Tag: Rugby

Clermont Auvergne and Toulouse remain unbeaten in the Top 14 following impressive victories, while Lyon, Agen and Castres also secured wins on Saturday.

Results

Saturday
Lyon 55-13 Montpellier
Agen 22-17 Bordeaux-Bègles
Castres 29-13 Grenoble
Pau 23-27 Clermont Auvergne
Toulouse 30-17 Racing 92

Lyon 55-13 Montpellier
Matmut Stadium de Gerland

Lyon produced an outstanding performance to thrash Montpellier and get their season well and truly up and running.

Pierre Mignoni’s men had struggled for consistency going into this contest but they were far too good for the visitors, scoring eight tries in all.

It leaves Vern Cotter, boss of last season’s runners up, with plenty of questions. They appear to be suffering a hangover from that defeat in the Top 14 final and the away side were completely outplayed after the break.

Montpellier were competitive in the first half, only going into the interval five point in arrears. Toby Arnold and Noa Nakaitaci tries had given the hosts an advantage, but Nico Janse van Rensburg’s effort meant it was still in the balance.

However, Lyon ran amok in the second period as quick-fire Baptiste Couilloud and Hendrik Roodt efforts moved them clear before Etienne Oosthuizen made it 36-13.

Paul Willemse was then yellow carded and Mignoni’s charges completed an impressive victory through Thibaut Regard and Charlie Ngatai, who scored a brace.

The scorers:

For Lyon:
Tries: Arnold, Nakaitaci, Couilloud, Roodt, Oosthuizen, Regard, Ngatai 2
Cons: Wisniewski 4, Doussain 2
Pen: Wisniewski

For Montpellier:
Try: Janse van Rensburg
Con: Cruden
Pens: Cruden 2
Yellow Card: Willemse

Lyon: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Toby Arnold, 13 Thibaut Regard, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Jonathan Wisniewski, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Liam Gill, 7 Patrick Sobela, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Hendrik Roodt, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Jeremie Maurouard, 1 Raphael Chaume
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Hamza Kaabeche, 18 Etienne Oosthuizen, 19 Manuel Carizza, 20 Jean-Marc Doussain, 21 Loann Goujon, 22 Xavier Mignot, 23 Clement Ric

Montpellier: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Yvan Reilhac, 12 Arthur Vincent, 11 Benjamin Fall, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Wian Liebenberg, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gregory Fichten
Replacements: 16 Vincent Giudicelli, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Julien Ledevedec, 19 Julien Bardy, 20 Enzo Sanga, 21 Thomas Darmon, 22 Vincent Martin, 23 Jannie du Plessis

Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon, Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Eric Gonthier

Agen 22-17 Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Armandie

Agen made it successive home victories following an impressive triumph over a Bordeaux side that harbours big ambitions this season.

Philippe Sella’s men have been tipped to struggle and those predictions seemed apt following heavy away defeats to Clermont Auvergne and Racing 92, but they are a different beast at the Stade Armandie.

Against a team containing the talent of Semi Radradra, Baptiste Serin and Cameron Woki, the hosts controlled the first half and deservedly went 3-0 up via Jake McIntyre’s penalty.

Although Serin almost immediately levelled matters from the tee, McIntyre regained Agen’s lead before they increased their buffer through Yoan Tanga.

Their fly-half kicked the conversion and added a brace of three-pointers either side of the interval before the visitors gave themselves hope through Adrien Pelissie.

The pressure could have increased on the home side but McIntyre’s accuracy with the boot kept the opposition at arm’s length and duly helped them to an important win, meaning UBB’s last minute penalty try was in vain.

The scorers:

For Agen:
Try: Tanga
Con: McIntyre
Pens: McIntyre 5

For Bordeaux:
Tries: Pelissie, penalty try
Con: Serin
Pen: Serin

Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamoulie, 14 Nicolas Metge, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Sam Vaka, 11 Valentin Saurs, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Paul Abadie, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Facundo Bosch, 6 Antoine Miquel, 5 Denis Marchois, 4 Tom Murday, 3 Dave Ryan, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Quentin Bethune
Replacements: 16 Marc Barthomeuf, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Andres Zafra Tarazona, 19 Loic Hocquet, 20 Hugo Verdu, 21 Leo Berdeu, 22 Clement Laporte, 23 Xerom Civil

