Tag: Rugby

Pau, Castres, Montpellier, Stade Francais and Toulouse claimed Top 14 wins on Saturday as they beat Toulon, Lyon, La Rochelle, UBB and Grenoble respectively.

Saturday
Pau 20-10 Toulon
Castres 19-16 Lyon
Montpellier 36-14 La Rochelle
Stade Francais 20-8 Bordeaux-Bègles
Grenoble 20-23 Toulouse

Pau 20-10 Toulon
Stade du Hameau

Pau were 20-10 winners over Toulon at Stade du Hameau in Saturday’s opening match.

A try from Sean Dougall and four penalties from Colin Slade and one from Tom Taylor proved too much for the visitors, who scored through Josua Tuisova while Anthony Belleau added five points off the tee.

This was a much-needed win for Pau after last week’s heavy defeat to Bordeaux-Begles while for Toulon it’s successive losses after falling at home to Racing 92, which will concern their passionate supporters.

The scorers:

For Pau:
Try: Dougall
Pens: Slade 4, Taylor

For Toulon:
Try: Tuisova
Con: Belleau
Pen: Belleau
Yellow Card: Rebbadj

Pau: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Adrien Planté, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Paddy Butler, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Dave Foley, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Quentin Lespiaucq, 1 Geoffrey Moise
Replacements: 16 Laurent Bouchet, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Baptiste Pesenti, 19 Martin Puech, 20 Julien Blanc, 21 Tom Taylor, 22 Charly Malie, 23 Lourens Adriaanse

Toulon: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Filipo Nakosi, 13 Josua Tuisova, 12 Anthony Belleau, 11 Malakai Fekitoa, 10 Louis Carbonel, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Charles Ollivon, 7 Liam Messam, 6 Stéphane Onambele Mbarga, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Swan Rebbadj, 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 Mathieu Bastareaud, 21 Julian Savea, 22 Anthony Meric, 23 Emerick Setiano

Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant referees: Jonathan Dufort, Eric Soulan
TMO: Eric Gauzins

Castres 19-16 Lyon
Stade Pierre-Fabre

Castres managed to back up last week’s win at Montpellier with a 19-16 win over Lyon, who remain without a victory so far in 2018/19.

They had to do it the hard way as they were trailing 16-3 at the break following a try from Lyon hooker Jeremie Maurouard, with Jonathan Wisniewski firing over 11 points to stun Stade Pierre-Fabre.

But shortly after a break a brace from centre Thomas Combezou brought Castres back into the match, with penalties from Scott Spedding and replacement Rory Kockott completing the comeback.

The scorers:

For Castres:
Tries: Combezou 2
Pens: Urdapilleta, Spedding, Kockott

For Lyon:
Try: Maurouard
Con: Wisniewski
Pens: Wisniewski 2
Drop goal: Wisniewski

Castres: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Armand Batlle, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 David Smith, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Alex Tulou, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Victor Moreaux, 19 Camille Gerondeau, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Julien Dumora, 22 Julien Caminati, 23 Marc Clerc

Lyon: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Toby Arnold, 13 Rudi Wulf, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Jonathan Wisniewski, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Deon Fourie, 7 Patrick Sobela, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Hendrik Roodt, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Clement Ric, 2 Jeremie Maurouard, 1 Raphael Chaume
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Manuel Carizza, 19 Loann Goujon, 20 Jean-Marc Doussain, 21 Felix Lambey, 22 Thibault Regard, 23 Richard Choirat

Referee: Adrien Descottes
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon, Frederic Chazal
TMO: Eric Gonthier

Montpellier 36-14 La Rochelle
Altrad Stadium

Montpellier bounced back from last week’s loss to Castres by beating La Rochelle in a comfortable 36-14 win at Altrad Stadium on Saturday.

Leading 19-0 at half-time, Montpol held a healthy lead but could not go on to claim a bonus-point as Castres rallied either side of the hour.

Yvan Reilhac and Vincent Martin went over for Montpellier in the first-half while Paul Willemse and Romain Ruffenach crossed in the second.

