Sale Sharks proved too strong for Connacht in the Challenge Cup and there were wins for Clermont, Pau, Worcester Warriors, Zebre and Bordeaux-Begles as well.
Pool 1
Clermont Auvergne followed on from last weekend’s win over Northampton Saints with a 70-12 drubbing of Timisoara Saracens at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.
Tries from Peceli Yato (2), Peter Betham, Apisai Naqalevu (3), Setariki Tuicuvu (3) proved too much for the Romanians, who scored through Mesake Dodge and Luke Samoa.
Pool 2
Pau bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to Ospreys with a 21-15 victory over Top 14 rivals Stade Francais at Stade du Hameau.
Julien Blanc, a penalty try and three penalties from Antoine Hastoy proved too much for the visitors, who scored through Jimmy Yobo and Piet van Zyl.
In the Pool’s later game, Worcester Warriors claimed their second successive win of the tournament to take top spot with a 27-21 victory over Ospreys at Sixways.
Jamie Shilcock, Wynand Olivier and Jack Singleton’s first-half tries proved just enough as Ospreys almost came back with second-half tries from Rob McCusker and Cory Allen (2).
Pool 3
A Chris Ashton hat-trick inspired Sale Sharks to a comprehensive 34-13 victory over Connacht at AJ Bell Stadium, extending their lead at the top of the pool.
Josh Beaumont also got on the try column for the home side, while Shane Delahunt scored for the men from Galway. Sale’s South African scrum-half Faf de Klerk kicked 14 points from the tee.
Top 14 rivals Bordeaux-Begles and Perpignan played to a 25-25 draw in a thrilling Champions Cup encounter at Stade Chaban-Delmas.
Jefferson Poirot, Adrien Pelissie and Jules Gimbert got on the try column for Bordeaux-Begles, while Shahn Eru bagged a brace for the visitors.
Pool 4
A last-gasp Carlo Canna penalty snatched a dramatic 20-17 victory for Zebre over Bristol at Stadio Sergio Lianfranchi.
Canna eventually notched 15 points in a match-winning performance with a try, two penalties and two conversions. Tom Pincus bagged a brace for Bristol but it was not enough.
Grenoble secured a hard-fought 19-13 come-from-behind win over Harlequins at Stade des Alpes.
Harlequins led 13-7 for 65 minutes of the encounter through a Marcus Johnson try and two penalties but Lolagi Visinia hit back in the second half for the hosts, while Burton Francis snatched it off the tee late on.