Tag: Rugby

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South Africa continued with their fine recent form when they beat Australia 23-12 in a Rugby Championship Test in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

In a tightly contested match, the Springboks were made to work hard for this result as they were under plenty of pressure for long periods but a solid defensive effort, particularly in the second half, kept the Wallabies at bay.

Both teams scored two tries apiece, although excellent goalkicking from Handré Pollard proved to be the difference between the sides and he contributed 13 points courtesy of three penalties and two conversions.

The victory is South Africa’s third of the tournament and consolidates second position on the table while Australia are still firmly rooted to the bottom of the standings.

South Africa made a terrific start when 25 seconds into the match Kurtley Beale threw a long pass – close to his tryline – which Aphiwe Dyantyi intercepted, from under the nose of Dane Haylett-Petty, before crossing for the opening try.

Pollard slotted the conversion which meant the Boks had their tails up with the score 7-0 in their favour.

Three minutes later, the Wallabies had a chance to narrow the gap when Matt Toomua lined up a penalty, after the Boks strayed offside on defence, but his shot at goal was wide of the posts.

The home side held the upper hand over the next 15 minutes but, despite having the bulk of the possession, they could not convert their dominance into points.

Despite being on the back-foot during that period, the visitors were kept in the game thanks to a superb defensive effort with David Pocock leading the charge with two crucial steals at the breakdown.

However, the Boks’ fortunes would change in the 21st minute when Pollard beat a couple of defenders inside the Wallabies’ 22 before throwing an inside pass to Faf de Klerk, who raced away before scoring next to the posts.

Despite that score, the visitors stayed true to their attacking roots and ran the ball from all areas of the field. And in the 26th minute that tactic reaped reward when Will Genia threw a long pass to Reece Hodge, who dotted down in the right-hand corner.

Toomua’s conversion was off target but shortly afterwards Marika Koroibete found himself in space down the left-hand touchline, inside South Africa’s half, before throwing a pass to Genia, who cantered in for the visitors’ second try.

This time Toomua was successful off the kicking tee which meant the match was evenly poised with the Springboks leading 14-12.

However, in the 34th minute, Australia strayed offside on defence close to their tryline and Pollard added the resulting penalty to give his side a five-point lead.

The Wallabies had a chance to narrow the gap shortly afterwards when Pollard was blown up for offside play but Reece Hodge was off-target with a long range penalty.

Just before half-time, Siya Kolisi did brilliantly to win a penalty for his side at a breakdown and Pollard added another three-pointer which gave the Boks a 20-12 lead at the interval.

The Springboks made a bright start to the second half and six minutes into the half they extended their lead when Pollard slotted another penalty after Pocock was blown up for an illegal hit on Dyantyi.

The next 20 minutes was an arm wrestle with Australia spending long periods inside South Africa’s half but, although the visitors were awarded several penalties within goalkicking range, their captain, Michael Hooper, opted to kick for touch instead.

In the 64th minute, the Springboks’ penchant for conceding penalties proved costly when Dyantyi was yellow carded when he slowed the ball down cynically at a ruck inside his 22.

That gave the Wallabies a chance to up the ante on attack and, although they did just that, a combination of unforced errors and the Boks’ excellent defensive work kept them out during Dyantyi’s stint off the field and the game’s closing stages.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries: Dyantyi, De Klerk
Cons: Pollard 2
Pens: Pollard 3
Yellow Card: Dyantyi

For Australia:
Tries: Hodge, Genia
Con: Toomua

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier , 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse

Australia: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Israel Folau, 13 Reece Hodge, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Izack Rodda, 4 Adam Coleman, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Folau Faingaa, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rory Arnold, 20 Rob Simmons, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Jack Maddocks

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Matthew Carley (England)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)

By David Skippers

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Following a 23-12 victory for South Africa over Australia in their Rugby Championship game, here’s our five takeaways from Port Elizabeth.

The Kurtley Beale experiment isn’t working: Beale is a quality player but it just isn’t happening for the Waratahs man in the fly-half position. He always shows some excellent touches but the 29-year-old does not provide the control they need in that position. His errant pass for the first try rather typified that and, while Bernard Foley has his detractors, Foley is quite simply a better pivot. Michael Cheika evidently wants to get Beale and Matt Toomua in the same team so why not put the former at full-back with Israel Folau already out on the wing?

Boks show promise but need to find the right balance: South African supporters have yearned for a more expansive game, which was something they attempted during the Allister Coetzee era, but they went wide without doing the hard work up front. Rassie Erasmus has helped correct that somewhat but they are still overplaying at times and need to adjust. Handre Pollard has huge potential but he is making too many mistakes at fly-half and is allowing the opposition back into the game. It is a positive that the Springboks are creating chances but they just need to tighten up elements of their game to challenge the All Blacks consistently.

Double delight out wide for Boks: Not the biggest in terms of size but both Aphiwe Dyantyi and Cheslin Kolbe are deadly if given a sniff. Dyantyi enjoyed the perfect start to the game thanks to that gift from Beale on 30 seconds and was a threat throughout, with only some poor basic skills and option taking costing him another crossing. Kolbe meanwhile was somewhat a leftfield call-up in South Africa’s team earlier in the Rugby Championship but on Saturday showed he belongs at this level. A brave and dangerous wing who was faultless in PE.

Wallabies lacking physicality: This was a glaring weakness in Australia’s game at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as they could not bust down a formidable Springbok defence. Not for a lack of trying, the visitors simply did not have the bulk to make inroads in close quarters and that was a huge psychological fillip for the Boks, who are improving game by game. Australia had 60% possession and 64% territory while the Boks made over twice as many tackles as their visitors but the scores just wouldn’t come for Cheika’s side, who need more grunt up front.

