Monday 14 November 2011

Heineken Cup rugby back with a bang

Ronan O'Gara ended a captivating encounter against Northampton with a fantastic 35 metre drop-goal after 41 phases in Munster's 23-21 victory at Thomond Park




Pool 1
Munster 23- Northampton 21
A packed partisan crowd at Thomond Park in Limerick was treated to an epic Anglo-Irish encounter in which the 2 time European Champions showed their true class as they overcame a spirited Northampton side. It only took 3 minutes for Munster to break through Northampton’s defences; Damien Varley managed to squeeze over for the first points in the match and Ronan O‘Gara managed to add the conversion. The Saints bounced back with a well worked counter attacking try of their own courtesy of Chris Ashton who dived in into the corner after being set up by Ben Foden. Ryan Lamb could not add the conversion, but he did contribute with three penalties in the first-half. Munster worked hard at the end of the first-half with plenty of attacking pressure which led to O’Gara adding a penalty and Doug Howlett side-stepping Foden to score under the posts.  O’Gara managed to add the simple conversion. The half-time score was Munster 17 Northampton 13. Early in the second-half, O’Gara and Lamb exchanged penalties and then the Saints pilled on the pressure. After some simple attacking phases, James Downey managed to crash over for Northampton’s second try. Unfortunately Lamb could not add the crucial conversion. Northampton looked to be pushing for a tremendous away victory, however, with two minutes to go in the game Munster went through a gruelling 41 phases before they put O’Gara back in the pocket for a drop-goal to win the match. O’Gara struck the ball beautifully and the 35 metre attempt sailed through the uprights. Northampton Saints were unlucky to miss out on the four points in Limerick, but they will be proud of their performance.
Man of the Match: Ronan O’Gara (Munster) The Irishman held his composure right to the end of his 99th Heineken Cup game and he managed to earn his side a vital win in the first round of the competition.



Scarlets 31 Castres 23
The first-half at Parc Y Scarlets was a dull affair with Stephen Jones Rémi Tales exchanging penalties. After 40 minutes, the Scarlets were up 9-6 and they came out for the 2nd half looking to spread the ball wide. Sean Lamont scored to stretch the lead to 10 points following Jones’ successful conversion. Romain Teulet added a penalty to the visitor’s score line and then Ben Morgan added a converted try for the Scarlets with half an hour to go in the match. Credit must be given to Castres who did not give up in the match as they responded with a try courtesy of Marc Andreu which was converted by Teulet.  This gave the match some life and Scott Williams managed to break away from Castres’ defensive line to feed Jonathan Davies for the Scarlets’ third try. Castres managed to add some drama to the match with a Chris Masoe try, but a final minute penalty from Rhys Priestland sealed a much needed win in the 1st round for the Welsh side.
Man of the Match: George North (Scarlets) the young winger showed his all-round quality once again with a solid attacking and defensive performance. It shows how a winger can be vital to a team’s performance without crossing the try-line.



Pool 2
Racing Metro 20 Cardiff Blues 26
Cardiff were buoyed with the timely return of their Welsh Internationals as they managed to claw their way to a vital away win in Paris. Unfortunately the Blues lost James Down to a serious ankle injury after only two minutes and then Jamie Roberts to a groin injury shortly after. Cardiff found themselves 6-0 down after Gaetan Germain added an early penalty and Juan Martin Hernandez dropped a goal. The Blues did not let the impact of two players succumbing to injuries or the early points scored by Racing affect them. After some slick handling Tau Filise managed to dive on a loose ball to score Cardiff’s first try which Dan Parks converted. Parks and Germain exchanged penalties and then the game came to life before the end of the second-half. Juan Imhoff added a try for the hosts and then Alex Cuthbert went over in the corner for Cardiff. Parks added the conversion from the touchline to make the half-time score Racing Metro 14- Cardiff 17. The second-half was a battle of the kickers; Parks came out on top with three penalties to Germaine’s two successful kicks. This was a fantastic result for Cardiff as they face a tough home test against London Irish this weekend.
Man of the Match: Dan Parks (Cardiff Blues) the former Glasgow fly-half was outstanding with the boot as he slotted 2 conversions and 4 penalties to assure Cardiff came away with an away win.



London Irish 19 Edinburgh 20
Tom Homer, who was the hero for Irish against Leicester the last week managed to add two early penalties for his side. Lee Jones responded with a try of his own which was converted by Harry Leonard. Homer added another penalty and then converted Ross Sampson’s try. Leonard then kicked the final penalty of the half, after 40 minutes the score was 16-10 in the home side’s favour. After half-time, Homer added his final penalty of the game to stretch the lead, however, Edinburgh managed to land a vital score through the powerful charge of Stuart McInally, Greig Laidlaw who came on as a substitute added the conversion and a penalty to seal an unlikely away win for Edinburgh. London Irish could not scrape a win with a drop-goal attempt from Bowden and a penalty attempt from Homer. So far this season in the Aviva Premiership London Irish’s goal kicking has been excellent so it was surprising that their kicking game let them down.
Man of the Match: Tim Visser (Edinburgh) the winger was always a threat for Edinburgh and he made several key clean breaks through Irish’s defensive line.