La Rochelle, who beat Grenoble last week, scored through Jeremy Sinzelle and Marc Andreu and now lick their wounds before Round Three.

The scorers:

For Montpellier:
Tries: Reilhac, Martin, Willemse, Ruffenach
Cons: Pienaar, Steyn
Pens: Pienaar 3, Steyn

For La Rochelle:
Tries: Sinzelle, Andreu
Cons: Camou, Lamb

Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Vincent Martin, 13 Yvan Reilhac, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 Gabriel Ngandebe, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Kelian Galletier, 7 Wian Liebenberg, 6 Julien Bardy, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Konstantin Mikautadze, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Vincent Giudicelli, 1 Gregory Fichten
Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Julien Ledevedec, 19 Kevin Kornath, 20 Julien Tomas, 21 Timoci Nagusa, 22 Henry Immelman, 23 Levan Chilachava

La Rochelle: 15 Romaric Camou, 14 Elliot Roudil, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Jeremy Sinzelle, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Remi Bourdeau, 6 Kevin Gourdon, 5 Jone Qovu Nailiko, 4 Mathieu Tanguy, 3 Arthur Joly, 2 Jean Charles Orioli, 1 Vincent Pelo
Replacements: 16 Hikairo Forbes, 17 Dany Priso, 18 William Demotte, 19 Gregory Alldritt, 20 Jean Victor Goillot, 21 Ryan Lamb, 22 Jules Favre, 23 Uini Atonio

Referee: Thomas Charabas
Assistant referees: Laurent Millotte, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Akim Hadj-Bachir

Stade Francais 20-8 Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Jean-Bouin

Stade Francais made it two victories out of two in the Top 14 after they came from behind to beat Bordeaux-Begles 20-8 at Stade Jean-Bouin.

Trailing 8-6 at half-time after Blair Connor’s try for UBB, Stade clicked into life early in the second period with two tries lifting their supporters.

Waisea Nayacalevu and Kylan Hamdaoui got those tries in the 44th and 51st minute respectively, with Jules Plisson adding 10 points off the tee.

This result will disappoint UBB as they started the season so brightly in Round One, thumping Pau 41-19, and will hope to respond next week.

The scorers:

For Stade Francais:
Tries: Nayacalevu, Hamdaoui
Cons: Plisson 2
Pens: Plisson 2

For Bordeaux-Begles:
Try: Connor
Pen: Serin

Stade Francais: 15 Kylan Hamdaoui, 14 Waisea Nayacalevu, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Julien Arias, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Sekou Macalou, 6 Ryan Chapuis, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Remy Bonfils, 1 Heinke van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Laurent Sempere, 17 Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, 18 Alexandre Flanquart, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Arthur Coville, 21 Morne Steyn, 22 Tony Ensor, 23 Paul Alo-Emile

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Eto Nabuli, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Ulupano Seuteni, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Brock James, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Afaesetiti Amosa, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Luke Braid, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Jandré Marais, 3 Lekso Kaulashvili, 2 Florian Dufour, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Thierry Paiva, 17 Adrien Pelissie, 18 Cameron Woki, 19 Mahamadou Diaby, 20 Jules Gimbert, 21 Romain Lonca, 22 George Tilsley, 23 Vadim Cobilas

Referee: Vincent Blasco-Baque
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset, Laurent Breil
TMO: Cedric Marchat

Grenoble 20-23 Toulouse
Stade des Alpes

A 73rd minute penalty from Thomas Ramos helped Toulouse pick up their first win of the season over Grenoble at Stade des Alpes in the late game.

The scores were locked at 20-20 with 11 minutes remaining as there was little to separate the two sides, with both crossing for two tries apiece.

Toulouse scrum-half Sébastien Bézy went over first in the 37th minute before wing Daniel Kilioni responded before the break for a 13-7 cushion.

However, Toulouse struck first after the break when Joe Tekori crossed but this time it was Grenoble who hit back, through hooker Mike Tadjer.

That try made it 20-17 to the hosts before Ramos struck those two aforementioned penalties to break Grenoble hearts as Toulouse prevailed.