Quiet day for Taniela Tupou: He’s been a real handful when coming off the bench this Rugby Championship but as a starter on Saturday Tupou was not his usual bustling self. South Africa contained the powerful tighthead – and the whole pack as mentioned above – with only two carries for zero metres his offering with ball in hand. Maybe Cheika will go back to Allan Alaalatoa starting and Tupou off the bench?

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Highlights from South Africa’s 23-12 victory over Australia in Port Elizabeth.

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A high-scoring Saturday in the Premiership saw Saracens and Exeter Chiefs consolidate their position as the two early favourites for the title, with Northampton and Harlequins also claiming wins.

Bristol 40-45 Northampton Saints
Ashton Gate

Northampton edged Bristol 45-40 in a hard-fought encounter at Ashton Gate, putting some breathing space between themselves and the foot of the table.

After Saints had taken an early lead through a Dan Biggar penalty, Bristol came straight back at them from the restart and scored the first try of the game through Will Hurrell, who powered over from close range six minutes in.

Luther Burrell thought he had scored shortly afterwards at the other end, but the try was disallowed for a forward pass from Cobus Reinach in the build-up. However, Ehren Painter finally got them over the chalk from close range in the 14th minute, with Northampton’s decision not to go for posts from a penalty vindicated.

Andrew Kellaway gave Saints some breathing space in the 21st minute, beating a defender and going over in the corner.

A Callum Sheedy penalty put Bristol back within striking distance, but they were dealt a blow 27 minutes in when Jack Lam was yellow-carded for collapsing the maul close to the try-line.

Nevertheless, it was the Bears who struck next, with Harry Thacker going over from around 40 metres out following a lineout move.

However, Saints had the last laugh before half-time in terms of tries, as Lewis Ludlam danced past George Smith to go in under the posts. The score at the break was 24-20 in favour of the visitors.

Taqele Naiyaravoro extended their advantage just three minutes after half-time, scoring Northampton’s fourth try. However, Luke Morahan hit back four minutes later with Bristol’s third.

Sheedy’s penalty made it a one-point ball game, but then Alex Waller scored a try to give Saints some breathing space. Shortly after Biggar’s 60th minute conversion, Mike Haywood scored Northampton’s sixth five-pointer of the game.

The closing stages of the game saw a valiant fightback from the Bears, with Hurrell and Alapati Leiua scoring unconverted tries. However, Northampton ultimately came away with a hard-earned win.

The scorers:

For Bristol:
Tries: Hurrell 2, Thacker, Morahan, Leiua
Cons: Sheedy 3
Pens: Sheedy 3
Yellow Card: Lam

For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Painter, Kellaway, Ludlam, Naiyaravoro, Waller, Haywood
Cons: Biggar 5, Mallinder
Pen: Biggar

Bristol: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Jack Lam, 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua (c), 5 Joe Latta, 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 Nick Haining, 21 Nic Stirzaker, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Zane Kirchner

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

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Dean Richards Jonathan Healy
Television match official: Trevor Fisher

Exeter Chiefs 28-11 Worcester Warriors
Sandy Park

Although far from spectacular, Exeter Chiefs did what they needed to in order to see off Worcester Warriors, scoring four tries in a 28-11 victory.

Exeter headed into the game in fine form, and after a slow start to the game and a Worcester penalty to put them on the back foot, they showed why they are among the favourites for the title with three converted tries late in the first half.

Jack Yeandle went over for the first of the game in the 25th minute from a maul. Then, Dave Ewers scored two before the half-time – one from a tap penalty and another from a pick-and-go. At the break, Chiefs led 21-3.

However, Warriors did well to fight their way back into the game, closing the gap first through a penalty and then a 51st minute Ted Hill try following a sustained spell of pressure.

Despite their valiant effort, the wheels came off for Worcester towards the end of the second half, as they saw Ryan Bower sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes as a result of persistent infringements from his team. In case Chiefs’ victory was in any doubt by this stage, Harry Williams capped it off with a 73rd minute try to seal the bonus point.

The scorers:

For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Yeandle, Ewers 2, Williams
Cons: Steenson 4

For Worcester Warriors:
Try: Hill
Pens: Pennell 2
Yellow Card: Bower

Exeter: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Alex Cuthbert, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Sam Hill

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Marco Mama, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Matthew O’Grady, Robert Warburton
Television match official: Claire Hodnett

Gloucester 25-27 Harlequins
Kingsholm

Harlequins snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, seeing off Gloucester 27-25 in a nail-biting encounter.

A tightly-fought first half saw two tries apiece, with Danny Cipriani and Charlie Sharples scoring either side of a brace from Nathan Earle.

Another major talking point was a yellow card to Matt Symons late in the first half, which was given for an offside with Gloucester on the attack.

Johan Ackermann’s side took an 18-15 lead into half-time, but three Quins penalties then put them on the back foot.

However, Sharples had his second try in the 68th minute following some wonderful hands from Gloucester, with Matt Banahan offloading to Tom Hudson, who set him up for the finish.

There was to be one last twist, however, as a 79th minute Marcus Smith penalty gave Harlequins their second win of the season.

The scorers:

For Gloucester:
Tries: Cipriani, Sharples 2
Cons: Cipriani 2
Pens: Cipriani 2

For Harlequins:
Tries: Earle 2
Con: Lang
Pens: Lang 2, Smith 3
Yellow Card: Symons

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

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Tim Visser, 10 James Lang, 9 Danny Care, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Chris Robshaw (cc), 6 Renaldo Bothma, 5 James Horwill (cc), 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Will Collier, 19 Stan South, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Aaron Morris

Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Steve Lee, Simon McConnell
Television match official: Keith Lewis

Saracens 50-27 Bath
Allianz Park

Saracens continued their fine form as they beat Bath 50-27 in a fast-paced encounter.

