Challenge Cup wrap: Falcons, Edinburgh and Connacht shine
Gloucester were made to work but got the job done as they beat Zebre while Sale, Worcester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Connacht also won.
Results
Saturday
Zebre 26-33 Gloucester
Sale Sharks 24-0 Cardiff Blues
Worcester 35-14 Oyonnax
Newcastle 52-24 Bordeaux-Begles
Edinburgh 50-20 London Irish
Brive 31-38 Connacht
Zebre 26-33 Gloucester
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Gloucester consolidated second position in Pool 3 of the Challenge Cup when they claimed a bonus-point win in a thrilling clash in Parma.
Johan Ackermann's side were made to work, however, and Zebre held a deserved 14-12 lead at the break thanks to tries from Johan Meyer, Renato Giammarioli and Tommaso Boni, with Ruan Ackermann and Ollie Thorley crossing for the visiting outfit during that period.
Gloucester took control of proceedings in the second half and sealed their win courtesy of tries from Thorley, Owen Williams and Richard Hibbard but Zebre added some respectability to the score via Ciaran Gaffney's try in the 71st minute.
The scorers:
For Zebre:
Tries: Meyer, Giammarioli, Boni, Gaffney
Cons: Canna 2, Palazzani
For Gloucester:
Tries: Ackermann, Thorley 2, Williams, Hibbard
Cons: Williams 4
Zebre: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Ciaran Gaffney, 13 Mattia Bellini, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Maxime Mbanda, 5 George Biagi, 4 David Sisi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Luhandre Luus, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Jacopo Sarto, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Matteo Pratichetti, 23 Serafin Bordoli
Gloucester: 15 Tom Hudson, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Andy Symons, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Freddie Clarke, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paddy McAllister
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Cameron Orr, 18 Josh Hohneck, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Ollie Thorley
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Dunx McClement (Scotland)
Sale Sharks 24-0 Cardiff Blues
AJ Bell Stadium
Sale picked up their first victory of the Challenge Cup campaign as they saw off Pool 2 pace-setters Cardiff Blues at the AJ Bell Stadium.
The victory moves the Sharks up to third, one point behind Toulouse and two off the Blues, who of course play host to Sale next weekend.
Sale led 9-0 at the break thanks to three AJ MacGinty penalties and scored the fixture's first try on the hour through scrum-half Will Cliff.
They wrapped up the four points three minutes from time with a try from replacement hooker Marc Jones adding the gloss to the victory.
The scorers:
For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Cliff, Jones
Con: MacGinty
Pens: MacGinty 4
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Mark Jennings, 12 Rohan Jansen van Rensburg, 11 Josh Charnley, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Jono Ross, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 George Nott, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 James Flynn, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 Matthew Postlewhaite, 20 David Seymour, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Sam James, 23 James O'Connor
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Seb Davies, 5 James Down, 4 George Earle, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Kieron Assiratti, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Sion Bennett, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Blaine Scully
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Adrien Descottes (France), Eric Soulan (France)
Worcester 35-14 Oyonnax
Sixways
Worcester were too good for Oyonnax as they ran out comfortable 35-14 winners at Sixways, picking up the bonus point for good measure.
This win keeps them very much in the hunt for pool qualification, with tries from Tom Howe (2), Luke Baldwin and David Denton carded.
In reply, Oyonnax's try scorer was Hika Elliot as they suffer a third defeat from three and remain on zero points at the bottom of Pool 5.
The scorers:
For Worcester:
Tries: Howe 2, Baldwin, Denton
Cons: Olver 3
Pens: Olver 3
For Oyonnax:
Try: Elliot
Pens: Ruiz 3
Worcester: 15 Ben Howard, 14 Tom Howe, 13 Dean Hammond, 12 Max Stelling, 11 Perry Humphreys, 10 Sam Olver, 9 Michael Dowsett, 8 David Denton, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 6 Huw Taylor, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Pierce Phillips, 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 Joe Taufete'e, 1 Ryan Bower
Replacements: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 Bi Alo, 19 Alafoti Faosiliva, 20 Matti Williams, 21 Luke Baldwin, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Chris Pennell
Oyonnax: 15 Silvere Tian, 14 Axel Muller, 13 Vincent Lasmarrigues, 12 Maxime Veau, 11 Tim Giresse, 10 Christopher Ruiz, 9 James Hall, 8 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 7 Bilel Taieb, 6 Luc Barba, 5 Simon Christian Njewel, 4 Shay Kerry, 3 Irakli Mirtskhulava, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Khatchik Vartanov
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Geledan, 17 Kevin Buys, 18 Thomas Laclayat, 19 Geoffrey Fabbri, 20 Maxime Fucina, 21 Julien Audy, 22 Ulupano Seuteni, 23 Manuel Leindekar Virginio
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Jonathan Peak (Ireland)
Newcastle 52-24 Bordeaux-Begles
Kingston Park
Newcastle Falcons won a thrilling Challenge Cup game against Bordeaux-Begles to move back to the top of Pool 1, above the Dragons.