The scorers:

For Grenoble:
Tries: Kilioni, Tadjer
Cons: Pourteau 2
Pens: Pourteau 2

For Toulouse:
Tries: Bezy, Tekori
Cons: Ramos 2
Pens: Ramos 3

Grenoble: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Daniel Kilioni, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Franck Pourteau, 9 Lilian Saseras, 8 Loic Godener, 7 Francois Uys, 6 Killian Geraci, 5 Hans Nkinsi, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16 Mike Tadjer, 17 Dylan Jacquot, 18 Antonin Berruyer, 19 Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, 20 Theo Nanette, 21 Adrien Latorre, 22 Taleta Tupuola, 23 Halani Aulika

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Pierre Fouyssac, 12 Romain Ntamack, 11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Alban Placines, 6 Rynhard Elstadt, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Lucas Pointud
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 François Cros, 21 Pierre Pages, 22 Maxime Mermoz, 23 Arthur Bonneval

Referee: Cyril Lafon
Assistant referees: Mathieu Delpy, Richard Duhau
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure

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Check out the highlights from the third week the Mitre 10 Cup.

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Glasgow, Ulster, Munster and Benetton opened the PRO14 with wins on Saturday as they beat Connacht, Scarlets, the Cheetahs and Dragons respectively.

Connacht 26-27 Glasgow Warriors
The Sportsground

In an evenly contested match, in which the lead changed hands several times, the visitors eventually outscored Connacht by four tries to two although the Irish province will be kicking themselves as they were in front for large periods.

Glasgow Warriors were fastest out of the blocks and two minutes into the match Tommy Seymour collected a perfectly-weighted kick from Stuart Hogg before crossing for the opening try.

10 minutes later, Jack Carty opened Connacht’s account when he slotted a penalty after the Warriors were blown up for collapsing a maul illegally.

Shortly afterwards, Carty launched a cross-field kick which was gathered by Cian Kelleher, who cantered in for the home side’s first try which Carty converted to give his team a 10-5 lead.

The visitors struck back in the 19th minute courtesy of a try from George Turner, who did well to exploit a gap in Connacht’s defence before crossing the whitewash. George Horne slotted the conversion which meant the Warriors held a slender 12-10 lead midway through the opening half.

That lead did not last long though as shortly afterwards Finlay Bealham went over for Connacht’s second try after Tiernan O’Halloran laid the groundwork with a powerful run in the build-up.

The topsy turvy nature of this game continued when Glasgow’s co-captain, Ryan Wilson, powered through a tackle before dotting down which meant the sides were deadlocked at 17-17 before two penalties from Carty gave Connacht a six-point lead at half-time.

The second-half was a more subdued affair as both sides tried to gain the ascendancy but Connacht extended their lead when Carty added his fourth penalty three minutes after the restart.

The next 25 minutes was a slugfest but the Warriors suffered a setback in the 58th minute when Adam Hastings was yellow carded for a high tackle on Caolin Blade.

But despite Hastings’ stint on the sidelines, Glasgow did not surrender and narrowed the gap in the 65th minute when Adam Ashe dotted down after a rolling maul deep inside Connacht’s 22.

Hogg slotted the conversion which gave Connacht a two-point lead before landing his drop goal from 30 metres out to secure a memorable away win for the Warriors.

The scorers:

For Connacht:
Tries: Kelleher, Bealham
Cons: Carty 2
Pens: Carty 4

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Seymour, Turner, Wilson, Ashe
Cons: Horne, Hogg
Drop goal: Hogg
Yellow Card: Hastings

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Cian Kelleher, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Tom Farrell, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Paul Boyle, 5 James Cannon, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Cillian Gallagher, 21 James Mitchell, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Niyi Adeolokun

Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Ryan Wilson (cc), 7 Callum Gibbins (cc), 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Adam Ashe, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Alex Dunbar, 23 Niko Matawalu

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Eddie Hogan-O’Connell
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Ulster 15-13 Scarlets
Kingspan Stadium

Ulster pipped Scarlets 15-13 thanks to a last-gasp John Cooney penalty in a hard-fought PRO14 Round One encounter at Kingspan on Saturday.

