Tag: Rugby

The Southern Kings shocked Glasgow Warriors before Connacht, Dragons, Leinster and Ospreys won the later PRO14 games taking place on Saturday.

Kings 38-28 Glasgow Warriors

The home side claimed a deserved 38-28 win over their more fancied opponents and raced into a 21-0 lead inside 20 minutes after scoring three converted tries.

Yaw Penxe opened the scoring in the sixth minute when he touched down after beating a couple of defenders and four minutes later, Martin du Toit scored after diving over from close quarters.

In the 20th minute, the home side went further ahead when Henry Brown made a break before offloading to Rudi van Rooyen, who stepped past a defender before crossing for his try.

The Kings were reduced to 14 men in the 28th minute when Penxe was sin binned for a dangerous tackle on DTH van der Merwe. The home side didn’t concede any further points during the half though but Masixole Banda added a penalty which gave them a 24-0 lead at the interval.

The Kings continued to dominate after the break and were rewarded in the 53rd minute when Harlon Klassen crossed for a well-taken try although Brown was also yellow carded for a cynical foul on defence and the Warriors were rewarded with tries from Nick Grigg and Van der Merwe during his stint on the sidelines.

The Kings struck back with another Du Toit try which sealed their win in the 72nd minute but Glasgow finished stronger and struck back via a Fraser Brown try and secured a bonus point thanks to another Van der Merwe five-pointer in the game’s closing stages after Godlen Masimla was also sent to sin bin.

The scorers:

For Kings:
Tries: Penxe, Du Toit 2, Van Rooyen, H Klassen
Cons: Banda 5
Pen: Banda
Yellow Cards: Penxe, Brown, Masimla

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Grigg, Van der Merwe 2, Brown
Cons: Hastings 4

Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Harlon Klassen, 12 Berton Klassen, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Henry Brown, 5 JC Astle, 4 Bobby de Wee, 3 Luvuyo Pupuma, 2 Michael Willemse (c), 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Justin Forwood, 18 Martin Dreyer, 19 Stephan Greeff, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, 23 Michael Botha

Glasgow: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Nick Grigg, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Ryan Wilson (c), 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Kevin Bryce, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Callum Gibbins, 21 Ali Price, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Robbie Nairn

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Paul Mente (South Africa)
Television match official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Connacht 33-20 Scarlets

Scarlets remain winless on the road after four rounds of the PRO14 after they went down to Connacht in Galway.

Three Connacht tries coupled with the boot of Jack Carty meant the 2016 champions defeated the side who dethroned them in 2017.

Centre Tom Farrell crossed within four minutes to give the home side the lead after Bundee Aki had broken the defensive line, Carty kicking the extra two. Leigh Halfpenny responded with two penalties for the visitors; sandwiched in between a three pointer for Carty to make it 10-6 with a quarter of the contest gone.

Cian Kelleher dotted down on 25 minutes after some patient play to push the score out to 17-6 although Scarlets wing Johnny McNicholl cut the deficit shortly after when he crossed the whitewash.

Carty closed the opening 40 with his second penalty of the contest making it 20-13 at the break. He scored the first six points of second-half when he kicked two penalties in the space of seven minutes to give the home side a 13-point lead with 10 minutes remaining.

A routine win then appeared anything but when the Scarlets crossed for their second try on 71 minutes courtesy of Tom Prydie, the winger’s score converted by Rhys Patchell.

The renewed contest was intriguing for a little over three minutes before Connacht replacement Niyi Adeolokun was released following a turnover and burst clear, the try and conversion making it 33-20 to seal the Irish side’s victory

The scorers:

For Connacht:
Tries: Farrell, Kelleher, Adeolokun
Cons: Carty 3
Pens: Carty 4

For Scarlets:
Tries: McNicholl, Prydie
Cons: Halfpenny, Patchell
Pens: Halfpenny 2

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Cian Kelleher, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Gavin Thornbury, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Colby Fainga’a, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Niyi Adeolokun

Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Lewis Rawlins, 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 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Paul Asquith

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Kieran Barry (Ireland)
Television match official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Dragons 16-5 Zebre

The Dragons secured their second win of the season with fly-half Arwel Robson laying the foundation for the hosts in a rain drenched Newport.

The home side had already tasted defeat at home to Italian opposition when Benetton came to Wales and left victorious in Round One. The Dragons levelled the score this time though and dominated proceedings from early on.

The Dragons fly-half notched the game’s opening eight points when he kicked a penalty after four minutes and then crossed for a try, back-row Ollie Griffiths throwing an excellent pass to send the fly-half over but the conversion failed. Mattia Bellini’s try midway through the first period enabled the Italians to stay in touch.

Dafydd Howells’ try on 40 minutes owed much to his forwards hard work and sent the hosts in 13-5 up. Full-back Jordan Williams assumed kicking duties in the opening minutes of the second 40 and his penalty pushed the gap out to 11 points.

Williams’ three points remained the only score of the second period. Replacement Brandon Nansen was sent to the sin-bin midway through the second period but Zebre failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and the Welsh side doubled their win count for the season.

The scorers:

For Dragons:
Tries: Robson, Howells
Pens: Robson, Williams
Yellow Card: Nansen

For Zebre:
Try: Bellini

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

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

Referee: Joy Neville (Ireland)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Simon Mills (Wales)
Television match official: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Leinster 31-7 Edinburgh

Leinster rolled out their A-list stars in Dublin on Saturday with predictable consequences against Edinburgh.

