Category: Rugby

Pau held on to seal a 24-21 win over Grenoble before 14-man Toulon ended their drought with a 28-27 victory over champions Castres at Stade Mayol.

Grenoble 21-24 Pau

Pau made it two wins out of three in the Top 14 this term after they beat struggling new boys Grenoble 24-21 at Stade des Alps on Sunday.

Leading 14-6 at the break, the visitors kept their recently promoted hosts at arm’s length until a late score set up a nervy finish for them.

Jesse Mogg got Pau going with a 14th minute crossing before Julien Blanc went over five minutes from the break to give them a handy buffer.

Grenoble responded nine minutes into the second-half when Pablo Uberti crossed, but Lourens Adriaanse hit back for Pau to make it 24-14.

And despite Grenoble number eight Loic Godener scoring with six minutes to play, Pau managed to hold on for an important win on the road.

The scorers:

For Grenoble:
Tries: Uberti, Godener
Con: Pourteau
Pens: Pourteau 3

For Pau:
Tries: Mogg, Blanc, Adriaanse
Cons: Taylor 3
Pen: Taylor
Yellow Card: Pesenti

Grenoble: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Taleta Tupuola, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Daniel Kilioni, 10 Franck Pourteau, 9 Lilian Saseras 8 Loic Godener, 7 Fabien Alexandre, 6 Killian Geraci, 5 Hans Nkinsi, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Mike Tadjer, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16 Duncan Casey, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Francois Uys, 19 Antonin Berruyer, 20 Taiasina Tuifua, 21 Ben Lucas, 22 Raymond Rhule, 23 Ali Oz

Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Jesse Mogg, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Florian Nicot, 11 Frank Halai, 10 Tom Taylor, 9 Julien Blanc, 8 Paddy Butler, 7 Martin Puech, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Baptiste Pesenti, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Laurent Bouchet, 1 Jamie Mackintosh
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Geoffrey Moise, 18 Fabrice Metz, 19 Antoine Erbani, 20 Thibault Daubagna, 21 Antoine Hastoy, 22 Jale Vatubua, 23 Lourens Adriaanse

Referee: Alexandre Ruiz
Assistant referees: Mathieu Noirot, Bruno Gabaldon
Television match official: Éric Briquet Campin

Toulon 28-27 Castres

Toulon claimed their first win of the season on Sunday as they beat Toulon 28-27, this despite Mathieu Bastareaud being red carded late on.

It had looked like being a third straight loss for Patrice Collazo’s men when 27-20 down and with Bastareaud being sent-off for use of the forearm to the head of a Castres player on the ground. However they ground out a victory to get their season up and running at Stade Mayol.

Filipo Nakosi scored the winning try in the 78th minute but for Bastareaud he is surely now set for a spell on the sidelines after his act.

The match began well for Toulon when new signing Liam Messam crossed after just four minutes but wing Martin Laveau responded for Castres.

7-5 became 10-5 to Toulon when fly-half Anthony Belleau slotted a penalty on 15 minutes. However, then Castres found their rhythm with two Benjamin Urdapilleta penalties and scrum-half Rory Kockott’s try pushing the visitors and Top 14 holders into an 18-10 lead on 28 minutes.

Stéphane Onambele Mbarga did reduce the margin to three points when he scored but an Urdapilleta drop-goal meant it was 21-15 at the break.

The always reliable Urdapilleta was on target again early in the second period with two penalty goals either side of a much-needed try for Toulon from loosehead prop Sebastien Taofifenua, which meant Castres were 27-20 up with 28 minutes remaining on the clock at Stade Mayol.

But while Toulon’s hopes were dented with 10 minutes remaining when centre Bastareaud was sent-off, Castres lock Christophe Samson was also yellow carded. Step forward wing Nakosi who took Messam’s pass to sprint over on the right wing to seal a much-needed four points for Toulon.