The defending champions headed into the game on a roll, with 20 points from their opening four matches. Despite falling behind to a Rhys Priestland penalty early on, it didn’t take long for them to show their class.

A fantastic 12th minute try from Liam Williams was followed by another from Alex Goode just three minutes later. After another three-pointer from Priestland, Jamie George scored Saracens’ third.

The half finished in frantic fashion, as Chris Cook and Tom Homer were able to score tries either side of the hosts’ fourth, which came through Nick Tompkins.

The score at half-time was 26-20 to the champions, but they wasted no time after the game restarted, with Williams scoring his second try of the game a minute into the second half before completing the hat-trick 11 minutes later.

Homer hit back with his second try just past the 60-minute mark, but Saracens were far from done, as Sean Maitland and Christopher Tolofua added yet more five-pointers to their total, with the final conversion from Owen Farrell bringing up 50 points.

The scorers:

For Saracens:
Tries: Williams 3, Goode, George, Tompkins, Maitland, Tolofua
Cons: Farrell 5

For Bath:
Tries: Cook, Homer 2
Cons: Priestland 2, Burns
Pens: Priestland 2

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

Bath: 15 Darren Atkins, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Max Clark, 12 Max Wright, 11 Tom Homer, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Paul Grant, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Charlie Ewels (c), 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Victor Delmas, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Max Green, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jackson Willison

Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank, Anthony Woodthorpe
Television match official: Geoffrey Warren

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Western Province outmuscled the Sharks in their top-of-the-table Currie Cup encounter to claim a 50-28 victory in Cape Town on Saturday.

In a topsy-turvy match, in which both sides gave the ball plenty of air, the home side got the rub of the green in the end and eventually outscored the Sharks by seven tries to four with SP Marais leading the way with a 20-point haul courtesy of a try, six conversions and a penalty.

The game started at a frenetic pace and the Sharks drew first blood when Marius Louw crossed the whitewash as early as the first minute after running onto a pass from Lwazi Mvovo, who did well to free his hands for the offload after being stopped close to the tryline.

Robert du Preez added the extras but despite that early lead, the home side soon took control of proceedings and scored 31 unanswered points over the next 30 minutes.

Province took the ball through some phases inside the visitors’ 22 before Jaco Coetzee, who was a late replacement for Juarno Augustus, went over from close quarters for their opening try.

WP soon extended their lead when Ruhan Nel intercepted a wayward pass from Tyler Paul and outpaced the cover defence before crossing the whitewash. Marais converted both tries and added a penalty in the 17th minute which gave WP a 17-7 lead.

The home side continued to dominate and in the 23rd minute Dillyn Leyds ran onto an inside pass from Ernst van Ryn before racing away to score his side’s third try.

Two minutes later, Sergeal Petersen gathered a pass from Nel on his 10-metre line before rounding Curwin Bosch on his way over the tryline. Marais maintained his perfect record off the kicking tee which meant the hosts were cruising with the score 31-7 in their favour.

The Sharks needed a response and that came courtesy of two tries in the half’s last 10 minutes. First, Paul barged over from close quarters in the 32nd minute and on the stroke of half-time Gideon Koegelenberg shrugged off a couple of defenders before dotting down.

With both tries converted, it meant the home side held a 31-21 lead at the interval but just like the first half, the Sharks were fastest out of the blocks after the break when fly-half Du Preez threw a long pass to Aphelele Fassi, who went over in the right-hand corner.

Du Preez slotted the conversion which meant WP held a slight three-point lead although the next 20 minutes was a tighter affair as both sides battled to gain the ascendancy.

Province eventually extended their lead in the 64th minute when Marais ran onto a pass from Herschel Jantjies before crashing over for their fifth try.

WP finished stronger and in the 72nd minute JJ Engelbrecht and Marais traded passes before Engelbrecht crossed for a deserved try and just before full-time Chad Solomon scored their final try off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Sharks territory.

The scorers:

For Western Province:
Tries: Coetzee, Nel, Leyds, Petersen, Marais, Engelbrecht, Solomon
Cons: Marais 6
Pen: Marais

For Sharks:
Tries: Louw, Paul, Koeglenberg, Fassi
Cons: Du Preez 4

Western Province: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 SP Marais, 10 Josh Stander, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (c), 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Cris Massyn, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 JJ Engelbrecht

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 Jacques Vermeulen, 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 Luke Stringer, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Leolin Zas, 22 Aphelele Fassi

Referee: Ben Crouse
Assistant referees: Egon Seconds, Divan Uys
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman

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Following a 35-17 victory for New Zealand over Argentina in their Rugby Championship game, here’s our five takeaways from Buenos Aires.

New Zealand’s best back-three: On form it’s hard to see past this being the All Blacks’ best wing and full-back line-up. Rieko Ioane’s try-scoring record speaks for itself while Waisake Naholo is such a destructive force on the right, who compliments the backline perfectly. At full-back Ben Smith boasts a wealth of experience and while Jordie Barrett might be the future, Smith is very much the now and their nailed on World Cup 15.

Pumas scrum a real concern: This has not been a shock occurrence, Argentina look a shadow of their former selves at the set-piece and it’s a genuine concern for coach Mario Ledesma. Why they’ve taken such a backward step in an area they were once feared is a question on Ledesma and the Argentine supporters’ lips and it must be addressed, with points, possession and front-foot ball suffering because of this weakness.