The European champions securing a bonus-point win after a dominant performance that had James Lowe and Jordan Larmour central to their excellence.

Fergus McFadden scored the game’s opening try after a charge down from Devin Toner’s lengthy frame had earned the home side possession. Johnny Sexton, appearing in a rare domestic game, kicked his first conversion of the night.

New Zealander Lowe scored Leinster’s second try as the half-time whistle approached, the former Chiefs man finishing off an excellent team score that featured both half-backs and Larmour before crossing in the corner.

The Irish province were in danger of running away with the contest but Magnus Bradbury’s try on 44 minutes brought the Scottish outfit back into the contest. Duhan van der Merwe made the initial break but was hauled down by Larmour. Edinburgh recycled and powered over.

That try seemed to spark Leinster into action, the Edinburgh resurgence looking brief as Josh van der Flier drew his man and sent Lowe up the left channel to score what he thought was his second before a forward pass ruled it out. The third score did follow four minutes later when Sexton, working on the wrap around, found Larmour and he stepped inside a couple of defenders to finish. Sexton added his second conversion.

The Irish fly-half scored the bonus-point score himself down the blindside after the Edinburgh defence bought his dummy.

The visitors’ night was made worse when, with 10 minutes remaining, they were reduced to 14 men. Replacement Pierre Schoeman was deemed to have led with his elbow whilst carrying into contact and was sent-off.

With the game in its closing stages Leinster ended the night with their fifth try to cap a five star performance, centre Garry Ringrose crossing the whitewash after an effective counter attack.

The scorers:

For Leinster:
Tries: McFadden, Lowe, Larmour, Sexton, Ringrose
Cons: Sexton 3

For Edinburgh:
Try: Bradbury
Con: Van der Walt
Red Card: Schoeman

Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Seán Cronin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Joe Tomane

Edinburgh: 15 Dougie Fife, 14 Jamie Farndale, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Luke Hamilton, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Fraser McKenzie (c), 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 James Johnstone

Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Chris Busby (Ireland)
Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Ospreys 27-10 Benetton Rugby

Ospreys bounced back from last week’s mauling at Munster to score their third victory from the opening four rounds with a 27-10 win at home to Benetton.

Benetton’s eagerness at the breakdown saw them penalised for going off their feet and Sam Davies kicked the game’s opening points 12 minutes in. His opposite number Antonio Rizzi levelled the score at three each 10 minutes later.

Dan Evans scored the first try of the evening after half an hour when Joe Thomas’ offload allowed him the space to dot down, the centre finding a gap in the Italian defence following an Ospreys line-out before sending the full-back over.

The Ospreys led 10-7 at the break and had an early second-half try chalked off by the TMO for a knock-on. Captain Justin Tipuric soon made sure of the hosts’ second try though when he made a break at halfway, kicking ahead with the support of George North the flanker regathered and scored.

The Ospreys skipper was sent to the sin-bin shortly after his try for collapsing the maul and his side were soon made to pay. Tipuric’s opposing number Abraham Steyn scored for the Italians with replacement Ian McKinley adding the extras.

Davies kicked his second penalty of the night with the Ospreys still a man down to limit the damage caused by the sin-binning. The hosts led 20-10.

With 10 minutes remaining fly-half Davies put any danger of a late Italian rally to bed as he ghosted over. A simple show and go allowed him to wrong foot the Benetton defence and waltz over.

The scorers:

For Ospreys:
Tries: Evans, Tipuric, S Davies
Cons: S Davies 3
Pens: S Davies 2
Yellow Card: Tipuric

For Benetton Rugby:
Try: Steyn
Con: McKinley
Pen: Rizzi
Yellow Card: Sperandio

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 George North, 13 Joe Thomas, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Aled Davies, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Ifan Phillips, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 James Hook, 23 Cory Allen

Benetton Rugby: 15 Luca Sperandio, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (c), 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Antonio Rizzi, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Cherif Traore
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Giuseppe Di Stefano, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Tommaso Iannone

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Fin Brown (Scotland), Wayne Davies (Wales)
Television match official: Tim Hayes (Wales)

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Wasps and Bath moved into the Premiership top four with victories over Sale and Northampton respectively on Saturday, while Bristol saw off Harlequins.

Bath 17-15 Northampton Saints

Bath edged Northampton Saints 17-15 at the Rec to continue their good run of form, with the teams having gone into the break level at 7-7.

Northampton drew first blood through Cobus Reinach, who scored the first try of the game in the 18th minute after kicking and chasing. Dan Biggar converted.

However, Bath responded in style 10 minutes later when Freddie Burns intercepted a pass just outside his own 22 and ran the length of the field to score and convert.

The hosts came out strongest after the break, with Burns extending their lead through a penalty before the in-form Joe Cokanasiga gave them some breathing space, receiving the ball from Elliott Stooke and going in for the try. Burns added the conversion before Biggar closed the gap with a 72nd minute penalty.

There was to be a late twist afterwards as Tom Collins scored a try six minutes later after being set up by Alex Mitchell’s offload. However, Biggar’s conversion attempt came off the woodwork, giving Bath the narrowest of victories.

