Challenge Cup Wrap: Brive get revenge on Enisei

Editor

Brive took revenge on Enisei-STM in the Challenge Cup on Saturday while Zebre, Sale and Harlequins registered crucial victories.

Brive 33-3 Enisei-STM 

Brive outscored Enisei-STM five tries to zero to win 33-3 in Saturday's Challenge Cup clash at Stade Amédée-Domenech.

The result was sweet revenge for the hosts, who suffered a humiliating defeat to the Siberian-based in their corresponding fixture in Sochi last weekend.

The home side made their intentions known from the outset and after an extended period on the attack, Atila Septar got over for the opening try as early as the second minute.

Septar's midfield partner Thomas Laranjeira added the extras before Iurii Kushnarev added Enisei-STM's only points, via the kicking tee, three minutes later.

The rest of the half was a competitive affair but Brive extended their lead shortly before half-time when Arnaud Mignardi, who replaced Septar midway through the half, crossed for their second try.

Brive took control of proceedings, shortly after the restart, when Sisa Koyamaibole and Alfi Mafi crossed for tries in quick succession.

Things went from bad to worse for Enisei-STM midway through the second-half when Alexei Volkov was yellow carded but Brive were also reduced to 14 men in the 69th minute when Damien Jourdain was sent to the sin bin.

Enisei's Evgeni Pronenko also received his marching orders in the 72nd minute and Brive made their numerical advantage count when Romain Sola crossed for their bonus-point try shortly before full-time.

The scorers:

For Brive:
Tries: Septar, Mignardi, Koyamaibole, Mafi, Sola
Cons: Laranjeira 4
Yellow Card: Jourdain

For Enisei-STM:
Pen: Kushnarev
Yellow Cards: Volkov, Pronenko

Brive: 15 Romain Sola, 14 Alfifeleti Mafi, 13 Atila Septar, 12 Thomas Laranjeira, 11 Benito Masilevu, 10 Matthieu Ugalde, 9 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Poutasi Luafutu, 6 Hugues Briatte, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Victor Lebas, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Thomas Acquier, 1 Damien Lavergne.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Ribes, 17 Goderzi Shvelidze, 18 Damien Jourdain, 19 Peet Marais, 20 Fabien Sanconnie, 21 William Whetton, 22 Nicolas Bézy, 23 Arnaud Mignardi.

Enisei-STM: 15 Robert Malneek, 14 Igor Kurashov, 13 Denis Simplikevich, 12 Mikhail Babaev, 11 David Kacharava, 10 Iurii Kushnarev, 9 Jurijs Baranovs, 8 Anton Rudoi, 7 Vitalii Orlov, 6 Andrey Temnov, 5 Viacheslav Krasylnyk, 4 Uldis Saulite, 3 Innokentiy Zykov, 2 Nazir Gasanov, 1 Alexey Volkov.
Replacements: 16 Stanislav Selskii, 17 Andrei Polivalov, 18 Evgenii Pronenko, 19 Mikhail Sidorov, 20 Plavel Butenko, 21 Alexey Shcherban, 22 Dmitriy Simonov, 23 Ramil Gaisin.

Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)


Zebre 25-5 La Rochelle

Zebre moved above La Rochelle in Pool Four's standings after claiming a deserved 25-5 victory at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

The home side had the better of the early exchanges and after Edoardo Padovani kicked two penalties inside the first 10 minutes, Paul Derbyshire crossed for the opening try in the 23rd minute before La Rochelle were reduced to 14 men when Jone Qovu Nailiko was yellow-carded.

Zebre didn't add to their tally which meant they led 11-0 at half-time but extended their lead soon after the restart when Johan Meyer crossed for their second try.

La Rochelle's woes continued when Jason Eaton had to spend 10 minutes in the sin bin, midway through the half.

Zebre sealed victory when former All Black full-back Mils Muliaina crossed for their third five-pointer in the 75th minute before Ricky Januarie scored a consolation try for the Top 14 outfit shortly before full-time.

The scorers:

For Zebre:
Tries: Derbyshire, Meyer, Muliaina
Cons: Padovani, Canna
Pens: Padovani 2
Yellow Card: Fabiani

For La Rochelle:
Try: Januarie
Yellow Cards: Nailiko, Eaton

Zebre: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Edoardo Padovani, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Paul Derbyshire, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Jacopo Sarto, 5 George Biagi, 4 Marco Bortolami, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Tommaso D'Apice, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 Guillermo Roan, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Giulio Bisegni, 23 Carlo Canna.

La Rochelle: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Gabriel Lacroix, 13 Pierre Aguillon, 12 Malietoa Hingano, 11 Benjamin Lapeyre, 10 Charles Bouldoire, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Jone Qovu Nailiko, 7 Zeno Kieft, 6 Romain Sazy, 5 Leo Cedaro, 4 Jason Eaton, 3 Gagi Bazadze, 2 Maxime Gau, 1 Vincent Pelo.
Replacements: 16 David Roumieu, 17 Thomas Synaeghel, 18 Lekso Kaulashvili, 19 Damien Lagrange, 20 Kevin Gourdon, 21 Jules Lebail, 22 Elliot Roudil, 23 Kamilieni Raivono.

Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)


Sale Sharks 31-10 Castres

Sale claimed a crucial victory over their nearest Pool 2 rivals, Castres, at the AJ Bell Stadium on Saturday.

The home side, who beat Castres narrowly in the corresponding fixture last weekend, outscored their opponents three tries to one and the result moves them provisionally to the top of the table.