The line-out not much better: It was also a poor showing at the other set-piece as several scoring opportunities went begging due to either an inaccurate throw or disruption from New Zealand. Hooker Agustin Creevy appeared to cop a large slice of the blame as he was replaced a touch earlier than normal on 50 minutes but it was a collective mess from the Pumas, with their errors in open play also an Achilles heel.

Beauden’s goal-kicking much improved: After a tough day at the office against South Africa in Wellington, Barrett was visibly delighted with his form off the tee at Estadio José Amalfitani. He knocked over three difficult conversions out of three in the first-half which lifted his mood and he continued that form in the second, landing a confident conversion of Patrick Tuipulotu’s try to add the gloss on a solid shift.

Karl’s stock rises while Ardie SOS answered: It was another excellent performance from Karl Tu’inukuafe at the coalface. A real force at the scrum, as he got the better of Ramiro Herrera, while his touches around the field were excellent, setting up Tuipulotu’s try nicely. Meanwhile Savea was excellent at number eight as his typical dynamic carries got his side on the front foot. Steve Hansen will be delighted with both.

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New Zealand wrapped up a third successive Rugby Championship title on Saturday after they beat Argentina 35-17 at Estadio Jose Amalfitani.

Tries from Rieko Ioane (2), Waisake Naholo, Patrick Tuipulotu and Anton Lienert-Brown saw them prevail, with Beauden Barrett kicking eight points while replacement Richie Mo’unga added the other conversion as New Zealand bounced back from that loss to the Boks in good fashion.

For Argentina this was a frustrating performance on home soil as they could not build on their away win over Australia. Tomas Cubelli and Emiliano Boffelli scored their two tries while Nicolas Sanchez kicked seven points as their long wait for an All Blacks’ scalp continues.

New Zealand were dealt a blow before kick-off when Luke Whitelock was ruled out, which meant Ardie Savea came into the XV at number eight. With Kieran Read, Brodie Retallick and Owen Franks also missing from their forward pack, the All Blacks looked somewhat depleted up front.

Argentina took an early 0-3 lead on six minutes when Shannon Frizell was penalised at the base of a ruck. The All Blacks hit back in style two minutes later with wing Naholo’s run leading to Ben Smith finding Ioane for the contest’s opening try. Barrett converted for 7-3.

Sanchez had a chance to reduce that gap down to one point a minute later, but uncharacteristically missed a relatively simple shot at goal.

New Zealand soon made the Pumas fly-half pay for that miss when Naholo crashed over following a dominant New Zealand scrum to make it 14-3.

What added to Argentina’s worries was their scrum once again looking decidedly fragile as New Zealand turned the screw. That ultimately led to Ioane claiming his second try of the match on 30 minutes as the resulting passage saw him collect loose ball for a score down the left.

Argentina desperately needed points before the break and even with Sonny Bill Williams yellow carded for coming offside, it would not come.

The Pumas began the second-half as they ended the first as they enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and territory. However, chances were blown in the red zone as New Zealand somehow survived as centre Williams returned from the sin-bin with the score the same as when he left.

It was Williams too who turned the match in terms of momentum on 54 minutes as his offload on halfway saw Ioane go close. From an ensuing attack replacement second-row Tuipulotu crossed, a try which came thanks to a lovely pass in close quarters from loosehead Karl Tu’inukuafe.

Argentina finally got over the whitewash on 59 minutes, if in fortuitous circumstances, with Cubelli’s try allowed despite clear double movement. Sanchez converted that score as it was now 28-10 with both coaches having now emptied their benches for the closing 20 minutes.

Boffelli then made it 28-17 with 12 minutes left after a strong carry from Pablo Matera to give Argentina hope, but that was extinguished seven minutes before full-time as Mo’unga’s smart grubber saw Lienert-Brown ground next to an upright to secure the win and the silverware.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries: Cubelli, Boffelli
Cons: Sanchez 2
Pen: Sanchez

For New Zealand:
Tries: Ioane 2, Naholo, Tuipulotu, Lienert-Brown
Cons: Barrett 4, Mo’unga
Yellow Card: Williams

Argentina: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Matias Moroni, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Matias Orlando, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere

New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock (c), 3 Ofa Tuungafasi, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Jackson Hemopo, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Television match official: David Grashoff (England)

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Ospreys beat Zebre 22-8, Leinster claimed a 20-3 victory over Connacht, Scarlets thrashed the Southern Kings 54-14, Munster thumped Ulster 64-7 and Glasgow beat the Dragons 29-13 in Saturday’s PRO14 action.

Zebre 8-22 Ospreys

Ospreys made it back-to-back wins over Italian opposition as they saw off Zebre 22-8 in their PRO14 fixture at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

This result takes the Welsh region provisionally top of Conference A, with Glasgow expected to move back to the summit later this evening.

Ospreys led 16-3 at the break thanks to wing Luke Morgan’s try and a conversion, penalty and drop-goal from assured pivot Sam Davies.

The fly-half opened the scoring on three minutes off the tee before Morgan claimed a well-taken try that Davies converted to make it 10-0.

Davies decided to take a snap drop-goal on the half-hour mark before Carlo Canna responded. But Davies cancelled that out before half-time.

He kept the scoreboard ticking over with his third penalty of the game 15 minutes into the second period for a 19-3 lead, which was how it stayed until Zebre flanker Jimmy Tuivaiti crossed from the back of a driving maul to cut the gap to 11 points with nine minutes to play.

Ospreys comfortably held on, though, as that man Davies stepped up to nail a fourth penalty of the afternoon on 75 minutes to seal victory.