Bordeaux Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Eto Nabuli, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Ulupano Seuteni, 11 George Tilsley, 10 Lucas Meret, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Afaesetiti Amosa, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Luke Braid, 5 Jandré Marais, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Lekso Kaulashvili, 2 Adrien Pelissie, 1 Thierry Paiva
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Lasha Tabidze, 18 Kane Douglas, 19 Alexandre Roumat, 20 Beka Gorgadze, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Nathan Decron, 23 Vadim Cobilas

Referee: Cyril Lafon
Assistant referees: Mathieu Noirot, Thierry Guilloton
TMO: Mourad Zitouni

Castres 29-13 Grenoble
Stade Pierre-Fabre

Defending champions Castres continued their fine start to the campaign following a comfortable triumph over winless Grenoble.

With the newly-promoted outfit losing their previous three matches, there was only going to be one outcome and Christophe Urios’ outfit dominated from the start.

Grenoble may have been competitive in the opening rounds but they were overwhelmed in the first half. Castres began on the front foot and touched down through Marc-Antoine Rallier before successive Gaetan Germain penalties reduced the arrears.

However, the hosts were in control and, after Benjamin Urdapilleta had kicked a three-pointer of his own, tries from Alex Tulou and Rallier gave them a comfortable buffer at the interval.

Tulou joined the hooker in completing his brace 10 minutes into the second period, but they were unable to truly pull away. Instead, to their credit, Grenoble kept fighting and got their reward through Ali Oz’s score, but it failed to spark a comeback.

The scorers:

For Castres:
Tries: Rallier 2, Tulou 2
Cons: Urdapilleta 3
Pen: Urdapilleta
Yellow Card: Moreaux

For Grenoble:
Try: Oz
Con: Latorre
Pens: Germain 2

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

Grenoble: 15 Gaetan Germain, 14 Lucas Dupont, 13 Etienne Dussartre, 12 Taleta Tupuola, 11 Jean-Teiva Jacquelin, 10 Adrien Latorre, 9 Jeremy Valencot, 8 Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, 7 Fabien Alexandre, 6 Antonin Berruyer, 5 Hans Nkinsi, 4 Taiasina Tuifua, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Mihaita Lazar
Replacements: 16 Mike Tadjer, 17 Dylan Jacquot, 18 Killian Geraci, 19 Loic Baradel, 20 Theo Nanette, 21 Clement Gelin, 22 Bastien Guillemin, 23 Ali Oz

Referee: Julien Castaignede
Assistant referees: Jonathan Dufort, Jacques de Lemos
TMO: Laurent Sclafer

Pau vs Clermont
Stade du Hameau

There was late heartbreak for Pau as Clermont maintained their winning start to the campaign after Yohan Beheregaray touched down late on to snatch the victory.

Simon Mannix’s men have not been entirely convincing so far this season but they were improved against Les Jaunards, even though Auvergne provided one final sting in the tail.

The match started slowly, with Colin Slade and Jesse Mogg penalties giving the hosts a 6-0 advantage, but it came to life in the second quarter as two tries were scored.

Morgan Parra had levelled matters with a brace of three pointers before Slade and Remy Grosso traded efforts in the final six minutes of the half.

Charly Malie then scampered across the whitewash for a 20-11 buffer, but Laidlaw reduced the arrears from the tee soon after.

Tom Taylor and Laidlaw traded penalties before a yellow card to Lucas Rey proved crucial. Franck Azema’s outfit increased the pressure and Beheregaray touched down to put them in front for the first time in the game. Laidlaw kicked the conversion and then scored a three-pointer as Clermont went away with their fourth victory.

The scorers:

For Pau:
Tries: Slade, Malie
Cons: Slade 2
Pens: Slade, Mogg, Taylor
Yellow Card: Rey

For Clermont:
Tries: Grosso, Beheregaray
Con: Laidlaw
Pens: Parra 2, Laidlaw 3
Yellow Card: Slimani

Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Jesse Mogg, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Paddy Butler, 7 Pierrick Gunther, 6 Sean Dougall, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Fabrice Metz, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Laurent Bouchet, 1 Geoffrey Moise
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Baptiste Pesenti, 19 Martin Puech, 20 Julien Blanc, 21 Tom Taylor, 22 Julien Fumat, 23 Malik Hamadache

Clermont: 15 Setariki Tuicuvu, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 George Moala, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Remy Grosso, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Viktor Kolelishvili, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Peceli Yato, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Samuel Ezeala, 22 Apisai Naqalevu, 23 Michael Simutoga

Referee: Thomas Charabas
Assistant referees: Tual Trainini, Richard Duhau
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin

Toulouse 30-17 Racing 92
Stade Ernest Wallon

Toulouse maintained their unbeaten start to the season by overcoming Racing 92, giving them their third win of 2018/19.

