trevisan, James Ambrosini

SCORERS Fuser, Garfagnoli

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

 

RACING MÉTRO 92 18 - 14 OSPREYS

Stade Yves-du-Manoir - Saturday 13 December 2014
KO: 18:15 HT: 15-0 Att: 16,258

RACING: Brice Dulin, Juan Imhoff, Henry Chavancy, Jamie Roberts, Teddy Thomas, Johannes Goosen, Maxime Machenaud, Julien Brugnaut, DIMITRI SZARZEWSKI (C), Luc Ducalcon, Juandré Kruger, Francois van der Merwe, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Antonie Claassen BENCH: Virgile Lacombe, Eddy Ben Arous, Brian Mujati, Luke Charteris, Camille Gerondeau, Mike Phillips, Yoan Audrin, Benjamin Dambielle

SCORERS T: Imhoff, Thomas C: Goosen P: Goosen (2) Claassen, Machenaud

OSPREYS: Daniel Evans, Hanno Dirksen, Ashley Beck, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Marc Thomas, Scott Baldwin, Dmitri Arhip, Rynier Bernardo, ALUN-WYN JONES (C), James King, Justin Tipuric, Tyler Ardron BENCH: Sam Parry, Gareth Thomas, Dan Suter, Olly Cracknell, Sam Lewis, Martin Roberts, Sam Davies, Andrew Bishop

SCORERS T: Webb, Walker C: Biggar (2) Webb

Referee: Greg Garner

 

 

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THE unique back-to-back fixtures format threw up a fascinating series of games as the European Rugby Champions Cup came thundering into the spotlight once again.

It proved to be a hugely positive weekend for the Aviva Premiership clubs who registered an impressive six wins for the first time since the same stage in 2008/09, while ASM Clermont Auvergne produced what was arguably the performance of Round 3 as they became the first French club to win at Thomond Park in the 19-year history of European club rugby.

In all, there were five away wins at this crucial phase of the tournament with prized successes on the road for Bath Rugby, Saracens, Northampton Saints, Wasps and Clermont, but the fiercely competitive nature of the contests meant that that only three clubs – Ulster Rugby, Saints and Wasps – registered four-try bonus points.

When the dust settled, there were three clubs left unbeaten – Pool 2 leaders, Harlequins, who got the better of Leinster Rugby at The Stoop, Toulouse who are top of Pool 4 following their victory over Glasgow Warriors, and Racing Métro 92 who drew with Ospreys. There was a double celebration for four-time champions, Toulouse, as their 19-11 win was the French club's 100th in Europe's top flight.

Records were also tumbling at Welford Road where Leicester Tigers put themselves right back in the Pool 3 frame with a hard-fought 25-21 verdict over reigning champions, RC Toulon, despite some dubious refereeing from Nigel Owens. A crowd of just over 22,000 brought Leicester over the 1 million mark for home attendances in Europe while the evergreen Brad Thorn, just two months short of his 40th birthday, became the oldest player to score a try in Europe's top tier. Though former Tigers prop Martin Castrogiovanni, now plying his trade in the south of France, decided he need to air some grievances left behind at his old club of 7 years in quite spectacular fashion...

Clermont's outstanding 16-9 victory over Munster sees the 2013 beaten finalists in control of Pool 1 in advance of the Round 4 return fixtures. With Heineken Man of the Match, Fritz Lee, in superb form, the French became only the fourth club after Leicester, Ulster and Harlequins (Challenge Cup) to win a European game at the famed Limerick cauldron.

There were accolades too for Bath and Wasps who registered rare victories in France over Montpellier and Castres Olympique respectively with Wasps taking home a bonus point into the bargain.

Quins' 24-18 win over three-time champions, Leinster, will guarantee a fiery return in front of a large festive crowd at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Saturday. It was a sweet success for the home club's Director of Rugby, Conor O'Shea, who scored Leinster's first try in Europe back in 1995, while 36-year-old Heineken Man of the Match, Nick Easter, was once again in magnificent form scoring a spectacular try any 25 year old would be proud of, let alone someone 11 years senior, yet in his playing prime.

Ospreys and Racing Métro 92 played out the one draw to date in this season's tournament at the Liberty Stadium where Josh Matavesi's spectacular late try and Dan Biggar's conversion made it 19-19 in Pool 5.

So, with further thrills and spills guaranteed as these key back-to-back games unfold, Round 4 is less than a week away.

RESULTS

POOL 1

SALE SHARKS 15 - 19 SARACENS

AJ Bell Stadium - Saturday 06 December 2014
KO: 13:00 HT: 10-11 Att: 7,053

SHARKS: Michael Haley, Luke McLean, Mark Jennings, Sam Tuitupou, Mark Cueto, Danny Cipriani, Chris Cusiter, Eifion Lewis-Roberts, Marc Jones, Vadim Cobilas, Jon Mills, Andrei Ostrikov, Mark Easter, MAGNUS LUND (C), Josh Beaumont BENCH: Shalva Mamukashvili, Ross Harrison, James Flynn, Vili Fihaki, Andrew Hughes, Will Cliff, Nick MacLeod, Will Addison

SCORERS T: Lund, Ostrikov C: Cipriani P: Cipriani

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Duncan Taylor, Owen Farrell, David Strettle, Charlie Hodgson, Richard Wigglesworth, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, George Kruis, ALISTAIR HARGREAVES (C), Kelly Brown, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Brett Sharman, Richard Barrington, James Johnston, Jim Hamilton, Jackson Wray, Neil de Kock, Marcelo Bosch, Chris Wyles

SCORERS T: Farrell, Billy Vunipola P: Hodgson, Farrell DG: Farrell

Referee: Leighton Hodges

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 9 - 16 CLERMONT AUVERGNE

Thomond Park - Saturday 06 December 2014
KO: 17:30 HT: 6-16 Att: 25,600

MUNSTER: Felix Jones, Gerhard van den Heever, Pat Howard, Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo, Ian Keatley, Conor Murray, Dave Kilcoyne, Duncan Casey, BJ Botha, Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell, PETER O'MAHONY (C), Tommy O'Donnell, CJ Stander BENCH: Kevin O'Byrne, James Cronin, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Sean Dougall, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Johne Murphy

SCORERS P: Keatley (3)