The scorers:

For Toulon:
Tries: Messam, Mbarga, Taofifenua, Nakosi
Con: Belleau
Pens: Belleau, Carbonel
Red Card: Bastareaud

For Castres:
Tries: Laveau, Kockott
Con: Urdapilleta
Pens: Urdapilleta 4
Drop goal: Urdapilleta
Yellow Cards: Stroe, Samson

Toulon: 15 Jonah Placid, 14 Filipo Nakosi, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Stéphane Onambele Mbarga, 6 Swan Rebbadj, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Anthony Etrillard, 1 Sebastien Taofifenua
Replacements: 16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Jaques Potgieter, 19 Jean Monribot, 20 Malakai Fekitoa, 21 Louis Carbonel, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Emerick Setiano

Castres: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Martin Laveau, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 David Smith, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Camille Gerondeau, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Steve Mafi, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Marc Clerc, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 Kevin Firmin, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Victor Moreaux, 19 Baptiste Delaporte, 20 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 21 Armand Batlle, 22 Florian Vialelle, 23 Paea Fa’anunu

Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon, Richard Duhau
Television match official: Philippe Bonhoure

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Leicester interim head coach Geordan Murphy hailed his players for their support after they beat Newcastle 49-33 at Welford Road on Saturday.

Following Matt O’Connor’s departure, Murphy took over the reins at the Premiership outfit with his first game seeing him face the Falcons.

It resulted in an impressive triumph as a fast start from the Tigers – that gave them lead 40-19 at the break – proved crucial in their win.

“It was a win so I’m pleased with that. We were sloppy at times, but we had a really good start and that put us in control. Overall, I’m pleased but we have plenty to work on,” he told BBC Sport after the home victory.

“The senior players had big games, but we weren’t the finished article today.

“It’s been a tough week, and it’s bound to be after losing the head coach with an interim coming in tweaking a few things, but the players stood up and led really well.

“The support they’ve given me in a tough week has been world class.”

Monday: Sack head coach ??

Saturday: Score FIVE first-half tries ??

So @LeicesterTigers had their bonus point wrapped up after 23 minutes today ?? pic.twitter.com/kbVgUnn9MZ

— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) September 8, 2018

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Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has confirmed that centre Mark Bennett is set to miss part of the season after picking up a hamstring injury in last weekend’s PRO14 match against Ulster.

The 22-times capped Scotland international was stretchered off in the 19th minute of the 30-29 defeat to the Irish province at the Kingspan Stadium.

“He’ll have a scan today, so we’ll know in the next 24 hours, but clearly it’s something quite significant,” Cockerill explained at Monday’s media conference. “The extent of that we don’t know yet.

“He’s on crutches. At the moment we think – it’s yet to be confirmed – that he has ruptured his hamstring at the very top. Similar to the one Tom Brown had last year. If it is completely ruptured it is a serious injury. If it is what we think it is, it will be months.

“I feel very sorry for Mark, because he missed half of last season and now he’s probably going to miss a big chunk of this year. Thankfully it’s nothing to do with his knees.

“People recover from hamstring issues and, as severe as this one is, he will hopefully be fit for the New Year, give or take – we’ll see.

“Mark is over the ball, one guys tries to clean him and does not quite get him and then he gets cleaned again and gets caught with his leg straight and got bent into a position where he got past his flexibility. Something had to give and it was his hamstring. Nothing wrong with the clean-out – it was unfortunate, purely bad luck.”

Cockerill also confirmed that Fijian international Bill Mata picked up a shoulder injury in the defeat to Ulster and is questionable for this weekend’s encounter with Connacht at BT Murrayfield.

However, scrum-half, Henry Pyrgos – who was substituted with a leg injury in Friday’s match – has recovered and is in contention for selection.

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All banter aside, Wallabies assistant coach Stephen Larkham is wary of an improved Argentina side coached by his former colleague Mario Ledesma.

Ledesma had previously been forwards coach of Australia prior to leaving that post to take up a role as head coach of Super Rugby franchise the Jaguares at the beginning of last season.

A whirlwind 12 months later and Ledesma had been appointed Argentina head coach, guiding los Pumas to a memorable victory over the Springboks in Mendoza in only his second game in charge a fortnight ago.

And Larkham was in a playful mood when asked about his former colleague Ledesma whilst speaking to Australian Associated Press on Tuesday ahead of the sides’ Rugby Championship clash at Robina Stadium on Saturday.

“He was here for a couple of years as an assistant coach and, honestly, I don’t know how he’s a head coach now,” Larkham told AAP.

“He struggled as an assistant coach.

“I don’t know what he’s going to come up with this weekend.

“I expect a fair bit of scrummaging, because that’s what he’s good at.

“I can’t see how he’s had the limited success he’s had already.”

Larkham continued the sledging by saying he expected Ledesma to use his previous in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the Wallabies team to mastermind another victory against the odds.