The scorers:

For Zebre:
Try: Tuivaiti
Pen: Canna

For Ospreys:
Try: Morgan
Con: S Davies
Pens: S Davies 4
Drop Goal: S Davies

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

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 Adam Beard, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Olly Cracknell, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 James Hook, 23 Cory Allen

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Eddie Hogan-O’Connell (Ireland), Vincenzo Schipani (Italy)
Television match official: Alan Falzone (Italy)

Connacht 3-20 Leinster

Leinster travelled across Ireland to Galway and produced a performance befitting a continent conquering side.

Connacht had proved something of a nuisance for Leinster last term when they won comprehensively at home, but there was to be no repeat on Saturday night.

20 unanswered points following an early Connacht penalty set the champions on their way with Johnny Sexton contributing heavily with the boot.

Garry Ringrose opened the try-scoring early in the second-half and that gulf in the scoreline only widened as the contest went on.

An attritional first 40 saw nine points shared between the two provinces. Jack Carty kicked the first points after two minutes before two Sexton penalties in the final six minutes of the half sent the European champions in 6-3 up at the interval.

It took seconds of the second-half for Leinster to really stamp their authority on the scoreline, centre Ringrose scoring and Sexton adding the extras.

Sean Cronin’s try 15 minutes later all but sealed the contest for the Dubliners, the hooker wriggling clear from the back of a driving maul to dive over.

Connacht pressed to get back into the game but their underwhelming night was compounded when replacement Dominic Robertson-McCoy was sent-off 10 minutes from the end after consultation with the TMO.

The scorers:

For Connacht:
Pen: Carty
Red card: Robertson-McCoy

For Leinster:
Tries: Ringrose, Cronin
Cons: Sexton 2
Pens: Sexton 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 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan (c), 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 James Cannon, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Niyi Adeolokun

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Joe Tomane, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Scott Fardy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Seán O’Brien, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Rory O’Loughlin

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Kieran Barry (Ireland)
Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Scarlets 54-14 Southern Kings

It was raining tries in Llanelli as the Scarlets, and Jonathan Davies in particular, put in a virtuoso performance to comfortably see off the Southern Kings.

The South African side won’t have enjoyed their most recent trip into the northern hemisphere – not that their away record suggests they enjoy away trips of any form for that matter. Nevertheless, this was an impressive outing by the former champions.

Davies opened the scoring down the blindside after he received the ball a metre or so out before forcing his way over. His centre partner Paul Asquith doubled the Scarlets lead five minutes later, with a simple show and go deceiving the visitors’ defence and allowing him to race clear and dive over.

Bjorn Basson did pull his side back into the contest with a try on 20 minutes to make it 14-7 but Davies scored his second try of the night minutes later. Scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne ran across the defence before popping to Davies who hit an excellent line to break the line and go clear.

Basson scored his second of the night to make it five tries in the opening 33 minutes of the contest, and south Wales was being treated to a belter in the first-half. Masixole Banda added his second conversion of the evening to make it 21-14.

The second-half saw Scarlets begin to dominate. Davies breached the Kings line and sent the supporting Ioan Nicholas for a walk-in. With the backs playing so elegantly the forwards were keen not to miss out. They certainly claimed credit for Scarlets’ try number five with Dan Davis the beneficiary at the back of a driving maul.

35-14 on the hour and the Welsh side were effectively home and dry, bouncing back impressively from last weekend’s reverse in Ireland. Replacement Simon Gardiner got try number six following a TMO review, Rhys Patchell missing his first conversion attempt of the evening.

Gardiner’s fellow replacements Steff Evans and Kieran Hardy both scored in the final 10 minutes to make it eight tries for the Scarlets.

The scorers:

For Scarlets:
Tries: Davies 2, Asquith, Nicholas, Davis, Gardiner, Evans, Hardy
Cons: Patchell 5, O’Brien 2

For Kings:
Tries: Basson 2
Cons: Banda 2
Yellow card: Banda

Scarlets: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Ioan Nicholas, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Phil Price, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Tom Price, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Steff Evans

Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Berton Klaasen, 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, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Alandre Van Rooyen, 17 Justin Forwood, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, 23 Tristan Blewett

Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Simon Rees (Wales)
Television match official: Sean Brickell (Wales)

Munster 64-7 Ulster

Munster ran away with their first Irish derby of the season in a nine-try romp against Ulster.

29 unanswered points for the men from Limerick all but ended the contest at the interval, Tommy O’Donnell and Dan Goggin grabbing a brace each with Joey Carbery kicking a further nine points to leave their Irish rivals without an answer at Thomond Park.

Goggin’s opener after five minutes owed much to Andrew Conway and Alex Wootton who combined before setting him free. O’Donnell scored his first three minutes later when he showed a great turn of foot to beat the Ulster defence. Carbery converted both and added a penalty to make it 17-0.

O’Donnell’s second came after he had broken away from the driving maul but had enough momentum to bundle over. The fourth try came three minutes before the interval after some patient play eventually found its way to the backs with Goggin crossing.

Ulster came out in the second 40 with more freedom given the contest looked beyond them. Darren Cave ignited the lamest glimmer of hope when he scored on 46 minutes. The visitors went through the phases before Billy Burns sent the centre over.

No sooner had Ulster opened the door ever so slightly Munster slammed it back shut. Peter O’Mahony scored his side’s fifth try with Carbery adding the extras.

The former Leinster man scored his new side’s sixth and his first in front of the Thomond Park faithful, with Wooton sending him clear to make it 43-7 with a quarter of an hour remaining. Carbery’s try sparked a Munster hat-trick of scores in 11 minutes.

Replacement Sammy Arnold had only been on the pitch a matter of moments before he scored Munster’s seventh of the evening, Wootton chipping in behind for Arnold to gather. His fellow replacement Ian Keatley kicked the conversion.