Scarlets would score as early as the fifth minute. A penalty ensured the visitors got up to the Ulster five-metre line, then following several bruising phases fly-half Rhys Patchell darted over in the left corner before adding his own touchline conversion.

But three Cooney penalties (’14, ’17, ’25) meant Ulster would take a 9-7 lead into the interval.

Dan Jones’ 55th minute penalty edged the visitors in front after the break but Cooney would respond four minutes later only for Jones to edge the away side in front again at 13-12 after 62 minutes.

Scarlets replacement forward Ed Kennedy would receive a yellow card, making it a tense final 12 minutes for the men in red.

And Cooney would confirm Scarlets’ worst fears when he slotted a penalty after the hooter to snatch a dramatic last-gasp 15-13 victory.

The scorers:

For Ulster:
Pens: Cooney 5

For Scarlets:
Try: Patchell
Con: Patchell
Pens: Jones 2
Yellow Card: Kennedy

Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Angus Kernohan

Scarlets: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Kieron Fonotia, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Josh Macleod, 7 James Davies, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Steve Cummins, 4 David Bulbring, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Phil Price, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Ed Kennedy, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Ioan Nicholas

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), John Carvill (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Munster 38-0 Cheetahs
Thomond Park

Munster opened their PRO14 campaign in emphatic fashion, blanking the Cheetahs six tries to zero and 38-0 at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Munster’s first try came from a piece of Darren Sweetnam magic, as the winger showed his dazzling footwork before releasing Rory Scannell out on the right flank for the finish in the corner.

That 16th minute score was the only action of a low-scoring opening 32 minutes as the Cheetahs attempted to stretch a Munster defence that stood firm.

As the half went on, the Cheetahs began to tire and inevitably ended up giving Munster more front-foot advantage. The pressure was too much for the visitors when prop Dave Kilcoyne powered over from close range, JJ Hanrahan converted for the 12-0 lead with eight minutes to go until half-time. It was a sweeping move that spanned the length of the field with new recruit Arno Botha prominent in the build-up with a typically rambunctuous carry.

The second-half saw much of the same of the first, with Munster in complete control of proceedings and the Cheetahs brave on defence but offering very little on attack.

Having to endure a period of 12 minutes of sustained pressure from Munster, the visitors’ defence finally cracked 12 minutes after the break. After the hosts won a turnover penalty five metres from the Cheetahs’ try-line, Neil Cronin took the quick tap and go with the Cheetahs defence unable to recover in time as Tommy O’Donnell sauntered through a gap and over as the lead became 17-0.

14 minutes later, Munster had their fourth through Hanrahan and in the 71st minute, the icing was all but on the cake when Dave O’Callaghan bashed over after excellent hands by replacement back Joey Carbery.

And with seven minutes to go, Sweetnam got in on the act with an intercept try, running in under the posts from 60 yards out, while Hanrahan added the simple conversion for a commanding 38-0 victory.

The scorers:

For Munster:
Tries: Scannell, Kilcoyne, O’Donnell, Hanrahan, O’Callaghan, Sweetnam
Cons: Hanrahan 4

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Neil Cronin, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Dave O’Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland (c), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Brian Scott, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 James Hart, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Sammy Arnold

Cheetahs: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 William Small-Smith, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Oupa Mohoje (c), 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Aranos Coetzee, 19 Walt Steenkamp, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Ernst Stapelberg, 23 Ryno Eksteen

Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Dragons 17-21 Benetton Rugby
Rodney Parade

Benetton Rugby began the new PRO14 season with an impressive 21-17 victory over a disappointing Dragons side at Rodney Parade on Saturday.

This win takes the Italians second in Conference B after Round One.

Benetton were 11-7 ahead at the turnaround thanks to a try from Alessandro Zanni and two penalties from fellow Azzurri player Tomasso Allan.

However the Italians had to come from behind to lead at the break, this after Dafydd Howells crossed with just over one minute played, with the wing intercepting a pass on the visitors’ 22 and strolling over the whitewash for the perfect opening to the game for the Welsh region.