“I’ve seen it already, particularly the scrumming stuff. A lot of the techniques I’d spoken to him about he’s implementing now,” he said.

“It’s going to be an interesting game and something I’m looking forward to watching, probably more so for the number of errors they’re going to make.”

Finally Larkham dropped all pretence and admitted this was an in-form Pumas outfit the Wallabies are wary of.

“As much as we joke about it, these guys are starting to play some good footy under Mario,” Larkham said.

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The All Blacks have been boosted by the news that Sonny Bill Williams, Ryan Crotty and Sam Cane have been passed fit for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash with the Springboks.

After having just had Brodie Retallick and Ngani Laumape ruled out for six and three weeks respectively, the return of three key players comes as timely relief for the world’s number one side.

Williams is the only one of the three not to have played any part in the tournament thus far, but scans have revealed he is ready to return from a shoulder complaint.

“Sonny had his scan yesterday and he’s all clear, ready to go, but he was sick this morning so he didn’t train, but the good news is his scan’s all clear,” coach Ian Foster told Reuters on Tuesday.

“He’s in contention to play, it’s just some bug or something.

Meanwhile, Crotty and Cane have been cleared of concussion symptoms and are also back in contention.

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Check out the video highlights from Round Two of the Premiership season.

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With the dust having settled on Round Three of the Rugby Championship, we’ve studied the action to pick our standout players from the weekend.

After making it three wins from three, there’s nine All Blacks in our side with three apiece from the Wallabies and Pumas. The Springboks therefore find themselves without a representative.

Rugby Championship: Team of Round Three

15 Ben Smith (New Zealand): Such an intelligent player, who was a constant threat on attack in his side’s victory against Argentina in Nelson. Smith delivered a busy shift with ball in hand gaining 85 metres from 14 runs which included two clean breaks and seven defenders beaten. Emiliano Boffelli and Dane Haylett-Petty also played well for Argentina and Australia respectively.

14 Nehe Milner-Skudder (New Zealand): Made a rare run-on appearance for the All Blacks but did well despite being tested on defence by the Pumas’ dangerous attackers. Milner-Skudder made nine tackles but made a bigger impact on attack where he gained 48 metres from eight runs with two clean breaks, two defenders beaten, an offload and was rewarded with try for his efforts. Springbok flyer Makazole Mapimpi also played well before leaving the field through injury at half-time in his side’s loss to the Wallabies in Brisbane.

13 Jack Goodhue (New Zealand): Another superb performance from the young Crusader who has now cemented his place in the world champions’ starting line-up. Goodhue’s running lines were superb and he scored a well-taken try but also stood up well in defence. Gained 56 metres after completing 10 runs with three clean breaks, eight defenders beaten and he also managed an offload as well as 11 hits. Reece Hodge of Australia was next best.

12 Matt Toomua (Australia): A standout performer in Brisbane, the Leicester Tiger returned to the Wallabies’ starting line-up and took his opportunity well. Combined nicely with Hodge in midfield and contributed 15 points via a try, two penalties and two conversions. Toomua’s goalkicking was particularly impressive as he finished with a 100 percent record off the tee. All Blacks replacement Anton Lienert-Brown also caught the eye.

11 Ramiro Moyano (Argentina): The Test rookie came to the fore with several excellent attacking runs in Nelson and scored arguably the best try of the round. Moyano’s brilliance on attack kept the All Blacks’ defence on their toes and he finished with 106 metres gained from 10 carries with six defenders beaten, three clean breaks and an offload.

10 Nicolas Sanchez (Argentina): Argentina may have lost to the All Blacks but they did not go down without a fight and leading the way was Sanchez, who impressed as his side’s chief playmaker. Won his personal duel with Richie Mo’unga and kept the All Blacks’ defenders busy with a polished attacking display. Sanchez eventually finished with a 14-point haul courtesy of a try, three conversions and a penalty and beats out Australia’s Kurtley Beale.

9 TJ Perenara (New Zealand): Came into the world champions’ starting line-up and took his chance with a superb all-round performance. Perenara delivered a slick service to his backs and kept his forwards on the front foot with clever offloads. He rounded off a superb performance by crossing for a brace of tries and comes in ahead of Will Genia, who also impressed in Brisbane.