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Aurélien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga, Camille Lopez, Ludovic Radoslavjevic , Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Clément Ric, Jamie Cudmore, Sébastien Vahaamahina, DAMIEN CHOULY (C), Julien Bonnaire, Fritz Lee BENCH: John Ulugia, Vincent Debaty, Davit Zirakashvili, Julien Pierre, Alexandre Lapandry, Thierry Lacrampe, Brock James, Jonathan Davies

SCORERS T: Lee, Fofana P: Lopez DG: Lopez

Referee: Wayne Barnes

 

 

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POOL 2

  CASTRES OLYMPIQUE 17 - 32 WASPS

Stade Pierre Antoine - Sunday 07 December 2014
KO: 14:00 HT: 14-15 Att: 7,204

CASTRES: Julien Dumora, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Thomas Combezou, Remi Lamerat, Remi Grosso, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Rory Kockott, Saimone Taumoepeau, Mathieu Bonello, Yohan Montes, Piula Faasalele, Benjamin Desroche, Ibrahim Diarra, YANNICK CABALLERO (C), Johnnie Beattie BENCH: Marc-Antoine Rallier, Florian Houerie, Ramiro Herrera, Victor Moreaux, Mathieu Babillot, Romain Martial, Max Evans, Cedric Garcia

SCORERS T: Bonello, Lamerat C: Kockott (2) P: Dumora Sivivatu

WASPS: Rob Miller, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Ben Jacobs, Alapati Leiua, Tom Varndell, Andy Goode, Charlie Davies, Matt Mullan, Edd Shervington, Lorenzo Cittadini, Bradley Davies, Kearnan Myall, Ashley Johnson, JAMES HASKELL (C), Nathan Hughes BENCH: Tom Lindsay, Simon McIntyre, Jake Cooper-Woolley, James Gaskell, Guy Thompson, Tom Bliss, Alex Lozowski, Andrea Masi

SCORERS T: Miller, Hughes, PT, Tagicakibau C: Goode (3) P: Goode (2)

Referee: George Clancy

 

HARLEQUINS 24 - 18 LEINSTER RUGBY

The Twickenham Stoop - Sunday 07 December 2014
KO: 15:15 HT: 9-9 Att: 14,800

HARLEQUINS: Mike Brown, Marland Yarde, Matt Hopper, George Lowe, Aseli Tikoirotuma, Nick Evans, Danny Care, JOE MARLER (C), Dave Ward, Will Collier, Charlie Matthews, George Robson, Luke Wallace, Chris Robshaw, Nick Easter BENCH: Joe Gray, Darryl Marfo, Kyle Sinckler, Sam Twomey, Jack Clifford, Karl Dickson, Tim Swiel, Tom Casson

SCORERS T: Easter, Tikoirotuma C: Swiel P: Evans, Swiel (2)

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney, Darragh Fanning, Gordon D'Arcy, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald, Jimmy Gopperth, Eoin Reddan, Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Rhys Ruddock, Jordi Murphy, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Bryan Byrne, Michael Bent, Tadhg Furlong, Kane Douglas, Jack Conan, Isaac Boss, Noel Reid, Zane Kirchner

SCORERS P: Madigan (6)

Referee: Jérôme Garcès

 

 

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POOL 3

ULSTER RUGBY 24 - 9 SCARLETS

Kingspan Stadium - Saturday 06 December 2014
KO: 19:45 HT: 14-6 Att: 15,946

ULSTER: Louis Ludik, Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Stuart Olding, Craig Gilroy, Ian Humphreys, Ruan Pienaar, Callum Black, RORY BEST (C), Wiehahn Herbst, Dan Tuohy, Franco Van Der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Roger Wilson, Nick Williams BENCH: Rob Herring, Andy Warwick, Declan Fitzpatrick, Alan O'Connor, Clive Ross, Paul Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Michael Allen

SCORERS T: Cave, Pienaar, Bowe, Best C: Humphreys (2) Pienaar

SCARLETS: Liam Williams, Harry Robinson, Regan King, SCOTT WILLIAMS (C), Michael Tagicakibau, Rhys Priestland, Aled Davies, Rob Evans, Emyr Phillips, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Johan Snyman, Aaron Shingler, James Davies, Rory Pitman BENCH: Kirby Myhill, Phil John, Rhodri Jones, George Earle, Lewis Rawlins, Rhodri Williams, Steven Shingler, Gareth Owen

SCORERS P: Priestland (3) James Davies, Liam Williams

Referee: Luke Pearce

 

LEICESTER TIGERS 25 - 21 RC TOULON

Welford Road - Sunday 07 December 2014
KO: 17:30 HT: 13-13 Att: 22,114

TIGERS: Matthew Tait, Blaine Scully, Matt Smith, Anthony Allen, Vereniki Goneva, Owen Williams, BEN YOUNGS (C), Marcos Ayerza, Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Brad Thorn, Graham Kitchener, Jamie Gibson, Julian Salvi, Jordan Crane BENCH: Leonardo Ghiraldini, Michele Rizzo, Fraser Balmain, Geoff Parling, Robert Barbieri, Sam Harrison, Freddie Burns, Miles Benjamin

SCORERS T: Thorn C: Williams P: Williams (6)

TOULON: Delon Armitage, Drew Mitchell, Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz, Bryan Habana, Nicolas Sanchez, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Xavier Chiocci, Guilhem Guirado, Martin Castrogiovanni, Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Mamuka Gorgodze, Steffon Armitage, CHRIS MASOE (C) BENCH: Jean-Charles Orioli, Florian Fresia, Carl Hayman, Juan Smith, Rudi Wulf, Jocelino Suta, Eric Escande, Romain Taofifenua

SCORERS T: Habana, Mitchell C: Sanchez P: Sanchez (3)
 
Referee: Nigel Owens

 

 

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POOL 4

MONTPELLIER 5 - 30 BATH RUGBY

Altrad Stadium - Friday 05 December 2014
KO: 20:45 HT: 0-23 Att: 5,000

MONTPELLIER: Benjamin Fall, Yohann Artru, Rene Ranger, Wynand Olivier, Lucas Dupont, Enzo Selponi, Benoit Paillaugue, Yvan Watremez, Thomas Bianchin, Pat Cilliers, Robins Tchale Watchou, THIBAUT PRIVAT (C), Antoine Battut, Kelian Galletier, Alex Tulou BENCH: Charles Geli, Na'ama Leleimalefaga, David Attoub, Tom Donnelly, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Teddy Iribaren, Jonathan Pelissie, Benoit Sicart