Having impressed in the opening rounds, Ugo Mola’s men continued their momentum by scoring three tries against the side that finished the previous campaign in second position.

They controlled the early exchanges and Maxime Mermoz, who rejoined the club from Newcastle Falcons over the off-season, touched down.

Although Raphael Lagarde responded from the tee for Racing, Sofiane Guitoune rewarded Les Rouge et Noir’s endeavour by crossing the whitewash once again.

That gave them a 14-3 lead at the break before the hosts’ left winger extended their buffer minutes into the second half.

Simon Zebo and Juan Imhoff went over to give the Parisians hope but Ramos’ place-kicking accuracy ultimately gave Toulouse a reasonably comfortable triumph.

The scorers:

For Toulouse:
Tries: Mermoz, Guitoune 2
Cons: Ramos 3
Pens: Ramos 3
Yellow Card: Tekori

For Racing:
Tries: Zebo, Imhoff
Cons: Lagarde, Volavola
Pen: Lagarde

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Pierre Fouyssac, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 François Cros, 6 Louis-Benoit Madaule, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Rynhard Elstadt, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Lucas Pointud
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Piula Faasalele, 19 Pierre Gayraud, 20 Carl Axtens, 21 Pierre Pages, 22 Pita Ahki, 23 Dorian Aldegheri

Racing 92: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Louis Dupichot, 13 Olivier Klemenczak, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Raphael Lagarde, 9 Teddy Iribaren, 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Fabien Sanconnie, 6 Boris Palu, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Vasil Kakovin
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Edwin Maka, 19 Jordan Joseph, 20 Xavier Chauveau, 21 Ben Volavola, 22 Leonard Paris, 23 Census Johnston

Referee: Adrien Descottes
Assistant referees: Thierry Mallet, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Sebastien Minery

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Scarlets, Leinster, Glasgow and Zebre claimed victories over Benetton, Dragons, Cheetahs and Cardiff respectively in Saturday’s PRO14 action.

Scarlets 38-29 Benetton

Scarlets claimed a 38-29 come-from-behind victory over 14-man Benetton at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday.

Tries from Kieran Fonotia, Johnny McNicholl, Ed Kennedy, Tom Prydie and a Gareth Davies brace proved too much for the visitors, who scored through Nicola Quaglio, Simone Ferrari, Monty Ioane and Tommaso Allan.

The away side actually led for the opening three quarters of the match, even though they had Irne Herbst red-carded in the 24th minute. But two tries in the final quarter from Scarlets prevented what would have been an embarrassing upset for the home side.

It was a helter-skelter start to the match as Davies, Quaglio, Fonotia and Ferrari all dotted down in the opening 15 minutes. Ioane and Allan scored after the break in quick succession but scores from McNicholl and Kennedy in the final quarter wrested back control of the tie before Prydie put the icing on the cake after the hooter with a late try.

The scorers:

For Scarlets:
Tries: Davies 2, Fonotia, McNicholl, Kennedy, Prydie
Cons: Halfpenny 4

For Benetton:
Tries: Quaglio, Ferrari, Ioane, Allan
Cons: Allan 3
Pen: Allan
Red Card: Herbst

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 James Davies, 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 Steve Cummins, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Phil Price
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 David Bulbring, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Paul Asquith, 23 Ioan Nichola

Benetton: 15 Luca Sperandio, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Robert Barbieri (c), 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Marco Lazzaroni, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Marco Barbini, 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Alberto Sgarbi

Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Simon Mills (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Leinster 52-10 Dragons

Leinster claimed a comprehensive 52-10 victory over the Dragons at RDS Arena on Saturday.

Tries from Sean Cronin, Josh van der Flier, Jordan Larmour, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Fardy and a Jamison Gibson-Park brace proved too much for the visitors, who scored through a sole Jordan Williams score.

The Dragons did well to trail only 17-0 at half-time through Leinster tries from Cronin and Van der Flier. However, the floodgates would open in the second half as Gibson-Park (2), Larmour, Furlong and Fardy would all get themselves on the try column as the gulf in class between the sides was laid bare.

