Anglo-Welsh Cup Wrap: Big win for Exeter

Editor

Four pool games took place in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Saturday as Harlequins, Exeter, Leicester and Ospreys claimed victories.

Worcester Warriors 22-28 Harlequins
Sixways

Harlequins consolidated their position at the top of Pool Three after claiming a hard-fought 28-22 victory over Worcester at Sixways.

The home side were fastest out of the blocks and raced into a 14-7 lead at half-time courtesy of tries from Wynand Olivier and Bryce Heem which were both converted by Ryan Mills although Quins stayed in touch thanks to a try by Charlie Walker.

The home side continued to dominate and shortly after the restart Joe Taufete'e scored their second try from a driving maul but Quins narrowed the gap when Charlie Matthews intercepted a wayward pass before crashing over for their second try in the 50th minute.

Ruaridh Jackson's conversion meant Warriors held a slender five-point lead but the visitors struck back via a Alofa Alofa try and Jackson's conversion gave his team the lead for the first time in the match.

Warriors regained the lead via a Mills penalty in the 65th minute but Quins secured victory when Alofa scored his second try five minutes later.

The scorers:

For Worcester Warriors:
Tries:
Olivier, Heem, Taufete'e
Cons: Mills 2
Pen: Mills

For Harlequins:
Tries:
Alofa 2, Walker, Matthews
Cons: Jackson 4

Worcester Warriors: 15 Ben Howard, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Auguy Slowik, 10 Ryan Mills, 9 Luke Baldwin, 8 Alafoti Faosiliva, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Phil Dowson (c), 5 Will Spencer, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Joe Taufete'e, 1 Na'ama Leleimalefaga
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Tiff Eden, 23 Andy Short

Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Winston Stanley, 11 Alofa Alofa, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9  Karl Dickson, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Dave Ward (c), 6 James Chisholm, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 Mark Reddish, 3 Matt Shields, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Owen Evans
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Adam Jones, 18 Tyler Gendall, 19 Stan South, 20 George Naoupu, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Ross Chisholm

Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew O'Grady (England), Peter Allan (England)


Exeter Chiefs 52-5 Wasps
Sandy Park

Exeter moved above Sale at the top of Pool 2 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup after they hammered Wasps, winning 52-5 with a bonus-point.

The Chiefs were swift out the blocks and crossed with just two minutes on the clock when centre Michele Campagnaro scored his first try.

Second-row Will Rowlands struck back for Wasps two minutes later but Exeter went 14-5 in front when lock Mitch Lees crossed soon after.

On 15 minutes it became 21-5 as Italy international centre Campagnaro had his second try and before the break young half-back partners Joe Simmonds and Stuart Townsend moved the Chiefs even further ahead. Wasps appeared to be out of the contest as they jogged off 33-5 adrift.

The procession continued early into the second stanza with tries from hooker Shaun Malton and Campagnaro's hat-trick taking Exeter 47-5 up.

The Chiefs weren't done though as an eighth try came before the end, with Will Hooley setting up Lachie Turner to put the seal on a big win.

The scorers:

For Exeter:
Tries: Campagnaro 3, Lees, Simmonds, Townsend, Malton, Turner
Cons: Simmonds 6

For Wasps:
Try: Rowlands

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Max Bodilly, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Sam Hill, 11 James Short, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Ben White, 6 Sam Skinner (c), 5 Damian Welch, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Shaun Malton, 1 Carl Rimmer
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Moray Low, 18 Jack Owlett, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Joe Snow, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Matt Jess

Wasps: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Guy Armitage, 13 Nick De Luca (c), 12 Brendan Macken, 11 Tom Howe, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Craig Hampson, 8 Alex Rieder, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Ali Bone, 5 Marcus Garratt, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Koree Britton, 1 Tom Bristow
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Tom West, 18 Simon McIntyre, 19 Ehize Ehizode, 20 Tom Willis, 21 Will Porter, 22 Warren Seals, 23 Owain James/Joshua Hodson

Referee: Greg Macdonald (England)
Assistant Referees: Sara Cox (England), Brian Ravenhill (England)


Leicester Tigers 27-20 Northampton Saints
Welford Road

Leicester Tigers retained their unbeaten record in the competition when they secured a deserved 27-20 win over Northampton Saints at Welford Road.