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Burns, Cokanasiga
Cons: Burns 2
Pen: Burns

For Northampton:
Tries: Reinach, Collins
Cons: Biggar
Pen: Biggar

Bath: 15 Darren Atkins, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Aled Brew, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Max Green, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Luke Charteris (c), 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Max Wright

Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Andrew Symons, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dylan Hartley (cc), 1 Alex Waller (cc)
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Andrew Kellaway, 23 Harry Mallinder

Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Tom Foley, Simon McConnell
Television match official: David Grashoff

Bristol 20-13 Harlequins

Bristol Bears saw off Harlequins 20-13 at Ashton Gate, having led 11-10 at half-time, to return to winning ways after back-to-back defeats.

The visitors started the game on the front foot and were rewarded for their early pressure when Danny Care went over for the first try of the game from a pick-and-go in the seventh minute.

A conversion and penalty from James Lang stretched the lead to 10-0, but it was downhill from there for Harlequins for the rest of the first-half.

First, a 19th minute Ian Madigan penalty put the hosts on the board. Then, Ben Tapuai was yellow-carded for a high tackle.

Bristol did not capitalise on their temporary numerical advantage, but momentum was with them and they finally scored their first try through Piers O’Conor in the 35th minute.

Madigan nailed a penalty to put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time and two more shortly after the break, which came after a yellow card to Joe Marler for a high tackle on Andy Uren. Lang responded with a penalty of his own, but the Bristol fly-half then popped over another.

Quins’ indiscipline continued and Paul Lasike was yellow-carded for a no-arms hit in the 78th minute. The visitors were ultimately made to pay for their mistakes, as they were unable to fight back.

The scorers:

For Bristol:
Try: O’Conor
Pens: Madigan 5

For Harlequins:
Try: Care
Con: Lang
Pens: Lang 2
Yellow Cards: Tapuai, Marler, Lasike

Bristol: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua (c), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas
Replacements: 16 Nick Fenton-Wells, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Jake Armstrong, 19 Joe Joyce, 20 Jack Lam, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Zane Kirchner

Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Ross Chisholm, 10 James Lang, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Stan South, 20 Renaldo Bothma, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Paul Lasike

Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Jonathan Healy
Television match official: David Rose

Sale Sharks 13-31 Wasps

Wasps recovered from a shaky start to beat Sale 31-13 at the AJ Bell Stadium, having led 17-10 at half-time.

The visitors were hit by a yellow card in the first minute of the match, as Nathan Hughes was sin-binned for not rolling away near his own try-line.

Sale immediately capitalised on their early momentum and numerical advantage, as Jono Ross went over for the first try of the game from an attacking line-out in the second minute.

After a conversion and penalty from AJ MacGinty, in addition to a Lima Sopoaga penalty for Wasps, Nizaam Carr finally scored the visitors’ first try in the 34th minute of the game after a lovely pop-pass from Dan Robson, with Sopoaga adding the extras.

Wasps then took the lead on the stroke of half-time, with Michael Le Borgeois’ pass setting Josh Bassett up for the finish. Sopoaga converted from near the touchline.

MacGinty drew first blood after the break from a penalty, but Sale then lost Ben Curry to a yellow card for an early tackle on Willie le Roux. Will Stuart then scored from a pick-and-go from close range in the 52nd minute, with Sopoaga converting.

Hughes then added the cherry on top of the cake, forcing his way over from the back of the Wasps scrum and securing the bonus point try, with Sopoaga adding one last conversion.

The scorers:

For Sale Sharks:
Try: Ross
Con: MacGinty
Pens: MacGinty 2
Yellow Cards: B Curry

For Wasps:
Tries: Carr, Bassett, Stuart, Hughes
Cons: Sopoaga 4
Pen: Sopoaga
Yellow Card: Hughes

Sale: 15 Byron McGuigan, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Jono Ross (c), 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 James Phillips, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Cameron Neild, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Alexandru Tarus, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Luke James, 23 Arron Reed

Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly (c), 12 Michael Le Bourgeois, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Zurabi Zhvania
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom West, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Rob Miller

Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Philip Watters, Steve Lee
Television match official: Rowan Kitt

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The Sharks retained their unbeaten status in the Currie Cup when they secured a 37-21 win over the Golden Lions in Durban on Saturday.

The home side dominated for long periods although it took them some time to get going as wet weather made handling and underfoot conditions difficult.

They eventually outscored the Golden Lions by four tries to three and Robert du Preez finished with a 17-point haul courtesy of four conversions and three penalties.

The Sharks opened the scoring in the third minute via a Robert du Preez penalty but the visitors struck back in the eighth minute when Sylvian Mahuza had an easy run-in for the opening try after gathering a perfectly weighted crossfield kick from Shaun Reynolds.

Reynolds added the extras but that would be the last time the visitors would trouble the scorers during the opening period as the Sharks would dominate the rest of the half.

Du Preez added two further penalties which would give his side a 9-7 lead midway through the half.

In the 24th minute, Kobus van Wyk gathered a pass from Curwin Bosch on the Lions’ 22-metre line and set off on superb run, in which he beat three defenders, before offloading to Dan du Preez, who crossed for the home side’s first try.

10 minutes later, Du Preez turned provider and after gathering the ball at the back of a scrum on the Lions’ five-metre line, he offloaded to Louis Schreuder, who dotted down despite the attentions of two defenders.

Four minutes later, things went from bad to worse for the men from Johannesburg when Marvin Orie was yellow carded for foul play after an off-the-ball incident with Hyron Andrews.

And just before half-time, Luke Stringer extended the Sharks’ lead when he barged over from close quarters after Dan du Preez was stopped close to the tryline in the build-up.