Johnny Sexton, meanwhile, would contribute 15 points from the tee in nothing more than a routine victory for the defending champions against a struggling Dragons outfit.

The scorers:

For Leinster:
Tries: Cronin, Gibson-Park 2, Larmour, Furlong, Van der Flier, Fardy
Cons: Sexton 6, Reid
Pen: Sexton

For Dragons:
Try: Williams
Con: Robson
Pen: Lewis
Yellow Card: Moriarty

The teams:

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Joe Tomane

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

Venue: RDS Arena, Dublin
Kick-off: 17:15 BST (16:15 GMT)
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Joy Neville (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Cheetahs 24-52 Glasgow Warriors
Free State Stadium

Glasgow Warriors made it three successive victories to start the 2018/19 campaign following an excellent triumph over the Cheetahs.

The Warriors started the match impressively, touching down in the first minute via Adam Hastings, but the South Africans hit back with scores from William Small-Smith and Malcolm Jaer.

Having struggled in the opening two matches, the Bloemfontein-based side were delighted to be back on home soil and, although Ali Price took the Scottish team back ahead once again, Nico Lee’s try meant that the hosts led 19-14 at the break.

Franco Smith’s men had the momentum but a yellow card for Jaer altered the course of the game in the second period. While the full-back was off the field, Tommy Seymour, Price and DTH van der Merwe all touched down.

It proved a hammer blow for the Cheetahs as, although Jaer returned to scamper over for his brace, Hastings’ penalty and Callum Gibbins’ try ended the game as a contest.

Glasgow were not done there, however, as George Horne crossed the whitewash to condemn the South Africans to their third consecutive defeat this season.

The scorers:

For Cheetahs:
Tries: Small-Smith, Jaer 2, Lee
Cons: Janse van Rensburg, Schoeman
Yellow Card: Jaer

For Glasgow:
Tries: Hastings, Price 2, Seymour, Van der Merwe, Gibbins, Horne
Cons: Hastings 7
Pens: Hastings
Yellow Card: Dunbar

Cheetahs: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer (c), 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Charles Marais
Repacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Gunther van Rensburg, 19 Dennis Visser, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Marnus van der Merwe, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Ryno Eksteen

Glasgow: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Pete Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Callum Gibbins (c), 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Matt Fagerson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 George Horne, 22 Nick Frisby, 23 Huw Jones

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Zebre 26-24 Cardiff Blues
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi

Zebre produced an outstanding comeback to overturn a 21-0 deficit and defeat the Cardiff Blues, leaving the Welsh region winless this season.

The Blues started superbly, crossing the whitewash three times in the opening 10 minutes through Olly Robinson, Kristian Dacey and Gareth Anscombe.

Anscombe converted all of them before the Italians hit back as Carlo Canna went over. That came in the first quarter, but the rest of the half saw less action with the Blues going into the break 21-7 ahead.

John Mulvihill’s team remained in control, however, and extended their buffer, meaning that Cardiff were 17 points in front going into the final quarter, but they were to be stunned by the hosts’ late show.

Zebre attempted to get back into the contest and Johan Meyer’s try gave them hope with 16 minutes left. Francois Brummer then touched down to increase the pressure on the visitors and Oliviero Fabiani completed a remarkable turnaround.

The scorers:

For Zebre:
Tries: Canna, Meyer, Brummer, Fabiani
Cons: Canna 3

For Cardiff:
Tries: Robinson, Dacey, Anscombe
Cons: Anscombe 3
Pen: Anscombe

Zebre: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 5 George Biagi (c), 4 David Sisi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Massimo Ceciliani, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Apisai Tauyavuca, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Francois Brummer, 23 Tommaso Castello

Cardiff: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Owen Lane, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Olly Robinson (c), 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 George Earle, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Nick Williams, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Harri Millard

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Jonny Erskine (Ireland), Matteo Liperini (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)

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The Griquas claimed a 52-24 come-from-behind victory over the Free State Cheetahs in a game of two halves in Kimberley on Saturday evening.

The Cheetahs actually led by 10 points at half-time, only to lose by a convincing margin in the end, after a superb fightback from the home side in the second half.

Tries from Ederies Arendse, Enver Brandt, AJ le Roux, Kyle Steyn, Zach Burger and a FP Pelser brace proved too much for the visitors, who scored through Ali Mgijima and a Carel-Jan Coetzee double.