And Keith Earls got his first try of the season on his first start this term, with Duncan Williams and Billy Holland combining well before sending the winger over. Earls’ wing colleague Wootton scored the hosts’ ninth of a superb evening to round off the scoring.

The scorers:

For Munster:
Tries: Goggin 2, O’Donnell 2, O’Mahony, Carbery, Arnold, Earls, Wootton
Cons: Carbery 5, Keatley 3
Pen: Carbery

For Ulster:
Try: Cave
Con: Burns
Yellow Card: Andrew

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Alex Wootten, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 James Cronin, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Sammy Arnold

Ulster: 15 Peter Nelson, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Angus Curtis, 11 Angus Kernohan, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Jean Deysel, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Ross Kane, 2 Adam McBurney, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Michael Lowry, 23 James Hume

Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ian Davies (Wales), Nigel Correll (Ireland)
Television match official: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Glasgow Warriors 29-13 Dragons

Glasgow returned to the top of Conference A as they won a topsy-turvy encounter at Scotsoun.

Some poor kicking, needless penalties and basic errors ensured the visiting Dragons were always in touch, but five tries, including two for the opportunistic Lee Jones, eventually saw Glasgow home.

Prop Oli Kebble scored his first try in Glasgow colours when he powered over from close range, Adam Hastings kicking the extra two.

The Warriors conceded a quick penalty from the restart before Arwel Robson kicked a further three-pointer to cut the gap to 7-6. A try on the stroke of half-time from the aforementioned Jones certainly sent the home side into the sheds with the momentum, the winger owing much to an excellent bit of individual play from Hastings who span out of the tackle before sending wing Jones clear.

He got his second less than five minutes into the second 40, Huw Jones with the initial break before the Glasgow forwards went through the motions. Hastings released Dunbar and he found Lee Jones to race clear.

17-6 then became 17-13 less than five minutes after that score, Dragons centre Adam Warren benefitting from a Ryan Wilson knock on. The ball was hacked through and Warren won the foot race. Josh Lewis kicked the conversion to cut the deficit.

This see-saw affair then swung back the way of the hosts. Ali Price upped the pace and the ball eventually found Huw Jones whose show and go saw him break the line and cross for the bonus-point score.

Alex Dunbar scored with three minutes to go for Dave Rennie’s men, George Horne offloading to the centre who crossed despite he best efforts of two covering defenders.

The scorers:

For Glasgow:
Tries: Kebble, L Jones 2, H Jones, Dunbar
Cons: Hastings 2

For Dragons:
Try: Warren
Con: Lewis
Pens: Robson 2

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Callum Gibbins (cc), 6 Ryan Wilson (cc), 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Rob Harley, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Adam Nicol, 19 Andrew Davidson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 George Horne, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Nick Grigg

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Dafydd Howells, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Arwel Robson, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Brandon Nansen, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Richard Hibbard (c), 1 Ryan Bevington
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Huw Taylor, 20 James Thomas, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Will Talbot-Davies

Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Dunx McClement (Scotland)
Television match official: Neil Paterson (Scotland)

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Clermont defeated Toulon in the late Top 14 game on Saturday, while Castres, Pau, Bordeaux, Lyon and Montpellier claimed earlier victories.

Results

Saturday
Toulouse 22-26 Castres
Agen 25-28 Pau
Bordeaux-Bègles 34-22 La Rochelle
Lyon 34-6 Grenoble
Perpignan 20-23 Montpellier
Clermont Auvergne 28-8 Toulon

Toulouse 22-26 Castres
Stade Ernest-Wallon

Castres once again displayed their resolve to come from 19 points behind and snatch a remarkable triumph over Toulouse.

Ugo Mola’s men were thrashed by Montpellier last weekend but they initially responded well to that setback as three tries either side of the interval put them 22-3 ahead.

The match was slow to get going, with Thomas Ramos’ penalty the only score in the opening half-hour, but a yellow card for Mathieu Babillot allowed the hosts to touch down twice in quick succession.

Sebastien Bezy went over first and, although a Benjamin Urdapilleta three-pointer briefly reduced the arrears, Maxime Medard’s effort gave Les Rouge et Noir a 12-point buffer at the break.

Castres were then reduced to 14 men for the second time when Julien Dumora was sin-binned and Toulouse benefited as Romain Ntamack crossed the whitewash.

To the visitors’ credit, they battled back and were rewarded for their endeavour via a couple of Alex Tulou scores and Urdapilleta’s penalty.

It duly set-up a tense finale and it was the defending champions who handled the final 10 minutes the better. Rynhard Elstadt was yellow carded and successive Urdapilleta three-pointers took Christophe Urios’ charges to a win.

The scorers:

For Toulouse:
Tries: Bezy, Medard, Ntamack
Cons: Ramos 2
Pen: Ramos
Yellow Card: Elstadt

For Castres:
Tries: Tulou 2
Cons: Urdapilleta 2
Pens: Urdapilleta 3
Drop-goal: Urdapilleta
Yellow Cards: Babillot, Dumora

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

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

Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Ludovic Cayre, Bruno Gabaldon
TMO: Eric Gonthier

Agen 25-28 Pau
Stade Armandie

Antoine Hastoy was Pau’s hero as the fly-half scored 23 points, including a late penalty, to snatch a narrow triumph over Agen.

Philippe Sella’s men have been excellent at home so far this season – certainly in contrast to their away performances – and they were competitive once again.

It was ultimately not enough in a topsy-turvy encounter, however, as Simon Mannix’s charges picked up a crucial win.

The visitors opened the scoring through Hastoy but Jake McIntyre almost immediately levelled matters from the tee. Pau’s fly-half and Nicolas Metge then traded tries before the pivot regained the away side’s advantage with a penalty,

Although Mathieu Lamoulie hit back for Agen, Thibault Daubagna’s effort meant that Mannix’s outfit led at the interval.