8 Kieran Read (New Zealand): Gets in ahead of opposite number Javier Ortega Desio after his try-scoring showing at Trafalgar Park on Saturday. While Desio was strong in several areas, he did lose possession five times with Read his usual tidy self in all aspects.

7 Ardie Savea (New Zealand): Michael Hooper deserves a mention after he helped lead Australia to victory over South Africa, despite struggling with a hamstring injury. However, we opt for Savea here after his tireless showing for the All Blacks that saw him finish with a huge 21 tackles and 13 carries for 43 metres. His game is improving all the time and this start will give him confidence.

6 Shannon Frizell (New Zealand): Nailed on for this jersey after an outstanding performance in Nelson. Frizell grabbed this chance with both hands and was everywhere in the first-half for New Zealand, causing Argentina so many problems with his carries at space. One journalist likened Frizell to the great Michael Jones, such was his performance, as he now puts pressure on Liam Squire for the six jersey.

5 Tomas Lavanini (Argentina): That was one of Lavanini’s best performances for the Pumas as he put his size to excellent use while keeping his discipline in check, making him a nuisance to New Zealand. He finished with 16 carries – only Marcos Kremer had more for Argentina – while he also made the second most tackles for the Pumas. If only he could bottle that showing and replicate it in every fixture.

4 Rory Arnold (Australia): The Wallabies needed to front up after their players were dropping like flies. Adam Coleman’s late withdrawal did not rattle Arnold, who combined well with Izack Rodda and later Rob Simmons in a strong showing against a powerful Bok pack.

3 Allan Alaalatoa (Australia): Despite all the upheaval in selection before kick-off, the Wallaby pack can hold their heads high after that win. Alaalatoa is one of those who impressed and could well have nailed down the three jersey moving forward, with Taniela Tupou an incredible option to have coming off the bench as he showed on Saturday. Owen Franks was solid in black but we pick Alaalatoa.

2 Codie Taylor (New Zealand): Dane Coles is nearing his return but in all honesty the All Blacks have not missed the hooker because of Taylor’s excellent form. Once again he stood out in open play with his pass to Milner-Skudder for his try another excellent bit of skill from the Crusader. He made over 40 metres with ball in hand against Argentina and throwing in 11 tackles added to a strong outing.

1 Karl Tu’inukuafe (New Zealand): It was another solid performance from the 25-year-old as he fills in for the injured Joe Moody. Strong in the set-piece and impressive around the field, Tu’inukuafe edges out Steven Kitshoff to this jersey after the Bok pressed his claims for a regular starting spot at loosehead. But Tu’inukuafe, a former nightclub bouncer, gets the nod here into our team.

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Check out the highlights from Round Three of the Top 14 season.

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Check out the highlights from Round Two of the PRO14 season.

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Scarlets have received a boost with the news that Wales prop Rob Evans will not require surgery after undergoing a shoulder scan on Tuesday.

The powerful loosehead was forced off in his team’s 23-21 PRO14 victory over Leinster on Saturday with what head coach Wayne Pivac initially described as a shoulder or pectoral injury.

Pivac also saw Johnny McNicholl, Josh Macleod and Jake Ball join Evans in leaving the field against Leinster, but the news on all four men is upbeat.

“It’s good news actually. Rob is a bit sore and Josh is the same, but no surgeries are required so that’s very pleasing. We’ll reassess them again next week,” Pivac said.

“We’ll have to wait another week and we’ll have a better idea on timelines then. Rob’s probably the best scenario and hopefully we will have him in back in two to three weeks.

“Johnny will be training fully on Tuesday and Jake is training too.”

Scarlets got their season up and running against Leinster, but will still be without Wales and British & Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies for the next few weeks.

The midfield ace is currently nursing a hamstring problem.

Scarlets are at home to unbeaten Italian side Benetton on Saturday.

“We’re not rushing Jon. We want to get him 100 per cent right. There’s a lot of big rugby coming up and we’re doing OK in the centre position at the moment,” Pivac said.

“The way things have gone for us so far this season we’re quite happy with how those results have turned out.

“Wyn Jones trained fully on Monday and if he comes through scrums on Tuesday he’ll be back in contention for the weekend. Uzair Cassiem is back running and is just around the corner to make a return.

“Dylan Evans has had a bit of a bump to his shoulder, because of what we’ve got coming up we’re rehabbing him.

“With potentially losing two looseheads to the international window we need to be sensible there.”

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