SCORERS T: Tulou Battut, Privat, Geli

BATH: Anthony Watson, Horacio Agulla, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Matt Banahan, George Ford, Chris Cook, Nick Auterac, Ross Batty, Henry Thomas, STUART HOOPER (C), Dominic Day, David Sisi, Carl Fearns, Leroy Houston BENCH: Rob Webber, Paul James, David Wilson, David Attwood, Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Peter Stringer, Ollie Devoto, Sam Burgess

SCORERS T: Thomas, PT, Houston C: Ford (3) P: Ford (2) DG: Ford Hooper

Referee: Ian Davies

 

TOULOUSE 19 - 11 GLASGOW WARRIORS 

Stade Ernest Wallon - Sunday 07 December 2014
KO: 16:15 HT: 9-3 Att: 16,670

TOULOUSE: Clément Poitrenaud, Vincent Clerc, Yann David , Gael Fickou, Maxime Médard, Jean-Marc Doussain, Sébastien Bézy, Vasil Kakovin, Corey Flynn, Census Johnston, Joe Tekori, Yoann Maestri, YANNICK NYANGA (C), Imanol Harinordoquy, Louis Picamoles BENCH: Julien Marchand, Kisi Pulu, Nemiah Tialata, Thierry Dusautoir, Edwin Maka, Jano Vermaak, Florian Fritz, Yoann Huget

SCORERS T: Medard C: Bezy P: Bezy (4)

WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Alex Dunbar, Peter Horne, Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Henry Pyrgos, Ryan Grant, Pat MacArthur, Jon Welsh, Leone Nakarawa, Jonny Gray, Robert Harley, Chris Fusaro, JOSH STRAUSS (C) BENCH: Fraser Brown, Gordon Reid, Rossouw de Klerk, Tim Swinson, Ryan Wilson, Niko Matawalu, Duncan Weir, Richie Vernon

SCORERS T: Matawalu P: Russell (2) Russell, Nakarawa

Referee: John Lacey

 

 

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POOL 5

BENETTON TREVISO 15 - 38 NORTHAMPTON

Stadio Comunale di Monigo - Saturday 06 December 2014
KO: 14:00 HT: 3-12 Att: 3,786

TREVISO: Jayden Hayward, Simone Ragusi, Michele Campagnaro, Samuel John Christie, Ludovico Nitoglia, Joe Carlisle, Alberto Lucchese, Matteo Muccignat, Davide Giazzon, Salesi Manu, Francesco Minto, ANTONIO PAVANELLO (C), Simone Favaro, Alessandro Zanni, Dean Budd BENCH: Amar Kudin, Matteo Zanusso, Romulo Acosta, Marco Fuser, Tomas Vallejos, Marco Barbini, Luca Morisi, Edoardo Gori

SCORERS T: Nitoglia, Carlisle C: Carlisle P: Carlisle Minto, Acosta

SAINTS: Ben Foden, Ken Pisi, Tom Stephenson, Luther Burrell, Jamie Elliott, Steve Myler, Lee Dickson, Alex Waller, Mikey Haywood, Salesi Ma'afu, Sam Dickinson, Christian Day, Calum Clark, Phil Dowson, Samu Manoa BENCH: Dylan Hartley, Ethan Waller, Gareth Denman, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Kahn Fotuali'i, George Pisi, James Wilson

SCORERS T: Manoa, Alex Waller, Foden, Burrell, PT, George Pisi C: Myler (4)

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon

 

OSPREYS 19 - 19 RACING MÉTRO 92

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 06 December 2014
KO: 15:15 HT: 6-16 Att: 7,164

OSPREYS: Daniel Evans, Thomas Grabham, Ashley Beck, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Marc Thomas, Scott Baldwin, Dmitri Arhip, Lloyd Peers, ALUN-WYN JONES (C), James King, Justin Tipuric, Tyler Ardron BENCH: Sam Parry, Gareth Thomas, Dan Suter, Rynier Bernardo, Sam Lewis, Martin Roberts, Sam Davies , Hanno Dirksen

SCORERS T: Matavesi C: Biggar P: Biggar (4) King

RACING: Benjamin Lapeyre, Adrien Planté, Casey Laulala, Alexandre Dumoulin, Marc Andreu, Johannes Goosen, Mike Phillips, Eddy Ben Arous, DIMITRI SZARZEWSKI (C), Luc Ducalcon, Juandré Kruger, Francois van der Merwe, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Antonie Claassen BENCH: Virgile Lacombe, Julien Brugnaut, Walter Desmaison, Luke Charteris, Camille Gerondeau, Maxime Machenaud, Yoan Audrin, Benjamin Dambielle

SCORERS T: van der Merwe C: Goosen P: Goosen (3) DG: Goosen

Referee: JP Doyle

 

 

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THE ultra-competitive European Rugby Champions Cup really bared its teeth with seven out of the 20 clubs sitting on two wins after the opening rounds, but with not one of Europe's elite having the luxury of a maximum 10 points as the tournament takes a breather until December.

Glasgow Warriors proudly lead the way on nine points after backing up their record-breaking success against Bath Rugby with a priceless 15-13 Pool 4 victory over Montpellier at the Altrad Stadium. Six other clubs – Munster Rugby, Harlequins, Leinster Rugby, RC Toulon, Toulouse and Racing Métro 92 – are on eight points and are right in the mix for qualification for the knockout stage.

Six of the 10 games produced away wins with Leinster overcoming Castres at Stade Pierre Antoine, Harlequins eclipsing Wasps at Adams Park, Toulon outmuscling Ulster by three tries to one at Kingspan Stadium, Toulouse getting the better of Bath Rugby at the Rec and Racing proving too strong for Benetton Treviso at Stadio Monigo, while Glasgow did the business in Montpellier.

With defences on top, only two clubs managed four-try bonus points and while a modest George North was quick to pay tribute to his teammates, the powerhouse Northampton Saints wing was magnificent in scoring all four in the 34-6 Pool 5 win over Ospreys at Franklin's Gardens to become only the second Saints player to manage the feat in Europe's top flight after Paul Diggin who ran in a rare quartet against Edinburgh Rugby in the 2010/11 season.