The Free State Cheetahs scored first. After prop Johan Kotze did well to effect the turnover by ripping the ball in the tackle, the ball was spread wide though the hands where Mgijima was on hand to produce a good finish in the corner as the Griquas’ rush defence was exposed.

Soon after, the Griquas responded with a superb team try with Arendse running an excellent line to go in under the posts – the conversion levelling matters at 7-7.

For the next 10 minutes, it was the Cronje show, with the Cheetahs outside centre bagging a brace in that period. Credit must go to his centre partner Tertius Kruger for breaking brilliantly to set up the second as the visitors took a 21-7 lead with 20 minutes gone.

The away side held on to that lead until two minutes before half-time when Griquas replacement lock Pelser cut the deficit to 10, powering over from close range.

After the interval, the momentum stayed with the home side as they came storming back in to the game with two tries in the opening 10 minutes to make it 21-24. First, Pelser grabbed his brace with another powerful close-range finish after a scintillating break from Brandt down the left flank.

Then, the comeback was complete when Reinach Venter was made to pay for his sloppy pass close to his try-line as Brandt pounced to intercept and dot down for a 28-24 lead.

With a quarter of the game to go, Griquas replacement hooker would crash over for his side”s fifth before a George Whitehead penalty 10 minutes later seemed to put the nail in the coffin as it meant the visitors needed to score more than two converted tries.

By the end of the match, the victory was well and truly secured as Steyn and replacement scrum-half Burger added late tries to seal a 52-24 triumph.

The scorers:

For Griquas:
Tries: Arendse, Pelser 2, Brandt, Le Roux, Steyn, Burger
Cons: Whitehead 7
Pen: Whitehead

For Free State Cheetahs:
Tries: Mgijima, Coetzee 2
Cons: Stapelberg 3
Pen: Stapelberg

Griquas: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Kyle Steyn (c), 12 Andre Swarts, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Christiaan Meyer, 8 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Eital Bredenkamp, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 Wandile Putuma, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 Wilmar Arnoldi, 1 Liam Henricks
Replacements: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 18 FP Pelser, 19 Wendal Wehr, 20 Zak Burger, 21 Stephan Janse van Rensburg, 22 Christopher Bosch

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Adriaan Carelse, 14 Ali Mgijima, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Vuyani Maqina, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Rudy Paige (c), 8 Stephan Malan, 7 Nardus Erasmus, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Louis Conradie, 4 Abongile Nonkontwana, 3 Stephan van Schalkwyk, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Johan Kotze
Replacements: 16 Hanno Snyman, 17 Kevin Stevens, 18 Raymond Woest, 19 Luigi van Jaarsveld, 20 Jannes Snyman, 21 Dian Badenhorst, 22 Reinhardt Erwee

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant referees: Jaco Kotze, Nico Schmahl
Television match official: JJ Wagner

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England head coach Eddie Jones believes the experience John Mitchell brings to the job will prove invaluable to his management team.

After it was announced on Monday that Mitchell will take up the role of England defence coach until the end of the World Cup, it led to some questioning whether he was the right man for the job.

Mitchell has been unable to stay in a position for longer than a year in recent times and has developed the unwanted reputation of being one of the journeymen of professional rugby coaching.

But Jones has moved to silence the doubters, saying the former All Blacks coach will ‘bring a wealth of experience’ to the role.

“Defence is a key pillar of our game and John is an experienced coach,” Jones told England Rugby’s official website.

“He’s coached the All Blacks, USA Rugby and a number of Super Rugby sides so he will bring a wealth of experience and add to the coaching mix we have here.”

Mitchell added: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with England Rugby and support Eddie Jones as head coach. I will be joining an elite high-performance programme, Test team and coaching group where I will use all my experience and focus to bring the necessary clarity and confidence to the players from a defensive perspective.”

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Springboks captain Siya Kolisi had good cause to smile when his side arrived back in South Africa with a rare All Blacks scalp in the back pocket as a result of Saturday’s 36-34 Rugby Championship win in Wellington.

It was a lot different to returning home on the back of the 0-57 loss they suffered last year.

“The flight this time was much easier coming home with a win, the last time it was tough,” he told waiting media in Johannesburg.

“It’s a great feeling. We are excited and happy, but we know there is a lot of work ahead for us.”

South Africa are looking to make the result more than a one-off. They want to string together wins in Port Elizabeth against Australia and in Pretoria against the All Blacks.