Robert du Preez converted all three tries which meant the home side held a comfortable 30-7 lead at half-time.

The Sharks continued to dominate after the break and secured their bonus-point try in the 49th minute when Schreuder threw an inside pass to Dan du Preez, who crossed for his second try from close range.

The Lions were more competitive during the rest of the match and on the hour-mark James Venter scored their second try off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Sharks territory.

In the 75th minute, Wandisile Simelane did well to boot the ball upfield and beat Sbu Nkosi in a foot race before diving on the ball behind the home side’s tryline to add some respectabilty to the final score.

The scorers:

For Sharks:
Tries: D du Preez 2, Schreuder, Stringer
Cons: R du Preez 4
Pens: R du Preez 3

For Golden Lions:
Tries: Mahuza, Venter, Simelane
Cons: Reynolds 2, Coetzee
Yellow Card: Orie

Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle (c), 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Ruben van Heerden, 19 Jacques Vermeulen, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Sbu Nkosi, 22 Aphelele Fassi

Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Shaun Reynolds, 9 Ross Cronje (c), 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Len Massyn, 6 James Venter, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Rhyno Herbst, 3 Johannes Jonker, 2 Pieter Jansen, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16 Corne Fourie, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 Reinhard Nothnagel, 19 Driaan Bester, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Gianni Lombard, 22 Wandisile Simelane

Referee: Egon Seconds
Assistant referees: Archie Sehlako, Blake Beattie
TMO: Shaun Veldsman

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Take a check on the video highlights from Round Six of the Mitre 10 Cup.

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Bordeaux-Begles overcame leaders Clermont while there were also wins for Grenoble, La Rochelle, Toulon and Racing 92 in Saturday’s Top 14 matches.

Bordeaux-Begles 23-19 Clermont

Clermont suffered their first defeat of the campaign as they went down 23-19 to a determined Bordeaux-Begles side at Stade Chaban Delmas.

Tries from Vadim Cobilas and Afaesetiti Amosa, coupled with the boot of Baptiste Serin, helped UBB seal only their second win of 2018/19.

They led 13-9 at the break thanks to prop Cobilas’ crossing from short range, with Greig Laidlaw kicking all of Clermont’s points off the tee.

After the turnaround a yellow card for UBB fly-half Brock James did not affect their game as after Laidlaw’s fourth penalty, Amosa would power over from close range, making it 20-12 with the conversion before the influential scrum-half Serin added a penalty that made it 23-12.

Jacobus van Tonder responded with a carry over the line for Clermont just after the hour to reduce the margin to just four points and despite the visitors pressing hard late on – replacement George Moala being their main threat – Bordeaux-Begles held on for a big victory.

The scorers:

For Bordeaux-Begles:
Tries: Cobilas, Amosa
Cons: Serin 2
Pens: Serin 3
Yellow Card: James

For Clermont:
Try: Van Tonder
Con: Lopez
Pens: Laidlaw 4
Yellow Card: Timani

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Eto Nabuli, 13 Romain Lonca, 12 Nathan Decron, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Brock James, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Afaesetiti Amosa, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Jandré Marais, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Adrien Pelissie, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Florian Dufour, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Kane Douglas, 19 Beka Gorgadze, 20 Jules Gimbert, 21 Lucas Meret, 22 Nans Ducuing, 23 Lekso Kaulashvili

Clermont: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Tim Nanai-Williams, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Samuel Ezeala, 10 Patricio Fernandez, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Judicael Cancoriet, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Michael Simutoga, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Jacobus Van Tonder, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Charlie Cassang, 21 Camille Lopez, 22 George Moala, 23 Rabah Slimani

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset, Frédéric Chazal
Television match official: Bruno Bessot

Grenoble 31-22 Perpignan

Grenoble claimed their first triumph of the Top 14 season on Saturday as they beat early relegation rivals Perpignan 31-22 at Stade des Alpes.

Grenoble were comfortably leading 16-3 at half-time in the basement battle thanks to Raymond Rhule’s score and Gaitan Germain’s solid boot.

The hosts had to come from behind after Paddy Jackson’s third minute penalty, but thereafter Grenoble built a healthy lead by the half’s end.

Seilala Lam hit back for USAP moments into the second-half to reduce Grenoble’s lead to just six points. However, Germain then sent over his fourth, fifth and sixth penalties of the match to make it a 25-10 advantage for the home side, who were heading for the four points.

Eroni Sau’s score on 66 minutes brought Perpignan back into matters at 28-15 but two further Germain penalties meant Raphael Carbou’s late try for Perpignan came only as a consolation.

