Edinburgh, Dragons, Connacht, Pau, Falcons and Irish win

Editor

Six matches were played in the Challenge Cup on Saturday, with Edinburgh hammering Krasny Yar, the Dragons beating Enisei-STM, Connacht overcoming Worcester, Pau edging Zebre, Newcastle winning at UBB and London Irish defeating Stade Français.

Krasny Yar 14-73 Edinburgh
Fili Stadium

Edinburgh jumped to the top of Pool 4 in the Challenge Cup as they breezed past Krasny Yar at Fili Stadium, running in 10 tries in total.

Edinburgh were flying by half-time and had the try bonus point in the bag thanks to tries from Blair Kinghorn, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Lewis Carmichael and Neil Cochrane, putting them into a 31-0 lead at the interval. Jason Tovey and Hidalgo-Clyne slotted the points off the tee.

Murray McCallum kept the scoreboard ticking over soon after the break with Edinburgh's fifth try and then added the sixth on 50 minutes.

Evgeni Kolomiytsev hit back for Krasny Yar with Lasha Malaguradze slotting the extras, but Kinghorn added his second before Edinburgh's Fraser McKenzie went over to make it 66-7. Stuart McInally then scored Edinburgh's 10th try with Andrei Kondakov adding a late consolation for the hosts, who are now second in the pool with one win from two.

The scorers:

For Krasny Yar:
Tries: Kolomiytsev, Kondakov
Cons: Malaguradze 2

For Edinburgh:
Tries: Kinghorn 2, Hidalgo-Clyne, Carmichael, Cochrane, McCallum 2, Penalty try, McKenzie, McInally
Cons: Tovey 3, Hidalgo-Clyne 3, Kinghorn 3
Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne

Krasny Yar: 15 Vas Artemyev, 14 Rushan Iagudin, 13 Igor Galinovskiy, 12 Lasha Malaguradze, 11 Vladimir Chaban, 10 Fangatapu Apikotoa, 9 Vasilii Dorofeev, 8 Alexander Ilin, 7 Viktor Arhip, 6 Viktor Gresev, 5 Andrei Garbuzov, 4 Andrei Mahu, 3 Azamat Bitiev, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Sione Fukofuka
Replacements: 16 Andrei Kondakov, 17 Grigory Tsnobiladze, 18 Mikheil Tsiklauri, 19 Egor Zykov, 20 Aleksandr Khudiakov, 21 Anton Riabov, 22 Evgenii Kolomiitcev, 23 Kirill Golosnitskii

Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Junior Rasolea, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Lewis Carmichael, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 WP Nel, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22. Chris Dean, 23 Glenn Bryce

Referee: Thomas Charabas (France)
Assistant referees: Sebastien Minery (France), Arnaud Blondel (France)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

Enisei-STM 21-28 Dragons
Slava Stadium

Dragons got their Challenge Cup pool campaign off the ground as they bounced back from last week to beat Enisei-STM 28-21 at Slava Stadium.

Crossings from Cory Hill and Jared Rosser put them 14-0 up at the break and halfway towards picking up a maximum points haul on the road.

And after the breather Hallam Amos and Charlie Davies finished the job, with Stanislav Selskiy having gone over for Enisei-STM in between.

The hosts were then awarded a penalty try with 11 minutes left to make it 28-14 and with Anton Rudoy's late crossing, they got a losing bonus-point, but it was all too little too late as the Dragons held on for five points.

The scorers:

For Enisei-STM:
Tries: Selskiy, Penalty try, Rudoy
Cons: Kushnarev 2

For Dragons:
Tries: Hill, Rosser, Amos, Davies
Cons: O'Brien 3, Henson

Enisei-STM: 15 Ramil Gaisin, 14 Jurijs Baranovs, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Dmitrii Gerasimov, 11 Igor Kurashov, 10 Iurii Kushnarev, 9 Alexey Shcherban, 8 Anton Rudoi, 7 Maxim Gargalic, 6 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 5 Viacheslav Krasylnyk, 4 Uldis Saulite, 3 Innokentiy Zykov, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Andrei Polivalov
Replacements: 16 Nazir Gasanov, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 Vladimir Podrezov, 19 Evgeny Elgin, 20 Aleksandr Budychenko, 21 Konstantin Uzunov, 22 Sergey Trishin, 23 Vitalii Orlov