It did not take long for Benetton Rugby to hit back though as in the sixth minute second-row Zanni went over after they kicked to the corner.

Gavin Henson would cut the scores to 11-10 in Benetton’s favour five minutes into the second-half, but when Braam Steyn crossed in the 52nd minute suddenly the Italians were 16-10 in front. They now had just under half-an-hour to hold on and join Zebre in claiming an opening win.

That prospect became even more likely four minutes after flanker Steyn’s crossing when lock Zanni grabbed his second try, making it 21-10.

Dragons scrum-half Rhodri Williams gave the home side hope in the 75th minute when he scampered in for a converted try that made it 21-17, but it was too little too late as Benetton held on for an away win.

The scorers:

For Dragons:
Tries: Howells, Williams
Cons: Henson, Lewis
Pen: Henson

For Benetton:
Tries: Zanni 2, Steyn
Pens: Allan 2

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Gavin Henson, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Aaron Wainwright, 6 Lewis Evans, 5 Cory Hill (c), 4 Brandon Nansen, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Adam Warren

Benetton Rugby: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Sebastian Negri, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 Dean Budd (c), 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Federico Zani
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Marco Lazzaroni, 22 Giorgio Bronzini, 23 Tommaso Iannone

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy, Simon Rees (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

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Leicester Tigers boss Matt O’Connor admitted that Exeter Chiefs “will make you pay” if they are given opportunities following his side’s 40-6 defeat.

In the opening round of the Premiership season, Tigers led in the opening quarter of Saturday’s game, but the Chiefs scored two tries to lead 14-6 at half-time and then collected four more scores in the final 20 minutes to bag maximum points.

“They looked after the ball better than we did, they played in the right areas and they executed on them,” said O’Connor.

“Exeter were very good. I thought they took their chances, as they do, they are very clinical and, when they got field position, they make you pay.

“We didn’t get a lot of dominance at set-piece and they defended very well in the middle of the field.”

With eight points separating the teams at half-time, O’Connor and his team looked for a way back into the game after the break but the Chiefs scored twice in five minutes just after the hour mark and two more in the last four minutes of the Round 1 encounter.

“The last 20 minutes were disappointing, we have let up a lot of points at the back-end of the game,” O’Connor said.

“We thought we were a bit light in the amount of minutes some of the forwards had got under their belts and then we had to work a lot in defence in the opening 25 minutes, and that took its toll in the end. They were very good at taking their chances. We didn’t get field position to put them under any pressure.”

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The Brumbies have been linked with former Wallabies prop James Slipper as they look to fill the void left by the recently retired Ben Alexander.

It would represent something of a lifeline for Slipper’s career, having found himself on the fringes of the Reds squad after twice testing positive for cocaine.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the former Wallabies and Reds skipper met with Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar while Slipper was in Canberra last weekend for the first round of the National Rugby Championship.

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The Hurricanes have added two more players for the next two seasons after the signing of prop Fraser Armstrong and back-row Du’Plessis Kirifi.

Armstrong, 26, was part of the Hurricanes in 2018 and has agreed to a two-year extension at the club after impressing in his rookie season when he made eight appearances.

Kirifi, 21, had a breakthrough year for the Wellington Lions as they won the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup championship and has continued that excellent form at the start of the 2018 season.

He trained with the Hurricanes as injury cover during the 2018 Super Rugby competition when his work was well and truly noticed.

Armstrong said he grew up loving the Hurricanes and was looking forward to extending his time with the club.

“I have felt my game is continuing to develop at the club and I’m getting to at a point where I can really challenge for a spot in the playing squad,” he told the Hurricanes website.

Kirifi was equally delighted to sign, saying: “The opportunity to be part of this club is one I’m extremely grateful for.”

“I’ve wanted to pull the Hurricanes’ jersey on for as long as I remember. Its a huge privilege and I’m extremely fortunate I get the chance to contribute to the club’s legacy.”