ASM Clermont Auvergne also secured a winning bonus point with four tries in the convincing 35-3 home win over Sale Sharks in front of 17,591 fans at a typically boisterous Stade Marcel-Michelin. Two of those were scored were scored by wing Naipolioni Nalaga bringing his total in Europe's top club competition to 25 and earning him an EPCR Elite Award.

Although history has shown that much can happen between now and the end of the pool stage – in particular during the key back-to-back matches in Rounds 3 and 4 – the noose has tightened just that bit for Sale, Wasps, Castres, Ulster, Bath, Montpellier and Treviso who are all without a win to date.

If the likes of Toulon, Toulouse, Munster and Leinster, for whom Ian Madigan kicked all 21 points, laid down a marker with impressive successes, Scarlets bounced back from a Round 1 defeat at Stade Mayol with a battling 15-3 home victory over Leicester Tigers to keep themselves in the hunt in Pool 3.

RESULTS

POOL 1

MUNSTER RUGBY 14 - 3 SARACENS

Thomond Park - Friday 24 October 2014
KO: 19:45 HT: 3-3 Att: 26,000

MUNSTER: Felix Jones, Andrew Conway, Andrew Smith, Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo, Ian Keatley, Conor Murray, James Cronin, Duncan Casey, BJ Botha, Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell, PETER O'MAHONY (C), Tommy O'Donnell, CJ Stander BENCH: Eusebio Guinazu, Dave Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Robin Copeland, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Gerhard van den Heever

SCORERS T: Kilcoyne P: Keatley (2) DG: Keatley

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Marcelo Bosch, BRAD BARRITT (C), David Strettle, Owen Farrell, Neil de Kock, Richard Barrington, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, George Kruis, Jim Hamilton, Kelly Brown, Will Fraser, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Scott Spurling, Rhys Gill, James Johnston, Mouritz Botha, Jackson Wray, Richard Wigglesworth, Charlie Hodgson, Duncan Taylor

SCORERS P: Farrell Gill

Referee: Jérôme Garcès

 

CLERMONT AUVERGNE 35 - 3 SALE SHARKS

Stade Marcel-Michelin - Sunday 26 October 2014
KO: 16:15 HT: 13-3 Att: 17,591

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Naipolioni Nalaga, Camille Lopez, Ludovic Radosavljevic, Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Clément Ric, Jamie Cudmore, Loic Jacquet, JULIEN BONNAIRE (C), Alexandre Lapandry, Fritz Lee BENCH: Ti'i Paulo, Vincent Debaty, Daniel Kotze, Sébastien Vahaamahina, Vito Kolelishvili, Thierry Lacrampe, Brock James, Aurélien Rougerie

SCORERS T: Abendanon, Nalaga (2), Rougerie C: Lopez (3) P: Lopez (3)

SHARKS: Michael Haley, Tom Brady, Johnny Leota, Sam Tuitupou, Tom Arscott, Danny Cipriani, Will Cliff, Eifion Lewis-Roberts, Marc Jones, Vadim Cobilas, Jon Mills, Michael Paterson, Magnus Lund, DAVID SEYMOUR (C), Mark Easter BENCH: Shalva Mamukashvili, Alberto de Marchi, Ross Harrison, Andrei Ostrikov, Dan Braid, Nathan Fowles, Joe Ford, Andy Forsyth

SCORERS P: Cipriani

Referee: George Clancy

 

 

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POOL 2

CASTRES OLYMPIQUE 16 - 21 LEINSTER

Stade Pierre Antoine - Sunday 26 October 2014
KO: 14:00 HT: 7-9 Att: 9,387

CASTRES: Geoffrey Palis, Max Evans, Christopher Tuatara, Romain Cabannes, Remi Grosso, REMI TALES (C), Cedric Garcia, Saimone Taumoepeau, Brice Mach, Ramiro Herrera, Richie Gray, Rodrigo Capo Ortega, Piula Faasalele, Yannick Caballero, Jannie Bornman BENCH: Mathieu Bonello, Mihaita Lazar, Yohan Montes, Christophe Samson, Mathieu Babillot, Romain Martial, Julien Dumora, Antoine Dupont

SCORERS T: Taumoepeau C: Palis P: Palis (3)

LEINSTER RUGBY: Zane Kirchner, Darragh Fanning, Gordon D'Arcy, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald, Jimmy Gopperth, Isaac Boss, Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Michael Bent, Devin Toner, Kane Douglas, Rhys Ruddock, Dominic Ryan, JAMIE HEASLIP (C) BENCH: Richardt Strauss, Ed Byrne, Tadhg Furlong, Mike McCarthy, Jack Conan, Eoin Reddan, Noel Reid, Mick McGrath

SCORERS P: Madigan (7)

Referee: Greg Garner

 

WASPS 16 - 23 HARLEQUINS

Adams Park - Sunday 26 October 2014
KO: 17:15 HT: 10-13 Att: 6,739

WASPS: Andrea Masi, Christian Wade, Elliott Daly, Alapati Leiua, Tom Varndell, Andy Goode, Joe Simpson, MATT MULLAN (C), Carlo Festuccia, Lorenzo Cittadini, Joe Launchbury, Bradley Davies, Ashley Johnson, Sam Jones, Nathan Hughes BENCH: Tom Lindsay, Simon McIntyre, Phil Swainston, James Gaskell, Tom Young, Charlie Davies, Rob Miller, Chris Bell

SCORERS T: Simpson C: Goode P: Goode (3)

HARLEQUINS: Mike Brown, Marland Yarde, Matt Hopper, George Lowe, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Nick Evans, Danny Care, Mark Lambert, Dave Ward, Kyle Sinckler, Charlie Matthews, George Robson, Luke Wallace, CHRIS ROBSHAW (C), Nick Easter BENCH: Rob Buchanan, Darryl Marfo, Will Collier, Sam Twomey, Joe Trayfoot, Karl Dickson, Jordan Turner-Hall, Ollie Lindsay-Hague

SCORERS T: Matthews, PT C: Evans (2) P: Evans (3)

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

 

