Heineken Cup: Toulouse edge Bath 18-16 in thriller
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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.
Munster to be without Irish stars for All Blacks
The All Blacks will take on a Munster side without their Irish international stars after the Irish Rugby Union announced that Munster will not field their Irish stars due to the competing matches involving the Ireland team.
Ireland are due to play Argentina several days after the Munster clash and with a host of players likely to come from Munster it would put undue pressure on the Ireland team in the lead-up to a key clash.
The All Blacks will be slightly pleased with the decision as Munster remain the only Irish team to ever beat the All Blacks and while the All Blacks would go in overwhelming favourites Munster are not the Heineken Champions for nothing.
Munster are more than capable of pulling a rabbit out of the hat, but that job is made much with the non-inclusion of their Irish stars. The All Blacks will take on a Munster side with former All Black Doug Howlett who has been in sensational form. No doubt Howlett will be keen to remind the All Blacks just how good he is in the heat of battle.
Magners League Round One Results
In the first round of the Magners League for 2008-09 Munster got off to a winning start against Edinburgh winning 20-15 in a result that was closer than it could have been. Munster scored two tries to Chris Paterson’s five penalty goals and were clearly the stronger side against the home team.
In a penalty fest Glasgow won 12-6 over the Dragons thanks to Dan Parks boot with four penalties in a rain soaked match. The match was played in tough conditions which reduced the match to a battle of the forwards and kicking, the backrow of Glasgow took control and Dan Parks kicked his side to victory.
The Scarlets defeated Ulster 16-9 in another low scoring rain affected match. Scarlets were the only team to score a try through Darren Daniel and former Queensland Reds player Clinton Schifcofske scored all Ulster’s points through penalties.
Ospreys downed Connacht 16-3 through a try to Nikki Walker and the boot of James Hook. The win in rain affects conditions was Ospreys first away win in the Magners League since the 2006-07 season.
Magners League Round One Preview
The Magners League kicks off tomorrow Australian time with Connacht playing Ospreys. Once again we are likely to see a highly competitive season and no doubt some teams will develop into surprise packets.
The big match of Round One is the Cardiff Blues vs Leinster, the top two sides from last year. The winner is likely to be regarded the most likely champion of the Magners League. Cardiff Blues are likely to scrap over the line but Leinster will build as the season progresses.
Leinster recruited well with Australia’s blindside flanker Rocky Elsom to join them in the coming weeks after his commitment with rhe Wallabies cease after the New Zealand clash. Elsom will add considerable venom to an already imposing side.
In other matches Ospreys are likely to have too much firepower for Connacht. A potential early clash that could determine the quality of both sides is Edinburgh and Munster. Munster have been a traditional heavyweight and Edinburgh could be a big performer this year.
We will soon get a clearer idea in the coming weeks of who are the pretenders and who will challenge for end of season glory. The Ruck and Maul will cover the results after the matches on the weekend. I have bolded the teams I believe will win.
Who do you rhink will win the Magners League?
Friday 5th September
Connacht vs Ospreys
Edinburgh vs Munster
Newport-Gwent Dragons vs Glasgow
Ulster vs Llanelli Scarlets
Saturday 6th September
Cardiff Blues vs Leinster
Magners League
The Magners League kicks off on Friday 5th September with Connacht vs Ospreys, Edinburgh vs Munster, Newport-Gwent Dragons vs Glasgow, Ulster v Llanelli Scarlets and on Saturday 6th September the Cardiff Blues vs Leinster.
The clash between the Cardiff Blues and Leinster will be an interesting clash with the two form sides from last year looking to get the edge over each other.
Here at The Ruck and Maul we will provide a summary each week of results and any key news from the clubs. If you would like to contribute any news ot information or interested in providing a summary of your favourite team leave a comment on this page or email me at wes@theruckandmaul.com.