The scorers:

For Grenoble:
Try: Rhule
Con: Germain
Pens: Germain 8
Yellow Card: Fifita

For Perpignan:
Tries: Lam, Sau, Carbou
Cons: Jackson 2
Pen: Jackson

Grenoble: 15 Gaetan Germain, 14 Daniel Kilioni, 13 Taleta Tupuola, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Adrien Latorre, 9 Lilian Saseras, 8 Loic Godener, 7 Fabien Alexandre, 6 Steven Setephano, 5 Hans Nkinsi, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16 Duncan Casey, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Taiasina Tuifua, 19 Killian Geraci, 20 Theo Nanette, 21 Franck Pourteau, 22 Lolagi Visinia, 23 Beka Gigashvili

Perpignan: 15 Enzo Selponi, 14 Eroni Sau, 13 Wandile Mjekevu, 12 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 11 Mathieu Acebes, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Tom Ecochard, 8 Genesis Mamea, 7 Alan Brazo, 6 Mike Faleafa, 5 Berend Botha, 4 Shahn Eru, 3 Sylvain Charlet, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Raphael Carbou, 17 Yassine Boutemane, 18 Masalosalo Tutaia, 19 Lucas Bachelier, 20 Sadek Deghmache, 21 Jonathan Bousquet, 22 Jean Bernard Pujol, 23 Nicolas Lemaire

Referee: Jérôme Garcès
Assistant referees: Adrien Descottes, Thierry Guilloton
Television match official: Éric Gonthier

La Rochelle 30-13 Lyon

La Rochelle picked up their third victory of the Top 14 season as they saw off Lyon 30-13 to strengthen their position in the standings.

It was all square at half-time as the teams went in with an 8-8 scoreline, with both sides eager to continue their solid start to 2018/19.

Ihaia West opened the scoring for La Rochelle off the tee after three minutes before Jean-Marc Doussain responded to level it up at 3-3.

Then La Rochelle prop Dany Priso went over on 22 minutes before Lyon’s response again came, this time via a Jonathan Pelissie score.

Geoffrey Doumayrou’s try five minutes into the second 40 helped move La Rochelle 15-8 ahead and Elliot Roudil made sure of the win on 71 minutes when his try made it 23-8 to the hosts, with Arthur Retiere adding the gloss in final minutes, this after Charlie Ngatai crossed.

The scorers:

For La Rochelle:
Tries: Priso, Doumayrou, Roudil, Retiere
Cons: West, Lafage
Pens: West 2

For Lyon:
Tries: Pelissie, Ngatai
Pen: Doussain
Yellow Cards: Barassi, Menini

La Rochelle: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Jules Favre, 11 Arthur Retiere, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Alexis Balès, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Lopeti Timani, 6 Remi Bourdeau, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Hikairo Forbes, 17 Leo Aouf, 18 Romain Sazy, 19 Zeno Kieft, 20 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 21 Maxime Lafage, 22 Elliot Roudil, 23 Arthur Joly

Lyon: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Xavier Mignot, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Thibault Regard, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Jonathan Pélissié, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Patrick Sobela, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Clement Ric, 2 Jeremie Maurouard, 1 Hamza Kaabeche
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Francois van der Merwe, 19 Liam Gill, 20 Toby Arnold, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Charlie Ngatai, 23 Francisco Gomez Kodela

Referee: Tual Trainini
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos, Bruno Gabaldon
Television match official: Éric Gauzins

Toulon 33-3 Agen

Toulon claimed only their second win of the season as they beat Agen 33-3 at Stade Mayol, but it was not a victory that inspired confidence.

The hosts were cruising 19-0 at the break as they looked set to post a decent score, Josua Tuisova, Eric Escande and Liam Messam crossing.

It took just nine minutes for wing Tuisova to open their account before scrum-half Escande doubled the lead nine minutes later, with New Zealander Messam making it a 19 point cushion, leaving Agen with a mountain to climb if they were to recover for a third win of 2018/19.

But after the break Toulon’s points dried up as it was only a Leo Berdeu penalty for Agen that troubled the scoreboard until the 69th minute.

Finally Toulon added to their tally at that moment as Anthony Belleau went over to make it 26-3 and there was time for one more try which came from outside centre Malakai Fekitoa as Toulon gave their supporters some cheer after what had been a disappointing start to the term.

The scorers:

For Toulon:
Tries: Tuisova, Escande, Messam, Belleau, Fekitoa
Cons: Belleau 4

For Agen:
Pen: Berdeu

Toulon: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Francois Trinh-Duc, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Eric Escande, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Swan Rebbadj, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Corentin Vernet, 3 Emerick Setiano, 2 Anthony Etrillard, 1 Sebastien Taofifenua
Replacements: 16 Bastien Soury, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Juandre Kruger, 19 Jaques Potgieter, 20 JP Pietersen, 21 Filipo Nakosi, 22 Anthony Meric, 23 Marcel van der Merwe

Agen: 15 Clement Laporte, 14 Timilai Rokoduru, 13 Julien Heriteau, 12 Mathieu Lamoulie, 11 Loris Tolot, 10 Leo Berdeu, 9 Lucas Rubio, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Vincent Farre, 6 Antoine Miquel, 5 Denis Marchois, 4 Andres Zafra Tarazona, 3 Xerom Civil, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Morgan Phelipponneau
Replacements: 16 Quentin Bethune, 17 Paula Ngauamo, 18 Loic Hocquet, 19 Yoan Tanga, 20 Paul Abadie, 21 Jake McIntyre, 22 Johann Sadie, 23 Dave Ryan

Referee: Vincent Blasco Baque
Assistant referees: Julien Castaignède, Jacques De Lemos
Television match official: Cédric Marchat

Racing 92 27-11 Castres

Racing 92 beat reigning champions Castres 27-11 on Saturday in a result that lifts them up to second position in the Top 14 standings.

A first minute try from Virimi Vakatawa got them off to the perfect start, with Finn Russell adding the conversion before a penalty goal.

Benjamin Urdapilleta responded off the tee on 16 minutes to make it 10-3 but then Simon Zebo crossed to move Racing 92 17-3 in front.