The hosts opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Will Evans crossed the whitewash after Harry Thacker was stopped just short of the tryline. Owen Williams added the extras but Saints struck back shortly afterwards when Sam Olver scored their opening points via a well-taken try.

Williams extended the hosts lead thanks to a penalty on the half-hour mark but Olver cancelled that effort out two minutes later when he succeeded with a place-kick of his own.

The Tigers soon had their second try when Dom Barrow rounded off after George Catchpole and Jack Roberts did well in the build-up and Williams' conversion meant they led 17-8 at the break.

The home side continued to dominate and were rewarded when Thacker scored their third try in the 54th minute and Williams' extras meant they were cruising with a 24-8 lead.

Saints struck back when Nafi Tuitavake got over for their second try but Williams sealed the win for Tigers with a penalty in the 75th minute although the visitors did not give up and were rewarded when Rory Hutchinson scored a try in the dying minutes.

The scorers:

For Leicester Tigers:
Tries:
Evans, Barrow, Thacker
Cons: Williams 3
Pens: Williams 2

For Northampton Saints:
Tries:
Olver, Tuitavake, Hutchinson
Con: Olver
Pen: Olver

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait (c), 14 Tom Brady, 13 Jack Roberts, 12 Matt Smith, 11 George Catchpole, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Jono Kitto, 8 Luke Hamilton, 7 Will Evans, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Michele Rizzo
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Riccardo Brugnara, 18 Ben Betts, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 Will Owen, 21 Ben White, 22 George Worth, 23 Charlie Thacker

Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Nafi Tuitavake, 12 Harry Mallinder, 11 Juan Pablo Estelles, 10 Sam Olver, 9 Tom Kessell, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Ben Nutley, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day (c), 4 David Ribbans, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 James Wilson

Referee: Ben Whitehouse 
Assistant Referees: Jonathan Healy (England), Ross Campbell (England)


Ospreys v Bristol
Brewery Field

Ospreys claimed a vital win over Bristol at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday that keeps alive their hopes of making the quarter-finals.

They went into the interval 10-7 ahead after a closely-fought opening 40 minutes, with a Luke Price penalty separating the two sides.

Full-back Dafydd Howells got a try with barely a minute on the clock in Swansea and with Price's successful extras, Ospreys led 7-0.

Price made it 10-0 with a penalty on 11 minutes but the English side struck back with a try from hooker Max Crumpton to cut the gap.

It remained 10-7 until the 57th minute when Price kicked his second penalty of the game to make it a six-point cushion for the Welshmen.

Bristol weren't about to roll over though and pushed for victory, eventually going ahead on 73 minutes when hooker Marc Jones crossed.

But soon after the Ospreys got their noses in front again, with flanker Sam Underhill the man crossing as the hosts took the game 20-14.

The scorers:

For Ospreys:
Tries: Howells, Underhill
Cons: Price 2
Pens: Price 2

For Bristol:
Tries: Crumpton, Jones
Cons: Searle 2

Ospreys: 15 Dafydd Howells, 14 Jay Baker, 13 Joe Thomas, 12 Jonathan Spratt, 11 Ben John, 10 Luke Price, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Ratti, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Ifan Phillips, 17 Rowan Jenkins, 18 Daniel Suter, 19 Tyler Ardron, 20 Will Jones, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Phil Jones, 23 Tom O’Flaherty

Bristol: 15 Jack Wallace, 14 David Lemi, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Tusi Pisi, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Mitch Eadie, 7 Jack Lam (c), 6 Nick Fenton-Wells, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Gaston Cortes, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Jack O'Connell
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 James Hall, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Giorgi Nemsadze, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Thretton Palamo, 23 Jack Tovey

Referee: Dan Jones
Assistant Referees: Wayne Davies, Chris Oliver