The third quarter was similarly dramatic as Denis Marchois and Paula Ngauamo went over for the hosts, while Hastoy continued his fine individual performance, but the match became tight in the latter stages.

Mistakes began to be made and one of those led to a late penalty, which Hastoy duly dispatched, to seal the victory for Pau.

The scorers:

For Agen:
Tries: Metge, Marchois, Ngauamo
Cons: Lamoulie, McIntyre
Pens: McIntyre, Lamoulie

For Pau:
Tries: Hastoy 2, Daubagna
Cons: Hastoy 2
Pens: Hastoy 3
Yellow Card: Mogg

Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamoulie, 14 Nicolas Metge, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Sam Vaka, 11 Clement Laporte, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Paul Abadie, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Vincent Farre, 6 Loic Hocquet, 5 Denis Marchois, 4 Tom Murday, 3 Dave Ryan, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Quentin Bethune
Replacements: 16 Marc Barthomeuf, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Adrian Motoc, 19 Facundo Bosch, 20 Lucas Rubio, 21 Leo Berdeu, 22 Timilai Rokoduru, 23 Yohann Montes

Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Jesse Mogg, 13 Julien Fumat, 12 Florian Nicot, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Paddy Butler, 7 Antoine Erbani, 6 Martin Puech, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Baptiste Pesenti, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Lucas Rey, 1 Geoffrey Moise
Replacements: 16 Laurent Bouchet, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Daniel Ramsay, 19 Dan Malafosse, 20 Pierrick Gunther, 21 Julien Blanc, 22 Benson Stanley, 23 Nicolas Corato

Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Nicolas Datas, Laurent Breil
TMO: Patrick Dellac

Bordeaux-Bègles 34-22 La Rochelle
Matmut Atlantique

Bordeaux made it successive victories in the Top 14 after this excellent performance against La Rochelle at the Matmut Atlantique.

Rory Teague’s men ended Clermont Auvergne’s unbeaten start to the season in Round Five and followed that up with another impressive triumph.

This time, the 2017 league leaders were the victims and they were immediately on the back foot as Romain Lonca touched down with just a minute gone on the clock.

Baptiste Serin and Ihaia West then traded penalties before the hosts’ scrum-half added another off the tee. UBB were playing well and Afa Amosa displayed their dominance by going over at the end of the first quarter, leaving them 20-3 up.

Adrien Pelissie and Vincent Rattez traded tries but Mahamadou Diaby effectively secured the triumph late on in the first half.

It was another awful display from La Rochelle in the opening 40 minutes but they showed plenty of character after the break and scored twice more via Jeremy Sinzelle and Rattez, although they never really threatened a turnaround.

The scorers:

For Bordeaux:
Tries: Lonca, Amosa, Pelissie, Diaby
Cons: Serin 4
Pens: Serin 2
Yellow Cards: James, Nabuli

For La Rochelle:
Tries: Rattez 2, Sinzelle
Cons: West, Lafarge
Pen: West

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

La Rochelle: 15 Arthur Retiere, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Jeremy Sinzelle, 11 Eliott Roudil, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Zeno Kieft, 6 Remi Bourdeau, 5 Jone Qovu, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Hikairo Forbes, 1 Leo Aouf
Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Vincent Pelo, 18 Romain Sazy, 19 Kevin Gourdon, 20 Alexis Balès, 21 Maxime Lafage, 22 Paul Jordaan, 23 Sila Puafisi

Referee: Maxime Chalon
Assistant referees: Laurent Millotte, Eric Soulan
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure

Lyon 34-6 Grenoble
Matmut Stadium de Gerland

Lyon kept the pressure on the top teams in the table following a comfortable win over Grenoble on Saturday evening.

Pierre Mignoni’s men have been inconsistent at the start of this season but they were easy victors against the newly-promoted outfit, who have now lost five of their six games.

The visitors did take the lead through Gaetan Germain’s penalty but that was the last time they would be ahead as the home side took control.

A Jonathan Wisniewski three-pointer and a Noa Nakaitaci try moved Mignoni’s charges in front before their fly-half extended their buffer on the stroke of half-time.

Lyon then took that momentum into the second period. Although Germain reduced the arrears from the tee, Xavier Mignot, Charlie Ngatai and Nakaitaci scores completed the win.

The scorers:

For Lyon:
Tries: Nakaitaci 2, Mignot, Ngatai
Cons: Wisniewski 4
Pens: Wisniewski 2

For Grenoble:
Pens: Germain 2

Lyon: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Xavier Mignot, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Jonathan Wisniewski, 9 Jonathan Pélissié, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Julien Puricelli, 5 Hendrik Roodt, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Clement Ric, 2 Jeremie Maurouard, 1 Raphael Chaume
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Hamza Kaabeche, 18 Etienne Oosthuizen, 19 Carl Fearns, 20 Baptiste Couilloud, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Thibault Regard, 23 Francisco Gomez Kodela

Grenoble: 15 Gaetan Germain, 14 Jean-Teiva Jacquelin, 13 Taleta Tupuola, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Adrien Latorre, 9 Lilian Saseras, 8 Loic Godener, 7 Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, 6 Steven Setephano, 5 Taiasina Tuifua, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Mihaita Lazar
Replacements: 16 Mike Tadjer, 17 Dylan Jacquot, 18 Killian Geraci, 19 Fabien Alexandre, 20 Theo Nanette, 21 Franck Pourteau, 22 Bastien Guillemin, 23 Beka Gigashvili

Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant referees: Julien Castaignede, Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Sebastien Minery

Perpignan 20-23 Montpellier
Stade Aime Giral

Bottom of the table Perpignan produced another battling display but it was not enough as Montpellier came away with a tight 23-20 victory.