Kolisi said: “That’s the tough part, the part we spoke about after the game. That is what we need to do. We said it’s the best game defensively we played and we took our opportunities. The most important thing now is building from that.

“I think for us, it is a simple thing, we just have to keep on working hard. The coach said it afterwards, our hard work got us the win and a bit of luck. We are just going to keep on working hard and wanting to do the right thing.

“All the coach asked was to keep on growing. We grew a little bit in this game and that is what we want to keep on doing.”

Kolisi said the management had put the responsibility on the players to turn the result around after the disappointment of their loss to Australia, and the flanker was aware something special was happening for the side.

“You know when you know. We felt it, and I knew it,” he added.

“I could see the guys were defending well. Obviously you are nervous and sometimes you can get a bit of luck in the game, and sometimes you get that luck in the game. We were nervous but confident at the same time that the guys will make the tackle.”

 

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The match officials for this weekend’s action have been confirmed with Luke Pearce taking charge of the Leicester Tigers versus Worcester clash.

Premiership

Newcastle Falcons vs Exeter Chiefs
@ Kingston Park
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, John Meredith
Television match official: Graham Hughes

Bath vs Northampton Saints
@ Recreation Ground
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Tom Foley, Simon McConnell
Television match official: David Grashoff

Bristol Bears vs Harlequins
@ Ashton Gate
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Jonathan Healy
Television match official: David Rose

Sale Sharks vs Wasps
@ AJ Bell Stadium
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Philip Watters, Steve Lee
Television match official: Rowan Kitt

Saracens vs Gloucester
@ Allianz Park
Referee: Christopher Ridley
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Rob Warburton
Television match official: Trevor Fisher

Leicester Tigers vs Worcester Warriors
@ Welford Road
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Wayne Falla
Television match official: Geoffrey Warren

PRO14

Cheetahs vs Ulster
@ Free State Stadium
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Ben Crouse (South Africa)
Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa)

Cardiff Blues vs Munster
@ Cardiff Arms Park
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Rhys Thomas (Wales), Gareth John (Wales)
Television match official: Ian Davies (Wales)

Dragons vs Zebre
@ Rodney Parade
Referee: Joy Neville (Ireland)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Simon Mills (Wales)
Television match official: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Leinster vs Edinburgh
@ RDS Arena
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Chris Busby (Ireland)
Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Ospreys vs Benetton
@ Liberty Stadium
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Fin Brown (Scotland), Wayne Davies (Wales)
Television match official: Tim Hayes (Wales)

Connacht vs Scarlets
@ The Sportsground
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Kieran Barry (Ireland)
Television match official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Southern Kings vs Glasgow Warriors
@ Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Paul Mente (South Africa)
Television match official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Top 14

Bordeaux-Bègles vs Clermont
@ Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset, Frédéric Chazal
Television match official: Bruno Bessot

La Rochelle vs Lyon
@ Stade Marcel Deflandre
Referee: Tual Trainini
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos, Bruno Gabaldon
Television match official: Éric Gauzins

Toulon vs Agen
@ Stade Mayol
Referee: Vincent Blasco Baque
Assistant referees: Julien Castaignède, Jacques De Lemos
Television match official: Cédric Marchat

Grenoble vs Perpignan
@ Stade des Alpes
Referee: Jérôme Garcès
Assistant referees: Adrien Descottes, Thierry Guilloton
Television match official: Éric Gonthier

Racing 92 vs Castres
@ Paris La Défense Arena
Referee: Maxime Chalon
Assistant referees: Jonathan Dufort, Jean-Claude Labarbe
Television match official: Akim Hadj Bachir

Pau vs Stade Français
@ Stade du Hameau
Referee: Ludovic Cayre
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona, Jean-Luc Rebollal
Television match official: Philippe Bonhoure

Montpellier vs Toulouse
@ Altrad Stadium
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon, Richard Duhau
Television match official: Mourad Zitouni

Currie Cup

Free State Cheetahs vs Pumas
@ Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Jaco Kotze
Television match official: Lourens van der Merwe

Sharks vs Golden Lions
@ Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Egon Seconds
Assistant referees: Archie Sehlako, Blake Beattie
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman

Western Province vs Griquas
@ Newlands, Cape Town
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant referees: Jaco Pretorius, Ruhan Meiring
Television match official: Joey Klaaste-Salmans

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Leicester Tigers lock Will Spencer has been given a four-week suspension after appearing before an independent disciplinary panel on Monday.