Castres replacement prop Paea Fa’anunu went over first in the second-half, coming after an Urdapilleta penalty, meaning it was now 17-11.

But Racing 92 secured victory when, following a Russell penalty, Zebo claimed his brace in the 70th minute to wrap up their third win.

The scorers:

For Racing 92:
Tries: Vakatawa, Zebo 2
Cons: Russell 3
Pens: Russell 2

For Castres:
Tries: Fa’anunu
Pens: Urdapilleta 2
Yellow Card: Tulou

Racing 92: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Louis Dupichot, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Xavier Chauveau, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Boris Palu, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Edwin Maka, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Antoine Gibert, 21 Ben Volavola, 22 Joe Rokocoko, 23 Cedate Gomes Sa

Castres: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Martin Laveau, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Florian Vialelle, 11 Armand Batlle, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Camille Gerondeau, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Victor Moreaux, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Tudor Stroe
Replacements: 16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Antoine Tichit, 18 Christophe Samson, 19 Alex Tulou, 20 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 21 Yohan Le Bourhis, 22 Thomas Combezou, 23 Paea Fa’anunu

Referee: Maxime Chalon
Assistant referees: Jonathan Dufort, Jean-Claude Labarbe
Television match official: Akim Hadj Bachir

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Saracens moved top of the Premiership on Sunday after defeating Gloucester, while Worcester Warriors produced a shock win over Leicester Tigers.

Saracens 38-15 Gloucester
Allianz Park

Maro Itoje touched down twice as Saracens maintained their perfect start to the campaign following a comfortable triumph over Gloucester.

The Cherry and Whites have shown signs of improvements in the early stages of the campaign but they were easily beaten by the defending champions. It was effectively decided by the break with David Strettle and Itoje (twice) going over, while Billy Twelvetrees provided the away side’s sole response from the tee.

Mark McCall’s outfit were slightly less clinical after the interval but they managed two further tries via Sean Maitland and Alex Lozowski, although the away side had the final word through Mark Atkinson and Charlie Sharples.

Sarries, despite winning their previous three matches, had struggled to find top form, but they were excellent against the West Countrymen.

Against the wind, the visitors often struggled to get out of their own half in the first 40 minutes and Sarries pounced, scoring first through Owen Farrell’s penalty.

They then constructed a well-worked try as Sean Maitland broke through in the outside channel and passed to Strettle, who touched down unopposed.

Johan Ackermann’s men were failing to gain much traction with ball in hand, although Jason Woodward threatened a couple of times, and two Itoje tries took McCall’s charges clear at the interval.

Saracens continued their dominance in the second period but it took them 13 minutes to secure the bonus-point as Maitland scampered over.

Gloucester had little answer to the power and quality of the home team and Lozowski completed Sarries’ scoring when he latched onto Liam Williams’ run.

The Cherry and Whites kept on going, however, and were rewarded when Atkinson and Sharples crossed the whitewash late on.

The scorers:

For Saracens:
Tries: Strettle, Itoje 2, Maitland, Lozowski
Cons: Farrell 5
Pen: Farrell

For Gloucester:
Tries: Atkinson, Sharples
Con: Twelvetrees
Pen: Twelvetrees

Saracens: 15 Liam Williams, 14 David Strettle, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Mike Rhodes, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Will Skelton, 4 George Kruis, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Nick Isiewke, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Alex Goode

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Ed Slater (c), 3 Fraser Balmain; 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Tom Hudson

Referee: Christopher Ridley
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Rob Warburton
TMO: Trevor Fisher

Leicester Tigers 37-44 Worcester Warriors
Welford Road

Worcester Warriors finally got their reward for three successive near misses after superbly overcoming Leicester Tigers.

The Warriors were narrowly defeated by Wasps, Sale and Newcastle, but they were on the right end of the scoreline this time around, securing the bonus-point by the interval through Jack Singleton, Chris Pennell and a Duncan Weir brace.

Ted Hill added a further try in the second period before Leicester launched a stunning comeback through Jonny May, David Denton, Sione Kalamafoni and George Ford, but Worcester launched one last attack and Hill scored in the corner to win a remarkable game.

Alan Solomons’ men were outstanding early on and went 14-0 ahead in the opening 10 minutes through a pair of Weir tries. Bryce Heem created the first, breaking through the middle and off-loading to the fly-half, before Sam Lewis and Pierce Phillips combined for the Scotland international to go over again.

Consecutive Ford penalties reduced the arrears but the visitors were in control and, after Weir had kicked a three-pointer, Singleton was on the end of another incisive attack to score.

Leicester were stunned and, although Guy Thompson’s try briefly stemmed the flow of Worcester points, Solomons’ charges were soon back in command and Pennell crossed the whitewash in the left-hand corner.

Weir added another couple of efforts off the tee to make it a 19-point buffer at the break before Hill extended their lead in the second period.

To the Tigers’ credit, they improved significantly and put the visitors under pressure. Quick-fire efforts from May and Denton gave them hope before they increased the intensity further.

Geordan Murphy’s charges appeared to have salvaged a draw when Kalamafoni and Ford went over, but Hill had one last sting in the tail as Worcester deservedly ended a winless run.