It condemned the 2017/18 Pro D2 winners to their sixth consecutive defeat as, despite a late fightback, Vern Cotter’s men edged to another win.

After Cotter’s outfit put over 60 points on Toulouse last weekend, Kelian Galletier appeared to set a similar tone by crossing the whitewash early on against the Catalans, but the hosts were abrasive throughout.

Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar traded three-pointers before the home team’s fly-half added a second from the tee to reduce the arrears to 8-6.

However, Montpellier have far more quality and one of their big-name players increased the away side’s buffer when Jan Serfontein scampered over.

Matters worsened for Perpignan in the second period as Mathieu Acebes and Jonathan Bousquet were yellow carded, but it was only when those two returned did last season’s runners-up increase their advantage.

Timoci Nagusa duly touched down to secure the win, although late scores from Acebes and Lucas Bachelier rescued a bonus-point for Christian Lanta’s side.

The scorers:

For Perpignan:
Tries: Acebes, Bachelier
Cons: Jackson 2
Pens: Jackson 2
Yellow Cards: Acebes, Bousquet

For Montpellier:
Tries: Galletier, Serfontein, Nagusa
Con: Pienaar
Pens: Pienaar, Goosen
Yellow Cards: Fall, Kornath

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

Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Yvan Reilhac, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kevin Kornath, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Julien Ledevedec, 19 Martin Devergie, 20 Julien Tomas, 21 Thomas Darmon, 22 Vincent Martin, 23 Jannie du Plessis

Referee: Tual Trainini
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Denis Grenouillet

Clermont Auvergne 28-8 Toulon
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin

Clermont Auvergne’s excellent start to the campaign continued as they comfortably beat Toulon to leave the 2014 Top 14 champions languishing down in 11th position.

By their high standards, Patrice Collazo’s men have opened this season poorly and they were outplayed by the league leaders.

Clermont were immediately on the front foot and touched down in the sixth minute when Morgan Parra’s long, looping pass was collected and finished by Damian Penaud.

Although Anthony Belleau responded for the visitors with an effort off the tee, they were soon being sent into reverse as hooker John Ulugia surged through the heart of the rearguard.

With Toulon’s defence a rabble, Camille Lopez had several options on the outside but decided to go himself and duly crossed the whitewash.

Lopez, alongside Parra, was controlling proceedings nicely and he played a part in Les Jaunards’ third try as Penaud burst through and gave the fly-half an opportunity to find Remy Grosso on the left-wing.

Auvergne were not quite as relentless in the second period but did manage to add a brace of three-pointers via Parra which increased their buffer to 20 points.

Marcel van der Merwe was sent to the sin-bin but, to Toulon’s credit, they battled and were rewarded through Romain Taofifenua, who touched down after an excellent maul.

Clermont were not finished, however, and after a powerful drive of their own Yohan Beheregaray went over.

The scorers:

For Clermont:
Tries: Penaud, Lopez, Grosso, Beheregaray
Con: Parra
Pens: Parra 2

For Toulon:
Try: R Taofifenua
Pen: Belleau
Yellow Cards: Van der Merwe, S Taofifenua

Clermont: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Remy Grosso, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Judicael Cancoriet, 6 Arthur Iturria, 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 Patricio Fernandez, 22 George Moala, 23 Davit Zirakashvili

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

Referee: Adrien Descottes
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon, Jean-Claude Labarbe
TMO: Laurent Sclafer

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South Africa could have beaten Australia far more comfortably if they had taken their chances, said Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus following his side’s 23-12 victory at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

South Africa scored two tries by Aphiwe Dyantyi and Faf de Klerk in the opening 21 minutes of the Rugby Championship and Handré Pollard added two conversions and three penalty goals, but Erasmus rued other missed chances.

“I think tonight we created more chances than we did against New Zealand and if we had converted some of those the game would have gone very differently,” said Erasmus after the match.

“If we’d taken them we could have given them a hiding. In the past couple of months when we made changes, we lost matches so to make eight changes and beat Australia is something to celebrate and before we start to look at where we need to improve, we should probably enjoy the victory.”

Erasmus picked out the improving defence and the character of the team as two other features of the victory.

Australia scored all their points in a three-minute burst just before the half-hour mark but were kept scoreless for the final 50 minutes, despite the Springboks having Dyantyi sent to the sin bin for a professional foul at the breakdown with 15 minutes remaining.

“In the second half we didn’t play well but we showed a lot of character once again,” added Erasmus.

“Overall I think the guys are getting the hang of the defensive system but it’s not something that you can get right through talking about it or on the training ground. It’s something you have to make mistakes trying, and learn from those mistakes.”

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi thanked the Port Elizabeth crowd of 41,332 as well as the people of the Eastern Cape for their support in a match that was dedicated to the memory of former president Nelson Mandela as part of the centenary celebrations of his birth.

“The people of the Eastern Cape love rugby and you just had to see our open training sessions to know what it meant to them,” said Kolisi.

“They have a passion for the game here and we could feel that out on the field.”

The win maintained the Springboks’ second position on the Rugby Championship table, two points adrift of New Zealand who are playing Argentina in a later match in Buenos Aires.

The Wallabies now head to Argentina with their coach, Michael Cheika, also blaming missed chances for the defeat, but conceding there were areas in which they were outplayed.

“We didn’t manage the physical contest, but we still managed to create opportunities. But we just didn’t take them,” said Cheika.

South Africa complete their Rugby Championship campaign against New Zealand in Pretoria next Saturday.

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