Heineken Cup: Toulouse edge Bath 18-16 in thriller
Welcome back!
Toulouse produced a come from behind last gasp victory to defeat Bath 18-16 after a David Skrela penalty at the Stade Municipal. Toulouse were far from their usual expansive self being out-enthused by Bath and also taking a back seat to the expansive play of Bath.
Bath had their chances to secure victory, even scoring two tries to nil but were unable to secure victory mostly due to the wayward kicking of Buth James.
In other matches Leinster scored a 27-16 win over Edinburgh at their hoodoo ground Murrayfield to secure full points in the first round of the Heineken Cup. Leinster scored four tries to one with tries going to Rocky Elsom, Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Horgan and Felipe Contemponi.
Results from the first round of the Heineken Cup;
Sale 32 Clermont 15
Munster 19 Montauban 17
Wasps 25 Castres 11
Perpignan 29 Treviso 16
Leicester 12 Ospreys 6
Stade Francais 26 Ulster 10
Harlequins 29 Scarlets 22
Newport-Gwent 32 Glasgow 22
Cardiff Blues 56 Calvisano 20
Gloucester 22 Biarritz 10
Heineken Cup: Munster narrowly defeat Montauban 19-17
Munster started their defence of the Heineken Cup with a narrow 19-17 victory against Montauban, Montauban were less than four minutes from victory until the always reliable boot of O’Gara secured victory for Munster in what could have been the biggest upset in recent memory.
Munster were neither great nor terrible and were generally evenly matched against there undancied rivals from France. Both sides scored a try but it was O’Gara’s boot that saved Munster in the end. Munster will be hoping it was a match that allowed them to blow out any cobwebs before their next match.
In the other result from Friday Perpignan defeated Treviso 27-16. Perpignan scored three tries to one but were unable to shrug off the Italian side in a disappointing win at home. Perpignan was expected to collect the bonus point but failed and will be up against it next weekend against Ospreys.
French Rugby Top 14: Round 2 Results
Round 2 of French Rugby Top 14 compeition saw some spirited matches and some near major upsets on a day when France was sweltering.
Little fancied Mont-de-Marsan came within a whiskers length of defeating the highly fancied Paris side Stade Francais. Stade Francais were lucky to get away with the win at home as the minnows of the Top 14 game them a real fright.
Toulon and Brive played a dour and uninspiring 3-3 draw. Neither side delivered in the warm conditions and both kickers had chances to win but neither could claim victory. Clermont and Toulouse both bounced back to win but Toulouse did it tough against another minnow in Dax. Clermont were showing signs of returning to their form of last year with a convincing 43-20 win over Montpellier.
The full results from Round 2 are below;
Toulon 3 Brive 3
Toulouse 32 Dax 25
Bayonne 22 Montauban 20
Stade Francais 27 Mont-de-Marsan 22
Clermont 43 Montpellier 20
Biarritz 32 Castres 17
Bourgoin 16 Perpignan 22
French Top 14 Round One Wrap-up
The French Rugby Top 14 competition kicked off in France yesterday and several surprise results had the season off to an interesting start. The champions Toulouse were stunned in their loss to Montpellier 16-11 and Toulon the new boys to the competition came from behind in the second half by winning 22-16 against Clermont.
Montpellier who could be a surprise packet after their win against the highly fancied Toulouse side. Toulouse will be analysing this missed chances, particularly focusing on the vital 10 minutes that Byron Kelleher spent in the bin.
Toulon were dead and buried at half-time but managed to win 22-16 after trailing 13-0. Sonny Bill Williams got Toulon back into the clash right after half-time and Toulon were able to power away with a first up victory after being promoted to the French Top 14. In other match results Stade Francais had a convincing win under new coach Ewen McKenzie. Stade Francais top the ladder after Round 1.
Results
Perpignan 34 Brive 18
Castres 26 Bayonne 27
Dax 9 Stade Français 31
Montpellier 16 Toulouse 11
Montauban 37 Mont-de-Marsan 19
Biarritz 29 Bourgoin 22
Toulon 22 Clermont 16