Dragons: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Pat Howard, 11 George Gasson, 10 Angus O'Brien, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 James Benjamin, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Cory Hill, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Luke Garrett
Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Tom Davies, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Rynard Landman, 20 James Thomas, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Gavin Henson, 23 Adam Warren

Referee: Ian Tempest (England)
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales (England),Phil Watters (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

Connacht 15-5 Worcester
Sportsground

Connacht claimed a 15-5 victory over Worcester in a low-scoring European Challenge Cup encounter at the Sportsground in Galway on Saturday.

Eoghan Masterson's sixth minute try gave Connacht the early lead after a wonderful break from Tiernan O'Halloran. Connacht fly-half Jack Carty missed the conversion.

Carty made no such mistake from a penalty in the 21st minute as the only other significant action of the first half as Connacht took an 8-0 lead in to the interval after a cagey opening half.

Worcester responded with a try of their own in the 52nd minute. GJ van Velze made the break, Chris Pennell was in support and he teed up Josh Adams who gassed to the line. The conversion was missed so Connacht still led 8-5.

And the hosts extended their lead when Matt Healy charged down a Worcester kick to dot down in the 59th minute. Carty added the extras to make it 15-5.

Jono Lance made things interesting with a penalty in the 75th minute but Connacht ran out 15-8 winners.

The scorers:

For Connacht:
Tries: Masterson, Healy
Con: Carty
Pen: Carty

For Worcester:
Try: Adams

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Darragh Leader, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Eoin Griffin, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Eoghan Masterson, 7 James Connolly, 6 Eoin McKeon, 5 James Cannon, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 2 David Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley 
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Cillian Gallagher, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Cian Kelleher

Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Tom Howe, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Jonny Arr,  8 GJ van Velze, 7 Alafoti Faosiliva, 6 David Denton, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Pierce Phillips, 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Perry Humphreys

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Robert Price (Wales), Andrew Davies (Wales)

Zebre 33-38 Pau
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi

Pau claimed a remarkable 38-33 comeback victory over Zebre in European Challenge Cup action on Saturday.

Carlo Canna opened the scoring for Zebre with a penalty after five minutes.

Giovanni Licata got the home side's first try converted by Canna to make it a 10-0 lead.

Zebre's early dominance continued when Tomasso Boni dotted down in the 10th minute.

Watisoni Votu scored for the visitors in the 23rd minute with his try converted by Brandon Fajardo to make it 17-7.

But Tomasso Castello increased the lead for the home side when he crossed the whitewash just four minutes later to make it 24-7 after Canna added the extras.

A further two penalty goals from Canna in the 33rd and 40th minute meant Zebre took a 30-7 lead in to the interval.

Pau scored first after the break in the 53rd minute when Peter Saili dived over. Zebre's troubles started in the 63rd minute when Eduardo Bello was yellow-carded and they conceded a penalty try.

Pau capitalised on their numerical advantage with another penalty try in the 68th minute to get themselves right back in the game trailing by six at 24-30

A penalty goal from Tom Taylor clawed them even further in to contention making the deficit just three at 30-27 with seven minutes remaining.

Lekima Tagitagivalu proved to be the match-winner as his converted try capped off a remarkable comeback for Pau who ran out 34-33 winners after a late Canna penalty for Zebre.

The scorers:

For Zebre:
Tries: Licata, Boni, Castello
Cons: Canna 3
Pens: Canna 4
Yellow Card: Bello

For Pau:
Tries: Votu, Saili, Tagitagivalu, Penalty try 2
Cons: Fajardo 2, Taylor
Pen: Taylor

Zebre: 15 Ciaran Gaffney, 14 Giulio Bisegni, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 George Biagi, 4 David Sisi, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Luhandre Luus, 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 Roberto Tenga, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Jacopo Sarto, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Serafin Bordoli, 23 Gabriele Di Giulio

Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Florian Nicot, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Brandon Fajardo, 9 Clovis Lebail, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Paddy Butler, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Masalosalo Tutaia, 4 Fabrice Metz, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Lucas Rey, 1 Geoffrey Moise
Replacements: 16 Laurent Bouchet, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Sylvain Charlet, 19 Daniel Ramsay, 20 Pierrick Gunther, 21 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 22 Thibault Daubagna, 23 Tom Taylor

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England)
Assistant referees:  Anthony Woodthorpe (England), Paul Burton (England)

Bordeaux-Bègles 20-21 Newcastle Falcons
Stade Chaban-Delmas

Newcastle Falcons defeated Bordeaux-Bègles 21-20 in their European Rugby Challenge Cup clash in France on Saturday.