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POOL 3

ULSTER RUGBY 13 - 23 RC TOULON

Kingspan Stadium - Saturday 25 October 2014
KO: 13:00 HT: 3-16 Att: 16,931

ULSTER: Louis Ludik, Tommy Bowe, Jared Payne, Stuart Olding, Craig Gilroy, Paddy Jackson, Paul Marshall, Andy Warwick, RORY BEST (C), Wiehahn Herbst, Lewis Stevenson, Franco Van Der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Roger Wilson BENCH: Rob Herring, Callum Black, Declan Fitzpatrick, Clive Ross, Nick Williams, Michael Heaney, Ian Humphreys, Darren Cave

SCORERS T: Gilroy C: Jackson P: Jackson (2)

TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny, Delon Armitage, Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz, Bryan Habana, Matt Giteau, Michael Claassens, Alexandre Menini, Guilhem Guirado, CARL HAYMAN (C), Jocelino Suta, Romain Taofifenua, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Steffon Armitage, Chris Masoe BENCH: Craig Burden, Fabien Barcella, Levan Chilachava, Bakkies Botha, James O'Connor, Ali Williams, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Juan Smith

SCORERS T: Habana, Delon Armitage C: Halfpenny (2) P: Halfpenny (3) Habana

Referee: Wayne Barnes

 

SCARLETS 15 - 3 LEICESTER TIGERS

Parc y Scarlets - Saturday 25 October 2014
KO: 19:45 HT: 8-3 Att: 8,235

SCARLETS: Liam Williams, Harry Robinson, Michael Tagicakibau, SCOTT WILLIAMS (C), Kristian Phillips, Rhys Priestland, Aled Davies, Rob Evans, Emyr Phillips, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Johan Snyman, Aaron Shingler, John Barclay, Rory Pitman BENCH: Kirby Myhill, Phil John, Rhodri Jones, Lewis Rawlins, James Davies, Rhodri Williams, Steven Shingler, Jordan Williams

SCORERS T: Robinson, Aled Davies C: Steve Shingler P: Steve Shingler

TIGERS: Matthew Tait, Blaine Scully, Vereniki Goneva, Anthony Allen, Miles Benjamin, Owen Williams, BEN YOUNGS (C), Marcos Ayerza, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Fraser Balmain, Brad Thorn, Graham Kitchener, Jamie Gibson, Julian Salvi, Jordan Crane BENCH: Harry Thacker, Michele Rizzo, Tiziano Pasquali, Sebastian De Chaves, Robert Barbieri, David Mele, Freddie Burns, Matt Smith

SCORERS P: Williams

Referee: John Lacey

 

 

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POOL 4

BATH RUGBY 19 - 21 TOULOUSE

The Rec - Saturday 25 October 2014
KO: 15:15 HT: 6-7 Att: 13,360

BATH: Anthony Watson, Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Ollie Devoto, Horacio Agulla, George Ford, Chris Cook, Paul James, Rob Webber, David Wilson, STUART HOOPER (C), David Attwood, Dominic Day, David Sisi, Charlie Ewels BENCH: Ross Batty, Nathan Catt, Henry Thomas, Tom Ellis, Guy Mercer, Peter Stringer, Gavin Henson, Olly Woodburn

SCORERS T: Batty C: Ford P: Ford (3) DG: Ford

TOULOUSE: Maxime Médard, Vincent Clerc, Florian Fritz, Luke McAlister, Yoann Huget, Toby Flood, Sébastien Bézy, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Corey Flynn, Census Johnston, Yoann Maestri, Patricio Albacete, THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C), Imanol Harinordoquy, Louis Picamoles BENCH: Julien Marchand, Kisi Pulu, Cyril Baille, Joe Tekori, Edwin Maka, Timoci Matanavou, Jano Vermaak, Yannick Nyanga

SCORERS T: Clerc, Harinordoquy, Medard C: Flood (2), McAlister

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

MONTPELLIER 13 - 15 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Altrad Stadium - Saturday 25 October 2014
KO: 18:15 HT: 6-9 Att: 11,089

MONTPELLIER: Benjamin Fall, Timoci Nagusa, Rene Ranger, Robert Ebersohn, Viriviri Nasagavesi, Enzo Selponi, Benoit Paillaugue, Yvan Watremez, Mickael Ivaldi, Chris King, Tom Donnelly, Sitaleki Timani, Kelian Galletier, Akapusi Qera, ALEX TULOU (C) BENCH: Thomas Bianchin, Mikheil Nariashvili, Nicolas Mas, Thibaut Privat, Alexandre Bias, Teddy Iribaren, Wynand Olivier, Pierre Berard

SCORERS  T: PT C: Iribaren P: Paillaugue (2) Ebersohn

WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Mark Bennett, Alex Dunbar, Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Henry Pyrgos, Gordon Reid, Pat MacArthur, Euan Murray, Tim Swinson, Jonny Gray, Robert Harley, Chris Fusaro, JOSH STRAUSS (C) BENCH: Fraser Brown, Alex Allan, Rossouw de Klerk, Leone Nakarawa, Adam Ashe, Niko Matawalu, Duncan Weir, DTH van der Merwe

SCORERS P: Russell (5)

Referee: JP Doyle

 

 

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POOL 5

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 34 - 6 OSPREYS

Franklin's Gardens - Saturday 25 October 2014
KO: 17:15 HT: 20-3 Att: 13,362

SAINTS: Ben Foden, Ken Pisi, James Wilson, Luther Burrell, George North, Steve Myler, Lee Dickson, Alex Waller, DYLAN HARTLEY (C), Salesi Ma'afu, Courtney Lawes, Christian Day, Calum Clark, Tom Wood, Samu Manoa BENCH: Mikey Haywood, Ethan Waller, Gareth Denman, James Craig, Phil Dowson, Kahn Fotuali'i, Will Hooley, Jamie Elliott

SCORERS T: North (4) C: Myler (4) P: Myler (2)

OSPREYS: Daniel Evans, Jeff Hassler, Andrew Bishop, Josh Matavesi, Hanno Dirksen, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Nicky Smith, Scott Baldwin, Dmitri Arhip, Lloyd Peers, ALUN-WYN JONES (C), James King, Justin Tipuric, Joe Bearman BENCH: Sam Parry, Duncan Jones, Aaron Jarvis, Rynier Bernardo, Morgan Allen, Sam Lewis, Martin Roberts, Sam Davies

SCORERS P: Biggar (2)