Sale held a 9-0 lead at half-time thanks to three penalties from Joe Ford with the yellow carding of Castres' Alexandre Bias the only major flash point of the half.

The home side stepped up a gear after the interval and soon extended their lead when Vili Fihaki scored the game's opening try in the 44th minute after Castres' Julien Dumora had narrowed the gap a minute earlier from the kicking tee.

Johnnie Beattie then scored the visitors' only try in the 58th minute but Antonie Dupont's conversion would be the last time they would score points.

Sale upped the ante after that score and sealed the win thanks to tries inside the final 10 minutes from Neil Briggs and Johnny Leota.

The scorers:

For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Fihaki, Briggs, Leota
Cons: Ford, Cipriani
Pens: Ford 3, Cipriani
Yellow Card: Fabiani

For Castres:
Try: Beattie
Con: Dupont
Pen: Dumora
Yellow Card: Bias

Sale: 15 Tom Arscott, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Charlie Ingall, 10 Joe Ford, 9 James Mitchell, 8 Vili Fihaki, 7 David Seymour, 6 Mark Easter, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Jon Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 James Flynn, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Michael Haley.

Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 David Smith, 13 Florian Vialelle, 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Romain Martial, 10 Julien Dumora, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Alexandre Bias, 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Victor Moreaux, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Karena Wihongi, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Antoine Tichit.
Replacements: 16 Julien Beziat, 17 Saimone Taumoepeau, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Benjamin Desroche, 20 Alex Tulou, 21 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 22 Thomas Combezou, 23 Julien Seron.

Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)


Harlequins 59-7 Calvisano

Jamie Roberts scored on his debut for Harlequins as the Premiership side thrashed Calvisano in the Champions Cup.

Harlequins in total ran in nine tries against the Italian opponents at The Stoop in a one-sided affair.

Marland Yarde opened the scoring after 15 minutes, converted by Ben Botica, but Marco Susio's reply for Calvisano converted by Romania star Florin Vlaicu meant the scores were level at 7-7 after half an hour.

Quins then halted the resistance with three quick tries in six minutes from Kyle Sinckler, Jack Clifford and Ross Chisholm to secure the bonus point.

Roberts crossed in the 53rd minute for his first try in Quins colour since joining from Racing 92.

Charlie Walker, Botica, Tim Swiel and Karl Dickson then all wrapped up a convincing win for the London side.

The scorers:

For Harlequins:
Tries: Yarde, Sinckler, Clifford, R Chisholm, Roberts, Walker, Botica, Swiel, Dickson
Cons: Botica 7

For Calvisano:
Try: Susio
Con: Vlaicu

Harlequins: 15 Tim Swiel, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Winston Stanley, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 James Chisholm, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Jack Clifford, 7 Dave Ward, 6 Archie White, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Owen Evans.
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Seb Adeniran-Olule, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Harry Sloan, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Matt Hopper, 23 Charlie Walker.

Calvisano: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Giacomo De Santis, 13 Pablo Canavosio, 12 Alberto Chiesa, 11 Marco Susio, 10 Florin Vlaicu, 9 Riccardo Raffaele, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Alessio Zdrilich, 6 Nicola Belardo, 5 Davide Zanetti, 4 Michele Andreotti, 3 Rudy Biancotti, 2 Lorenzo Giovanchelli, 1 Sami Panico.
Replacements: 16 Gabriele Morelli, 17 Elia Violi, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Luca Beccaris, 20 Matteo Archetti, 21 Maxime Mbanda, 22 Filippo Buscema, 23 Daniele Di Giulio.

Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
Assistant Referees: Nicolas Datas (France), Bruno Gabaldon (France)


Pau 17-34 Newport Gwent Dragons

PRO12 outfit Newport Gwent Dragons produced an impressive win over Top 14 side Pau to strengthen their chances of qualification in Pool 2 of the Challenge Cup.

There was to be no dream debut for All Blacks centre Conrad Smith as his side were well beaten at home.

Cory Hill opened the scoring for the visitors after five minutes for the perfect start, following the Dragons' 22-0 win in the reverse fixture last weekend.

Jason Tovey's conversion and penalty stretched the lead to 10-0 before two tries in seven minutes from Ashton Hewitt and Tovey, both converted, made it 24-0 to the visitors at half-time.

With Carl Meyer's score after 48 minutes the Dragons wrapped up the bonus point before Pau came to life following Hill's yellow card.

Paddy Butler and Mosese Ratuvou both crossed for tries, the second converted by Colin Slade after a drop goal from Tovey, with Watisoni Votu adding some respectability to the scoreline with a third try, even though Pau were well beaten.

The scorers:

For Pau:
Tries: Butler, Ratuvou, Votu
Cons: Slade
Yellow Card: Traille

For Dragons:
Tries: Hill, Hewitt, Tovey, Meyer
Cons: Tovey 4
Pens: Tovey
Yellow Cards: Hill, Hughes

Pau: 15 Damien Traille, 14 Sireli Bobo, 13 Julien Fumat, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Mosese Ratuvou, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Thierry Lacrampe, 8 Brice Monzeglio, 7 Paddy Butler, 6 Josefa Ulago Domolailai, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Sylvain Charlet, 2 Mehdi Boundjema, 1 Jérémy Hurou.
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, 17 Julien Jacquot, 18 Euan Murray, 19 James Coughlan, 20 Sean Dougall, 21 Thibault Daubagna, 22 Conrad Smith, 23 Watisoni Votu.

Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Nick Scott, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Cory Hill, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Ollie Griffiths, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Ross Wardle.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)