The scorers:

For Leicester:
Tries: Thompson, May, Denton, Kalamafoni, Ford
Cons: Ford 3
Pens: Ford 2

For Worcester:
Tries: Weir 2, Singleton, Pennell, Hill 2
Cons: Weir 3, Pennell
Pens: Weir 2

Leicester: 15 Jordan Olowofela, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 David Denton, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 David Feao, 18 Gaston Cortes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Ben White, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Kyle Eastmond

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Marco Mama, 5 Pierce Phillips, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Ashley Beck

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Wayne Falla
TMO: John Byett

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Montpellier found their form from last season to thrash Toulouse, while Stade Francais produced another excellent performance to defeat Pau.

Results

Sunday
Pau 13-25 Stade Francais
Montpellier 66-15 Toulouse

Pau 13-25 Stade Francais
Stade du Hameau

Stade Francais moved to within one point of Clermont Auvergne at the summit of the Top 14 table after defeating Pau at the Stade du Hameau.

The Parisians controlled the opening period and scored three tries as they went into the break 22-3 in front. Gael Fickou claimed another brace, following his efforts last week, while Kylan Hamdaoui touched down for the other.

Simon Mannix’s men threatened a comeback when Watisoni Votu crossed the whitewash twice but Morne Steyn’s penalty in the second-half made sure of the victory.

Following the issues of 2017/18, Stade have enjoyed a remarkable start to the campaign and they were impressive in the first-half at the Stade du Hameau.

Although they were slow to get going, by the end of the first quarter Heyneke Meyer’s charges had scored their first try as Fickou went over.

Steyn and Thibault Daubagna then traded penalties before the visiting outside centre scored his second try for a 15-3 advantage. That buffer was soon increased just shy of the interval via Hamdaoui and that left Pau with plenty of work to do after the break.

To the hosts’ credit, they were improved in the second period and reduced the arrears when Antoine Hastoy broke through and fed Votu to touch down.

Steyn kept their opponents at arm’s length with a three-pointer before Votu finished in the corner to reduce the arrears going into the final quarter.

Pau were further boosted by Arthur Coville’s yellow card for taking Charly Malie in the air, but the away side were comfortable winners.

The scorers:

For Pau:
Tries: Votu 2
Pen: Daubagna

For Stade:
Tries: Fickou 2, Hamdaoui
Cons: Steyn 2
Pens: Steyn 2
Yellow Card: Coville

Pau: 15 Charly Malié, 14 Jesse Mogg, 13 Julien Fumat, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Antoine Erbani, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Pierrick Gunther, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Laurent Bouchet, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Geoffrey Moïse, 18 Baptiste Pesenti, 19 Martin Puech, 20 Julien Blanc, 21 Antoine Hastoy, 22 Florian Nicot, 23 Lourens Adriaanse

Stade: 15 Kylan Hamdaoui, 14 Waisea Nayacalevu, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Julien Arias, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Sekou Macalou, 6 Tala Gray, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Laurent Panis, 1 Heinke van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Lucas Da Silva, 17 Siegfried Fisiihoi, 18 Alexandre Flanquart, 19 Ryan Chapuis, 20 Arthur Coville, 21 Jules Plisson, 22 Julien Delbouis, 23 Paul Alo-Emile

Referee: Ludovic Cayre
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure

Montpellier 66-15 Toulouse
GGL Stadium

Louis Picamoles crossed the whitewash four times as Toulouse’s unbeaten start to the season came to a rather abrupt end at a rampant Montpellier.

Les Rouge et Noir were also reduced to 14 men when Piula Fa’asalele was sent-off for a dangerous tackle but by that point they were already 21-3 in arrears. Picamoles, Gabriel Ngandebe and Nemani Nadolo had all touched down before Fa’asalele’s indiscretion as Vern Cotter’s men took a commanding lead.

Romain Ntamack kicked a penalty and Arthur Bonneval crossed the whitewash twice for the visitors, but that was as good as it got for Ugo Mola’s outfit. Benjamin Fall and Nadolo both bagged a brace of tries but Picamoles was the standout figure, going over three more times in the second period.

After an inconsistent start to the season, Cotter’s charges were evidently determined to show their true capabilities. That they did after twice going over in the first 10 minutes through Picamoles and Ngandebe.

Although Ntamack responded for Toulouse with an effort off the tee, Nadolo finished well in the corner to open up an 18-point advantage before Fa’asalele’s red card effectively ended the game as a contest.

Two more tries were forthcoming in the first half as Ruan Pienaar and Fall crossed the whitewash for a 31-3 half-time score.

Nadolo and Bonneval traded efforts at the start of the final 40 minutes before the hosts ran riot in the final quarter.

They went over four more times, with three of those going to their talismanic back-rower, while Fall also touched down once again.

It was a torrid evening for Les Rouge et Noir but they had the final say when Bonneval surged across the line in the last minute.

The scorers:

For Montpellier:
Tries: Picamoles 4, Ngandebe, Nadolo 2, Pienaar, Fall 2
Cons: Pienaar 5, Goosen 3

For Toulouse:
Tries: Bonneval 2
Con: Ramos
Pen: Ntamack
Red Card: Fa’asalele

Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Gabriel Ngandebe, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Kornath, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Vincent Giudicelli, 1 Gregory Fichten
Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Julien Ledevedec, 19 Wiaan Liebenberg, 20 Enzo Sanga, 21 Yvan Reilhac, 22 Vincent Martin, 23 Jannie du Plessis

Toulouse: 15 Matthis Lebel, 14 Arthur Bonneval, 13 Pita Ahki, 12 Lucas Tauzin, 11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Pierre Pagès, 8 Carl Axtens, 7 Alban Placines, 6 Louis-Benoit Madaule, 5 Pierre Gayraud, 4 Piula Fa’asalele, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Guillaume Marchand, 1 Clément Castets
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 David Ainuu, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 François Cros, 20 Selevasio Tolofua, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 Thomas Ramos, 23 Maks Van Dyk

Referee: Alexandre Ruiz
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon, Richard Duhau
TMO: Mourad Zitouni

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The uncapped Blitzbok star Ruhan Nel, Vincent Koch (prop), Sbu Nkosi (wing), Lionel Mapoe (centre) and Ivan van Zyl (scrum-half) have been added to the Springbok squad for their final two Rugby Championship home matches against the Wallabies and the All Blacks.