Referee: Romain Poite

 

BENETTON TREVISO 10 - 26 RACING MÉTRO 92

Stadio Comunale di Monigo - Sunday 26 October 2014
KO: 18:15 HT: 3-6 Att: 3,711

TREVISO: Jayden Hayward, Simone Ragusi, Michele Campagnaro, Luca Morisi, Ludovico Nitoglia, Samuel John Christie, Edoardo Gori, Matteo Zanusso, Davide Giazzon, Rupert Harden, ANTONIO PAVANELLO (C), Marco Fuser, Simone Favaro, Meyer Swanepoel, Alessandro Zanni BENCH: Amar Kudin, Albert Alfred Anae, Romulo Acosta, Tomas Vallejos, Mathew Henry Luamanu, Marco Barbini, Enrico Bacchin, James Ambrosini

SCORERS T: Nitoglia C: Hayward P: Hayward

RACING: Brice Dulin, Juan Imhoff, Henry Chavancy, Jamie Roberts, Teddy Thomas, Jonny Sexton, MAXIME MACHENAUD (C), Eddy Ben Arous, Virgile Lacombe, Brian Mujati, Juandré Kruger, Luke Charteris, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Antonie Claassen BENCH: Jeremie Maurouard, Julien Brugnaut, Luc Ducalcon, Thibault Dubarry, Camille Gerondeau, Mike Phillips, Johannes Goosen, Yoan Audrin

SCORERS T: Chavancy, Lauret C: Sexton (2) P: Sexton (4)

Referee: Luke Pearce

 

 

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THE European Rugby Champions Cup duly took its place in the hearts and minds of clubs and supporters alike as Round 1 of EPCR's new tournament delivered more than its share of fiercely-contested games, nerve-tingling conclusions and moments of sheer brilliance.

The 10 matches in the inaugural weekend produced over 450 points with an average of 4.7 tries per game to continue a tradition forged during the past 19 years of world-class competition.

Saracens, Glasgow Warriors and Ospreys registered bonus-point wins, while Munster Rugby were the only club to win on the road with their dramatic 27-26 victory over Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium coming courtesy of a nerveless last-play drop goal by out-half Ian Keatley.

As ever in Europe's top flight, there were landmark moments with Danny Care scoring the first Champions Cup try during Harlequins' 25-9 Pool 2 success over Castres Olympique at the Twickenham Stoop on the opening night.

Care was on the end of a perceptive Nick Evans kick ahead for his try in the 65th minute and now goes into the history books alongside Toulouse back row, Jean-Luc Cester, who scored the first Heineken Cup try in the Romanian town of Constanta in 1995.

Gordon D'Arcy of Leinster Rugby became the fourth player to make 100 European appearances (99 in Europe's premier club tournament and one in the Challenge Cup) when he started in the 25-20 Pool 2 win over Wasps at the RDS Arena. D'Arcy joins an elite band which includes Munster duo, Ronan O'Gara and John Hayes, as well as Peter Stringer (Munster and Bath Rugby) to have passed the century mark.

Chris Ashton, who set a new tournament record of 11 tries in a season in 2013/14, brought his total to an impressive 13 in his last 10 games in Europe when crossing for two in Saracens' 30-23 impressive home success against Pool 1 rivals ASM Clermont Auvergne.

Meanwhile, Tommy Bowe brought his try total in Europe's top flight to 25 (nine for Ulster Rugby and 16 for Ospreys) when he finished off a scintillating move in Ulster's losing bonus point defeat by Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.

With Sale, Clermont, Wasps and Montpellier also registering losing bonus points, the pools are certain to be as competitive as ever come the Round 6 pool stage conclusion in January.

If Munster and Keatley stole most of the drama headlines, there were significant wins for Toulouse over Top 14 rivals Montpellier, for Racing Metro 92 who deprived Aviva Premiership champions, Northampton Saints, of a losing bonus point when Johannes Goosen converted Marc Andreu's try at the death, and for Ospreys who remain the only unbeaten club in Europe following their 42-7 victory over Benetton Treviso.

However, the Performance of the Weekend accolade probably goes to Glasgow Warriors who scored five tries on the way to crushing Bath Rugby 37-10 in Pool 4 at Scotstoun. Glasgow will now travel with justifiable confidence to Montpellier next Saturday, while Bath have to regroup in advance of Toulouse's visit to the Rec.

The new tournament is up and running, and if the first weekend is anything to go by, the future is bright.

RESULTS

POOL 1

SALE SHARKS 26 - 27 MUNSTER RUGBY

AJ Bell Stadium - Saturday 18 October 2014
KO: 13:00 HT: 23-7 Att: 9,879

SHARKS: Michael Haley, Tom Brady, Johnny Leota, Sam Tuitupou, Tom Arscott, Danny Cipriani, Chris Cusiter, Eifion Lewis-Roberts, Marc Jones, Vadim Cobilas, Jon Mills, Michael Paterson, Magnus Lund, David Seymour (C), Mark Easter BENCH: Shalva Mamukashvili, Ross Harrison, Alberto de Marchi, Andrei Ostrikov, Josh Beaumont, Will Cliff, Joe Ford, Mark Jennings

SCORERS T: Lund, Leota C: Cipriani (2) P: Cipriani (4)

MUNSTER : Felix Jones, Andrew Conway, Andrew Smith, Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo, Ian Keatley, Conor Murray, Dave Kilcoyne, Duncan Casey, Stephen Archer, Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell, Peter O'Mahony (C), Tommy O'Donnell, CJ Stander BENCH: Eusebio Guinazu, James Cronin, BJ Botha, Billy Holland, Robin Copeland, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Gerhard van den Heever

SCORERS T: Kilcoyne, Conway, Murray C: Keatley (3) P: Keatley DG: Keatley O'Donnell

Referee: Mathieu Raynal

 

SARACENS 30 - 23 CLERMONT AUVERGNE

Allianz Park - Saturday 18 October 2014
KO: 15:15 HT: 10-10 Att: 9,902

SARACENS: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Chris Wyles, Brad Barritt, David Strettle, Charlie Hodgson, Richard Wigglesworth, Richard Barrington, Jamie George, Petrus du Plessis, George Kruis, Alistair Hargreaves (C), Kelly Brown, Will Fraser, Billy Vunipola BENCH: Schalk Brits, Rhys Gill, James Johnston, Jim Hamilton, Jackson Wray, Neil de Kock, Owen Farrell, Marcelo Bosch