Toby Flood's conversion of Jon Welsh's try with 20 minutes remaining was enough to clinch victory for the away side.

The hosts opened the scoring through a Simon Hickey penalty before Marco Tauleigne scored five minutes later to give Bordeaux a quick-fire, 10 point lead. The away side didn't wait too long to hit back as Ryan Burrows went in for Newcastle.

Sebastien Taofifenua scored a try two minutes before half-time to give the home side a morale-boosting, 17-7 lead at the break.

Newcastle came out all guns blazing in the second, and fly-half Flood scored and converted his own try four minutes after play resumed.

Hickey slotted another penalty to extend Bordeaux's buffer before Welsh crossed for Newcastle and Flood's conversion gave them a one-point advantage. Newcastle held onto this lead to claim a narrow 21-20 win.

The scorers:

For Bordeaux-Bègles:
Tries: Tauleigne, Taofifenua
Cons: Hickey 2
Pens: Hickey 2

For Newcastle Falcons:
Tries: Burrows, Flood, Welsh
Cons: Flood 3

Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Matthieu Jalibert, 14 Nans Ducuing, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 11 Jean-Baptiste Dubié, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Marco Tauleigne, 5 Jandré Marais, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Adrien Pélissié, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua
Replacements: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Marc Clerc, 19 Johan Aliouat, 20 Cameron Woki, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Christian Schoeman, 23 Metuisela Talebulamaijaina

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Chris Harris, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Adam Radwan, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Ryan Burrows, 7 Gary Graham, 6 Will Welch, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Ben Sowrey, 17 Sami Mavinga, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Glen Young, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Micky Young, 22 Cam Cowell, 23 Craig Willis

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Kieran Barry (Ireland), Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)

Stade Francais 7-44 London Irish
Stade Jean-Bouin

London Irish bounced back from last week's defeat to thump Stade Français 44-7 in Paris in the late game.

First-half tries from Conor Gilsenan, Topsy Ojo (2) and Ben Meehan took them into the break leading 24-7, with Bakary Meïte crossing for Stade.

And after the break it was all the Exiles as Lovejoy Chawatama, Ben Ransom and Scott Steele wrapped up a comprehensive win over the French side.

The result lifts them up to second spot in Pool 4, five points behind pace-setters Edinburgh.

The scorers:

For Stade Français:
Try: Meite
Con: Plisson

For London Irish:
Tries: Gilsenan, Ojo 2, Meehan, Chawatama, Ransom, Steele
Cons: Brophy Clews 2, Atkins
Pen: Brophy Clews

Stade Francais: 15 Shane Geraghty, 14 Waisea Vuidarvuwalu, 13 Paul Williams, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Jimmy Yobo, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Bakary Meïte, 7 Hugh Pyle, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Alexandre Flanquart, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Paul Alo Emile, 2 Remi Bonfils, 1 Eliès El Ansari
Replacements: 16 Maxime Gau, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Mathieu De Giovanni, 20 Charlie Francoz, 21 Arthur Coville, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Anthony Ensor

London Irish: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Johnny Wililams, 11 Topsy Ojo, 10 Theo Brophy Clews, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Lasha Lomidze, 7 Conor Gilsenan, 6 Max Northcote-Green, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 William Lloyd, 3 Oliver Hoskins, 2 Tom Woolstencroft, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 Todd Gleave, 17 Tom Smallbone, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Josh McNally, 20 Isaac Curtis-Harris, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Jacob Atkins, 23 Fergus Mulchrone

Referee: Vlad Iordescu (Romania)
Assistant referees: Ionut Bodea (Romania),Radu Petrescu (Romania)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)