Front-row Koch is currently starring for Saracens in England but has not played for the Springboks since the 2016 November internationals.

Meanwhile, Nkosi, who was impressive against England in June, has recovered from the ankle injury that stopped him from playing in any Rugby Championship matches so far this year.

Nel, who plays outside for Western Province in the Currie Cup, is included amongst the backs alongside Mapoe.

They will join the 17 players already in camp in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. The Springboks face the Wallabies next Saturday, 29 September in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They conclude the Rugby Championship with a return fixture against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria a week later.

Nel, who plays outside for Western Province in the Currie Cup, is included amongst the backs alongside Mapoe.

Meanwhile, Trevor Nyakane (prop, Blue Bulls) will continue with his conditioning programme under the supervision of the Springbok conditioning and medical staff over the next two weeks.

Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s director of rugby, said he was excited to welcome back players such as Nyakane, Van Zyl, Mapoe and Nkosi, and to work with Nel and Koch.

“Ruhan comes with a lot of international experience with the Blitzboks and he has performed consistently well for DHL WP, so it will be good to see how he operates in the Bok environment,” said Erasmus.

“Trevor and Sbu have been part of the squad earlier in the year and it’s good to welcome them back, while the players who featured for their provinces in recent weeks all got some valuable game time.”

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Argentina will be without the services of wing Ramiro Moyano when they take on New Zealand in their Rugby Championship Test in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

The 28-year-old is still recovering from a rib injury sustained in the Pumas’ victory against Australia on the Gold Coast earlier this month.

Moyano was one of Argentina’s standout performers in their 46-24 loss to the All Blacks in their corresponding fixture in Round Three and scored a brilliant try in which he beat three defenders in that match.

The former Argentina Sevens representative also scored a try in Argentina’s 32-19 victory over South Africa in Mendoza last month.

Apart from Moyano, Argentina head coach Mario Ledesma has also left out back-up fly-half Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, prop Enrique Pieretto and back-row duo Leonardo Senatore and Rodrigo Bruni of a 30-man squad for this weekend’s Test.

Argentina squad:

Forwards: Forwards: Matias Alemanno, Diego Fortuny, Santiago Garcia Botta, Agustin Creevy (c), Ramiro Herrera, Marcos Kremer, Tomas Lavanini, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Tomas Lezana, Pablo Matera, Santiago Medrano, Julian Montoya, Javier Ortega Desio, Guido Petti, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Juan Zeiss

Backs: Gonzalo Bertranou, Emiliano Boffelli, Sebastian Cancelliere, Tomas Cubelli, Santiago Alvarez Fourcade, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Bautista Delguy, Bautista Ezcurra, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Martin Landajo, Juan Cruz Mallia, Matias Moroni, Matias Orlando, Nicolas Sanchez

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Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle has revealed that Wallabies flanker Lukhan Tui will not be rushed into making a call on his return to the game.

Tui is taking time away from the game while his Test team-mates are in South Africa and Argentina after the sudden death of his stepfather last week.

The 21-year-old told team-mates after Australia’s loss to Argentina just over a week ago that he wanted to take the rest of the year away from rugby after a tumultuous few days culminated in the back-row clashing with a Wallabies fan.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Castle said there was no decision made on whether Tui would join the Test group for next month’s Bledisloe Cup clash or the three-week November tour.

“I actually went up to his father’s funeral in Brisbane yesterday, I went to the funeral and he’s made it clear that he needs some space to support his family through this difficult time and he won’t travel to South Africa and Argentina and when (the team) gets back that’s when I think we’ll have another conversation with him,” she said.

“(That’s) not because he’s necessarily going to come on the November tour, just because he’s and important part of the Wallabies setup and they’ll make sure they want to stay in contact with him.”

Castle also reiterated Rugby Australia’s support for Michael Cheika, saying the board backed his plan for the team heading into the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

“He’s got a plan that he’s been working towards that World Cup,” she said.

“Yes, losing to Argentina is not where he wants it to be but we’re in constant dialogue with him, we know he’s got a plan and we support that plan.”

There has been speculation that a new face might be added to the Wallabies fold whether that is in a selector’s capacity or something similar, after Australia’s loss to Argentina in the Rugby Championship left them with just two wins from six Tests in 2018.

No changes have been made to Cheika’s coaching team yet but Castle said that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be additions down the track.

“He (Cheika) would always need to be reviewing that, as you would whether you’re winning or losing to make sure he’s got the best people as we move into the World Cup next year,” she said.

“I know that when we have some losses the blowtorch comes on those conversations and he’s certainly aware of them and he needs to make sure he’s got the best people around him.”

The Wallabies arrived in Port Elizabeth on Sunday ahead of next weekend’s clash with the Springboks.

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