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

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Leicester Tigers have announced the departure of head coach Matt O’Connor with immediate effect, with Geordan Murphy taking interim charge.

Assistant coach Murphy, an eight-time Premiership title winner and double European champion in 16 years as a player at Tigers, will take charge of team affairs.

O’Connor began his second spell at the club in the closing rounds of the 2016/17 season and guided Tigers into the Premiership semi-finals at the end of that campaign before a fifth-place finish the following year.

Leicester Tigers club chairman Peter Tom CBE said: “Matt was appointed head coach in April 2017 on the basis of his previous Premiership experience and his knowledge of the club. But we believe the time is right to make this change in the best interests of the Tigers moving forward.

“We would like to thank Matt for his hard work and commitment to the club in two spells at Welford Road, and we wish him and his family well for the future.”

Former Tigers captain Murphy will assume control of team affairs immediately alongside coaches Mark Bakewell, Boris Stankovich and Brett Deacon.

Chairman Tom added: “As a club, Leicester Tigers will always aspire to challenge for major honours in the incredibly competitive arena of professional elite club rugby and everyone at the club will fully support Geordan and the management group in driving the team forward.

“Geordan knows the expectations and ambitions of the Tigers as well as anyone after more than 20 years here as player and coach, and we wish him and the team the very best for the challenges ahead.”

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All Blacks prop Owen Franks is bracing himself for a titanic battle up front against an Argentine pack that he believes poses a ‘huge challenge’. 

The Pumas outmuscled and outfought the Springboks in the scrum and set-piece in the sides’ Rugby Championship clash in Mendoza a little over a week back.

It was only their fourth win in 35 Rugby Championship games. The All Blacks, in contrast, have won their last 15 tournament fixtures. Franks, who reached 100 caps for the All Blacks in the 40-12 victory over the Wallabies, certainly knows a thing or two about scrummaging and was quick to praise the Argentine pack for their showing against the Boks.

“They take real pride in their set piece,” Franks told Reuters in Nelson.

“You saw against South Africa they kept the ball in their scrum and they had ascendancy.

“The thing about the Pumas is you can never underestimate them. Back in 2012 or the year before, their scrum went to another level and I probably didn’t give them the respect they deserved and I paid for it.

“It’s a big challenge.”

Meanwhile, All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick expects a tougher challenge at the lineout than he is previously used to experiencing against Argentina.

“They’re obviously big men,” Retallick said.

“In the past we’ve backed our speed to get on top of them but seeing them in the first couple of rounds, they’ve become very explosive and they’re chucking their jumpers outrageously high in the air (during line-outs).

“They’ve obviously put a lot of work into that, especially defensively, trying to cut off ball.

“(Line-outs) are like running a race, the fastest person wins.

“If you’re the first off the ground with a good lift then 99 percent of the time you’re going to get to the top before they do. That’s certainly the philosophy we take to it.”

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Bath have announced that Zach Mercer has agreed a two-year contract extension, which will keep him at the club until the end of the 2020/21 season.

Mercer has made 38 appearances and has drawn wide acclaim for his performances in the Blue, Black and White, with the 21-year-old finishing the 2017/18 season with six tries. The back-rower also caught the eye of England head coach Eddie Jones, making his debut against the Barbarians in May.

Mercer, who was promoted to the senior squad from the Academy in 2017 said: “I couldn’t ask for a better place to continue my development – we’ve got a great setup with the coaches and players along with an amazing supporter base.

“It’s a really exciting time to be part of this club, and our challenge now is to make sure we’re up there competing with the best in the (Gallagher) Premiership and Europe.”

Director of rugby Todd Blackadder said: “Zach is a huge talent, and we’re really pleased to have secured his future with the club.”

“Over the last two years, he has worked incredibly hard at all the aspects of his game; this has paid dividends and is clear to see in his dominant performances. He has got all the attributes to become a world-class player, and it’s great to know that he sees Bath as the place to do that.

“With the likes of Toby (Faletau) and Francois (Louw), he’s got some of the best players to learn from and I’m sure he’ll continue to thrive in this environment over the next three years.”

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