First-half scores from Calum Green, Adam Radwan (2), Mark Wison, Ben Sowrey and Craig Willis gave them a 38-17 half-time cushion. Yann Lesgourgues and Matthieu Jalibert hit back for the visitors in a high-scoring affair.
Geoffrey Cros scored for UBB on 56 minutes to reduce the gap but Alex Tait's try soon after kept the Frenchmen at arm's length before Josh Matavesi took the Falcons up to the 50-point mark to cap an impressive home win.
The scorers:
For Newcastle:
Tries: Green, Radwan 2, Wilson, Sowrey, Willis, Tait, Matavesi
Cons: Willis 4, Hodgson 2
For Bordeaux-Begles:
Tries: Lesgourgues, Jalibert, Cros
Cons: Jalibert 2, Volavola
Pen: Jalibert
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Adam Radwan, 10 Craig Willis, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Ryan Burrows, 7 Gary Graham, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Ben Sowrey, 1 Sam Lockwood
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Rob Vickers, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Glen Young, 20 Harrison Orr, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22 Charlie Wilson, 23 Zach Kibirige
Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Geoffrey Cros, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Romain Lonca, 11 Fa'asui Fuatai, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Adrien Pélissié, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua
Replacements: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 19 Pierre Gayraud, 20 Cameron Woki, 21 Gauthier Doubrere, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Julien Rey
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Elgan Williams (Wales)
Edinburgh 50-20 London Irish
Murrayfield
Edinburgh made it three victories from three in their Challenge Cup campaign as they eased past London Irish, winning 50-20 at Murrayfield.
A venue change from Myreside did not affect the hosts as they ran in eight tries for a classy bonus-point win that puts them eight points clear.
Stuart McInally got the ball rolling before Blair Kinghorn and a double from Phil Burleigh helped put Edinburgh 26-10 ahead at the turnaround.
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Darcy Graham, Junior Rasolea and Sean Kennedy went over in the second period to take the Scots past the half century.
Ben Ransom, Mike Coman and Ben Meehan scored London Irish's tries, with this heavy loss now leaving them 10 points behind Edinburgh.
The scorers:
For Edinburgh:
Tries: McInally, Kinghorn, Burleigh 2, Hidalgo-Clyne, Graham, Rasolea, Kennedy
Cons: Van der Walt 3, Kinghorn 2
For London Irish:
Tries: Ransom, Coman, Meehan
Con: Tonks
Pen: Bell
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Darcy Graham, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Darryl Marfo
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Matt Shields, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Dougie Fife, 23 Junior Rasolea
London Irish: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Ben Ransom, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Tommy Bell, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Lasha Lomidze, 7 Max Northcote-Green, 6 Jack Cooke, 5 Sebastian De Chaves (c), 4 Will Lloyd, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Josh Basham, 20 Mike Coman, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Theo Brophy Clews, 23 Matt Williams
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Richard Kerr (Scotland)
Brive 31-38 Connacht
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Connacht claimed an impressive 38-31 bonus-point win away to Brive on Saturday in a result that takes them back to the top of Pool 5.
The Irish side were trailing 19-17 at the break as tries from Mike Tadjer, Florian Cazenave and Julien Brugnaut put Brive's noses in front. Ultan Dillane and Kieran Marmion were the visitors' try scorers in a close-fought opening half.
Tadjer scored again early in the second period before Jack Carty hit back for Connacht, with Cian Kelleher also crossing before Guillaume Namy's 72nd minute try gave Brive hope. But Carty's boot was ultimately the deciding factor in the game as Connacht held on for the victory.
The scorers:
For Brive:
Tries: Tadjer 2, Cazenave, Brugnaut, Namy
Cons: Germain 3
For Connacht:
Tries: Dillane, Marmion, Carty, Kelleher
Cons: Carty 3
Pens: Carty 4
Brive: 15 Gaetan Germain, 14 Nadir Megdoud, 13 Sevanaia Galala, 12 Benjamin Petre, 11 Guillaume Namy, 10 Thomas Laranjeira, 9 Florian Cazenave, 8 Petrus Hauman, 7 Dominiko Waqaniborutu, 6 Poutasi Luafutu, 5 Jan Uys, 4 Johan Snyman, 3 Demba Bamba, 2 Mike Tadjer, 1 Julien Brugnaut
Replacements: 16 Louis Martin, 17 Simon-Pierre Chauvac, 18 James Johnston, 19 Peet Marais, 20 Fabien Sanconnie, 21 David Delarue, 22 Alfifeleti Mafi, 23 Matthieu Ugalde
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Cian Kelleher, 13 Pita Ahki, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 John Muldoon, 7 Eoghan Masterson, 6 Cillian Gallagher, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Conor Carey, 19 James Cannon, 20 James Connolly, 21 James Mitchell, 22 Tom Farrell, 23 Darragh Leader
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Wayne Falla (England)