Spencer was shown a red card by referee Ian Tempest in the 40th minute of the Premiership match between Wasps and Leicester Tigers at Ricoh Arena on Sunday. This was for a dangerous tackle on Wasps’ Tommy Taylor contrary to law 9.13.

The independent panel, chaired by Euan Ambrose with John Doubleday and Mike Curling, upheld the charge and Spencer was given a four-week suspension. He is free to play again on Tuesday, October 16.

Panel chair Ambrose said: “The Panel considered carefully the oral evidence of the Player, the written evidence of Tommy Taylor and the Wasps medical report, alongside the video footage and found on the balance of probabilities that this was a reckless tackle that resulted in direct, forceful contact to the head of Tommy Taylor.

“The Panel rejected the Players evidence that any contact with the opposition Player had been limited to the top of his shoulder with no contact being made to his head. Given that finding, the mandatory mid-range entry point was applied. The Player was given credit for his previous clear record, his conduct both at the hearing and his acceptance of the on-field decision and his off-field references which reduced the sanction to four weeks. He was not eligible for the full credit due to his not guilty plea. He is free to play again on the 16 October 2018.”

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Montpellier fly-half Aaron Cruden has been ruled out for a month with a torn calf sustained in Saturday’s 55-13 defeat to Lyon.

Cruden, who was making his comeback after two weeks on the sidelines, sustained the injury in the warm-up, but still played an hour of the match.

The 29-year-old will miss three consecutive Top 14 games, against Toulouse, Perpignan and Toulon, but coach Vern Cotter said he should return in time for the start of the Champions Cup.

“He hurt himself during the warm-up in Lyon, but he played for an hour. In principle, he will be ready for the start of the European Cup,” said the coach.

Montpellier meet Edinburgh in their opening game of the European showpiece on October 13.

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Griquas have made six changes to their team for the Currie Cup clash against Western Province at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.

The backline sees only one tweak with Junior Springbok scrum-half Zak Burger, who impressed off the bench in last weekend’s 52-24 thrashing of the Free State Cheetahs, replacing Christiaan Meyer, who went off the field clutching his hand in that match.

In the pack, Conway Pretorius takes the place of Jonathan Janse van Rensburg at number eight, while FP Pelser comes in for Wandile Putuma at lock.

There is an all-new front-row combination with Khwezi Mafu preferred to Wilmar Arnoldi at hooker, Nicolaas Oosthuizen coming in for Ewald van der Westhuizen at tighthead and Devon Martinus getting the nod ahead of Liam Hendricks at loosehead.

Griquas: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Kyle Steyn (c), 12 Andre Swarts, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Conway Pretorius, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Eital Bredenkamp, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 FP Pelser, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Khwezi Mkhafu, 1 Devon Martinus
Replacements: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Liam Hendricks, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Stephan Janse van Rensburg, 21 Wendal Wehr, 22 Christopher Bosch

Date: Saturday, September 22
Venue: Newlands
Kick-off: 19:30 local (18:30 BST, 17:30 GMT)
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant referees: Jaco Pretorius, Ruhan Meiring
Television match official: Joey Klaaste-Salmans

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Free State Cheetahs coach Daan Human has announced his matchday 23 for the clash with the Pumas at Free State Stadium on Friday.

Dennis Visser comes into the side at lock, with Abongile Nonkontwana shifting to the side of the scrum.

Elsewhere, Jannes Snyman replaces Nardus Erasmus at blindside, with the latter dropping down to the reserves, while Daniel Maartens moves from blindside flanker to number eight.

Stephan Malan drops out of the matchday 23 altogether, while Elandre Huggett has recovered from injury and will provide cover on the bench.

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Adriaan Carelse, 14 Ali Mgijima, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Vuyani Maqina, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Rudy Paige (c), 8 Daniel Maartens, 7 Jannes Snyman, 6 Abongile Nonkontwana, 5 Louis Conradie, 4 Dennis Visser, 3 Reinach Venter, 2 Elandre Huggett, 1 Johan Kotze
Replacements: 16 Hanno Snyman, 17 Stephan van Schalkwyk, 18 Nardus Erasmus, 19 Luigy van Jaarsveld, 20 Dian Badenhorst, 21 Reinhardt Erwee, 22 Maputa Dolo

Date: Friday, September 21
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 17:00 local (16:00 BST, 15:00 GMT)
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Jaco Kotze
Television match official: Lourens van der Merwe

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