SCORERS T: Ashton (2), Strettle (2) C: Hodgson (2) P: Hodgson (2)

CLERMONT: Nick Abendanon, Noa Nakaitaci, Aurélien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana, Zac Guildford, Camille Lopez, Ludovic Radoslavjevic, Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Davit Zirakashvili, Jamie Cudmore, Sébastien Vahaamahina, Fritz Lee, Julien Bonnaire, Damien Chouly (C) BENCH: John Ulugia, Raphael Chaume, Clément Ric, Loic Jacquet, Julien Bardy, Thierry Lacrampe, Brock James, Benson Stanley

SCORERS T: Guildford (2) C: Lopez (2) P: Lopez (2) DG: Lopez

Referee: John Lacey

 

 

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POOL 2

HARLEQUINS 25 - 9 CASTRES OLYMPIQUE

The Twickenham Stoop - Friday 17 October 2014
KO: 19:45 HT: 3-3 Att: 12,618

HARLEQUINS: Mike Brown, Marland Yarde, Matt Hopper, George Lowe, Aseli Tikoirotuma, Nick Evans, Danny Care, Joe Marler (C), Dave Ward, Will Collier, Charlie Matthews, George Robson, Luke Wallace, Chris Robshaw, Nick Easter BENCH: Rob Buchanan, Mark Lambert, Kyle Sinckler, Sam Twomey, Joe Trayfoot, Karl Dickson, Jordan Turner-Hall, Ollie Lindsay- Hague

SCORERS T: Care C: Evans P: Evans (6)

CASTRES: Geoffrey Palis, Max Evans, Christopher Tuatara, Thomas Combezou, Remi Grosso, Remi Tales (C), Rory Kockott, Saimone Taumoepeau, Brice Mach, Yohan Montes, Richie Gray, Piula Faasalele, Ibrahim Diarra, William Whetton, Jannie Bornman BENCH: Marc-Antoine Rallier, Mihaita Lazar, Paea Faanunu, Mathieu Babillot, Christophe Samson, Julien Dumora, Romain Cabannes, Cedric Garcia

SCORERS P: Kockott (3)

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 25 - 20 WASPS

RDS Arena - Sunday 19 October 2014
KO: 17:15 HT: 11-20 Att: 17,558

LEINSTER: Ian Madigan, Zane Kirchner, Gordon D'Arcy, Noel Reid, Darragh Fanning, Jimmy Gopperth, Eoin Reddan, Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Michael Bent, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Rhys Ruddock, Dominic Ryan, Jamie Heaslip (C) BENCH: Richardt Strauss, Ed Byrne, Tadhg Furlong, Kane Douglas, Jack Conan, Isaac Boss, Mick McGrath, Luke Fitzgerald

SCORERS T: Fanning (2), Ryan C: Madigan (2) P: Madigan (2)

WASPS: Andrea Masi, Christian Wade, Elliott Daly, Alapati Leiua, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Andy Goode, Joe Simpson, Matt Mullan (C), Carlo Festuccia, Lorenzo Cittadini, Joe Launchbury, Bradley Davies, Ashley Johnson, Guy Thompson BENCH: Tom Lindsay, Simon McIntyre, Jake Cooper-Woolley, James Gaskell, Sam Jones, Charlie Davies, Rob Miller, Chris Bell

SCORERS T : Leiua, Wade C: Goode (2) P: Goode (2)

Referee: Leighton Hodges

 

 

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POOL 3

LEICESTER TIGERS 25 - 18 ULSTER RUGBY

Welford Road - Saturday 18 October 2014
KO: 19:45 HT: 19-3 Att: 19,943

TIGERS: Matthew Tait, Blaine Scully, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Williams, Vereniki Goneva, Freddie Burns, Ben Youngs (C), Marcos Ayerza, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Fraser Balmain, Brad Thorn, Graham Kitchener, Jamie Gibson, Julian Salvi, Jordan Crane BENCH: Harry Thacker, Michele Rizzo, Tiziano Pasquali, Sebastian De Chaves, Robert Barbieri, David Mele, Sam Harrison, Miles Benjamin

SCORERS T: Williams, Kitchener, Burns C: Burns, Williams P: Williams (2)

ULSTER: Louis Ludik, Tommy Bowe, Jared Payne, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Paddy Jackson, Paul Marshall, Andy Warwick, Rory Best (C), Wiehahn Herbst, Lewis Stevenson, Franco Van Der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Nick Williams BENCH: Rob Herring, Callum Black, Declan Fitzpatrick, Clive Ross, Roger Wilson, Michael Heaney, Stuart Olding, Darren Cave

SCORERS T: Bowe, van der Merwe C: Jackson P: Jackson (2) Gilroy

Referee: Romain Poite

 

RC TOULON 28 - 18 SCARLETS

Stade Félix Mayol - Sunday 19 October 2014
KO: 16:15 HT: 18-13 Att: 14,391

TOULON: Leigh Halfpenny, David Smith, Mathieu Bastareaud, Maxime Mermoz, Bryan Habana, Matt Giteau, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Xavier Chiocci, Jean-Charles Orioli, Carl Hayman (C), Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Juan Smith, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Steffon Armitage BENCH: Guilhem Guirado, Alexandre Menini, Levan Chilachava, Chris Masoe, James O'Connor, Rudi Wulf, Michael Claassens, Romain Taofifenua

SCORERS  T: Giteau, Mermoz, Armitage C: Halfpenny (2) P: Halfpenny (3)

SCARLETS: Liam Williams, Harry Robinson, Michael Tagicakibau, Scott Williams (C), Kristian Phillips, Rhys Priestland, Aled Davies, Rob Evans, Emyr Phillips, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Johan Snyman, Aaron Shingler, John Barclay, Rory Pitman BENCH: Kirby Myhill, Phil John, Rhodri Jones, George Earle, James Davies, Rhodri Williams, Steven Shingler, Jordan Williams

SCORERS T: Barclay, Kristian Phillips C: Priestland P: Priestland (2) Pitman, Emyr Phillips

Referee: JP Doyle

 

 

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POOL 4

GLASGOW WARRIORS 37 - 10 BATH RUGBY

Scotstoun Stadium - Saturday 18 October 2014
KO: 15:15 HT: 23-10 Att: 6,746

WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Mark Bennett, Peter Horne, Tommy Seymour, Duncan Weir, Henry Pyrgos (C), Gordon Reid, Pat MacArthur, Euan Murray, Leone Nakarawa, Jonny Gray, Robert Harley, Chris Fusaro, Adam Ashe BENCH: Doug Hall, Jerry Yanuyanutawa, Rossouw de Klerk, Tim Swinson, Tyrone Holmes, Niko Matawalu, Finn Russell, DTH van der Merwe

SCORERS T: Bennett (2), Maitland, Seymour, Matawalu C: Weir (3) P: Weir (2)

BATH: Gavin Henson, Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Anthony Watson, George Ford, Micky Young, Nick Auterac, Ross Batty, Henry Thomas, Stuart Hooper (C), David Attwood, Dominic Day, Guy Mercer, David Sisi BENCH: Rob Webber, Paul James, David Wilson, Charlie Ewels, Tom Ellis, Peter Stringer, Ollie Devoto, Horacio Agulla

SCORERS T: Joseph C: Ford P: Ford

Referee: Jérôme Garcès

 

TOULOUSE 30 - 23 MONTPELLIER

Stade Ernest Wallon - Sunday 19 October 2014
KO: 14:00 HT: 13-10 Att: 14,500

TOULOUSE: Maxime Médard, Timoci Matanavou, Florian Fritz, Gael Fickou, Yoann Huget, Luke McAlister, Jean-Marc Doussain, Gurthro Steenkamp, Corey Flynn, Nemiah Tialata, Joe Tekori, Yoann Maestri, Yacouba Camara, Thierry Dusautoir (C), Imanol Harinordoquy BENCH: Julien Marchand, Kisi Pulu, Census Johnston, Patricio Albacete, Edwin Maka, Sébastien Bézy, Toby Flood, Vincent Clerc

SCORERS T: Huget (2), Doussain C: McAlister, Flood (2) P: McAlister (2), Flood Johnston

MONTPELLIER: Benjamin Fall, Timoci Nagusa, Rene Ranger, Wynand Olivier, Viriviri Nasagavesi, Enzo Selponi, Teddy Iribaren, Mikheil Nariashvili, Mickael Ivaldi, Nicolas Mas, Sitaleki Timani, Thibaut Privat (C), Alexandre Bias, Akapusi Qera, Ben Mowen BENCH: Charles Geli, Yvan Watremez, Chris King, Robins Tchale Watchou, Kelian Galletier, Benoit Paillaugue, Anthony Tuitavke, Benoit Sicart

SCORERS T: Nagusa, Olivier C: Iribarent, Selponi P: Iribarent (2), Paillaugue Iribarent

Referee: Wayne Barnes

 

 

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POOL 5

RACING MÉTRO 20 - 11 NORTHAMPTON

Stade Yves-du-Manoir - Saturday 18 October 2014
KO: 18:15 HT: 10-3 Att: 9,180

RACING: Brice Dulin, Juan Imhoff, Alexandre Dumoulin, Jamie Roberts, Marc Andreu, Jonny Sexton, Maxime Machenaud, Julien Brugnaut, Virgile Lacombe, Luc Ducalcon, Juandre Kruger, Francois van der Merwe (C), Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Antonie Claassen BENCH: Jeremie Maurouard, Eddy Ben Arous, Brian Mujati, Luke Charteris, Camille Gerondeau, Mike Phillips, Johannes Goosen, Yoan Audrin

SCORERS T: Dumoulin, Andreu C: Sexton, Goosen P: Sexton (2) Brugnaut, Ben Arous

SAINTS: Ben Foden, Ken Pisi, George Pisi, Luther Burrell, George North, Steve Myler, Kahn Fotuali'i, Alex Waller, Dylan Hartley (C), Salesi Ma'afu, Courtney Lawes, Christian Day, Calum Clark, Tom Wood, Samu Manoa BENCH: Mikey Haywood, Ethan Waller, Gareth Denman, James Craig, Phil Dowson, Lee Dickson, James Wilson, Jamie Elliott

SCORERS T: Dowson P: Myler (2)

Referee: George Clancy

 

OSPREYS 42 - 7 BENETTON TREVISO

Liberty Stadium - Sunday 19 October 2014
KO: 13:00 HT: 23-0 Att: 7,625

OSPREYS: Daniel Evans, Jeff Hassler, Andrew Bishop, Josh Matavesi, Eli Walker, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Nicky Smith, Scott Baldwin, Dmitri Arhip, Lloyd Peers, Alun-Wyn Jones (C), James King, Sam Lewis, Dan Baker BENCH: Scott Otten, Duncan Jones, Aaron Jarvis, Rynier Bernardo, Joe Bearman, Justin Tipuric, Martin Roberts, Sam Davies

SCORERS T: Hassler, Webb, Evans (2), Baker C: Biggar (4) P: Biggar (3)

TREVISO: Jayden Hayward, Angelo Esposito, Luca Morisi, Enrico Bacchin, Ludovico Nitoglia, Joe Carlisle, Alberto Lucchese, Matteo Zanusso, Albert Alfred Anae, Rupert Harden, Antonio Pavanello (C), Tomas Vallejos, Simone Favaro, Alessandro Zanni, Francesco Minto BENCH: Davide Giazzon, Romulo Acosta, Salesi Manu, Marco Fuser, Meyer Swanepoel, Marco Barbini, Michele Campagnaro, Edoardo Gori

SCORERS T: Nitoglia C: Carlisle Fuser, Manu

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

 

 

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POOL 1
POOL 2
POOL 3
POOL 4
POOL 5

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POOL STAGE DATES

ROUND 1: 16/17/18/19 October 2014
ROUND 2: 23/24/25/26 October 2014
ROUND 3: 4/5/6/7 December 2014
ROUND 4: 11/12/13/14 December 2014
ROUND 5: 15/16/17/18 January 2015
ROUND 6: 22/23/24/25 January 2015

QUARTER FINALS
03/04/05 April 2015

SEMI FINALS
17/18/19 April 2015

CHAMPIONS CUP FINAL
02 MAY 2015 Twickenham KO 17:00

 

 

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