Pool 3
Montpellier 16 Leinster 16
Montpellier seemed to dominate the opening exchanges and Benoit Paillaugue opened Montpellier’s account with a penalty after only two minutes. Sexton replied with two penalties of his own as Leinster looked to work their way into the game. However, Montpellier were better than Leinster in the rest of the first-half as they counter attacked from deep in their own half. The ball was chipped ahead and then Fulgence Ouedraogo was put in for an easy try. Paillaugue added another penalty to make the half time score 13-6 to the hosts. Francois Trinh-Duc added the first points of the second-half after sustained pressure from the French side. Leinster showed the determination that has won them two Heineken Cups as they fought back against a determined home side. Sean Cronin was powerful and deceitfully quick as he made the most of his chance to score the Irish only try for Leinster. Sexton piled the pressure on Montpellier with the conversion and the gap was back to just three points. Captain Leo Cullen made a bold decision to kick to the corner from a penalty with not much time to go in the match. This decision did not pay off, but luckily for Cullen Leinster was given a chance to snatch a draw at the death. Sexton showed maturity beyond his years to land a penalty with the final penalty of the game.
Man of the Match: Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) the fly-half was able to land the winning penalty and control Leinster’s comeback in a bravely-fought match.



Glasgow 26 Bath 21
The first-half was a tame affair in Heineken Cup standards; it was a kicking duel between Duncan Weir and Tom Heathcote for Glasgow and Bath respectively. Weir came out on top in the first half as he landed three penalties to Heathcote’s two. The second-half was more encouraging for Bath initially as Heathcote added a further two penalties. Stuart Hogg managed to find a few inches of space to scramble over for Glasgow’s first try which was converted by Weir. Heathcote and Weir then exchanged penalties and the World Cup winning fly-half Stephen Donald looked to have won Bath the match with a kick that just about stayed on the right side of the left-hand upright. However, in a bizarre turn as Glasgow pushed for a winning drop-goal, the attempt was charged down which made every player onside. Richie Gray took advantage of the rule and pounced on the ball to secure a surprise win for Glasgow.
Man of the Match: Duncan Weir (Glasgow) the 20 year-old fly-half had a great day with the boot and kicked 2 conversions and 4 penalties as he guided Glasgow to an unlikely victory.



Pool 4
Arioni 12 Leicester 28
The Tigers will be disappointed to have missed out on a bonus point in Italy against the relative new boys in European Rugby. Leicester got off to an excellent start in Italy with Toby Flood slotting two early penalties and Tom Croft crashing over for their first try which Flood converted. The destructive Alesana Tuilagi kept up his excellent try-scoring record for the Tigers with Leicester’s 2nd after a powerful charge through the heart of Arioni’s defence. Flood once again was successful with the kick. Arioni finally got on the scoreboard with two penalties courtesy of Luciano Orquera to give the half-time score some respectability Arioni 6 Leicester 20. Flood was disappointed to hit the posts after half-time with a penalty, but he was able to land another kick for three points shortly afterwards. Arioni added another two penalties in the game and Leicester looked to push for a four try bonus point. The Tigers showed their fantastic attacking potential with Geordan Murphy throwing a wide pass out to Niall Morris who touched down for Leicester’s third try at the end of the match.
Man of the Match: Tom Croft (Leicester) the English flanker made several powerful tackles and managed to get his name on the score sheet with a well taken try. Croft is a consistent performer in the line-out and in open-play and he should be given the England captaincy in the Six Nations this season.



Ulster 16 Clermont 11
Clermont had an excellent first-half at Ravenhill; they stormed into the opening exchanges with Noa Nakaitaci dashing past Ulster defenders to score the visitors’ only try. Ian Humphreys and David Skrela exchanged penalties and the half time score was 6-11 in the visitors’ favour. Ulster’s forwards put in a tremendous amount of tackles in the second-half and never faltered in their commitment. Humphreys kept chipping away at the score board with three penalties in the second-half which allowed the home team to win 16-11. If Brock James had been successful with two penalty attempts then the final phases of the game would have been an even tenser affair. Clermont will be pleased to have won them a losing bonus point at a tough away venue; however, they should have pushed on from an impressive first-half.
Man of the match: Ian Humphreys (Ulster) the fly-half clawed his team back in to contention in the match and he held his composure to land two penalties in the final ten minutes.



Pool 5
Ospreys 28 Biarritz 21
Damien Traille opened the scoring for the visitors with a pragmatic drop-goal in a fairly uneventful 1st half in which Dan Biggar eased the Ospreys into a 6-3 half-time lead with two accurate penalties. Soon after half-time Biggar added two penalties to which Marcelo Bosch replied with two of his own for the Basque side. Biggar added another penalty in a fantastic kicking performance only for Ian Balshaw to crash over for the first of his two tries. Unfortunately for Biarritz, the conversion attempt by Bosch was unsuccessful. Tommy Bowe managed to find enough space to score the Ospreys’ only try, the conversion was missed by Biggar, but he looked to seal the game with a penalty with just over 10 minutes to go. Biarritz did not give up and when Balshaw dotted down for his second try which was converted, the crowd sensed a nervy final few minutes at the Liberty Stadium. Balshaw looked to be in for a hat-trick, but the referee called back the try that would have won the French side the match due to a forward pass.
Man of the Match: Ian Balshaw (Biarritz) the former Gloucester winger helped lead an impressive fight back against a demanding opposition. Any other day Balshaw could have been the Heineken Cup hero for Biarritz if he had managed to finish off for a third try. Balshaw was strong in defence and took his other chances well.



Saracens 42 Treviso 17
Last year’s Aviva Premiership Champions got off to a comfortable start against Treviso at home. Owen Farrell once again showed why he will be a key member of England’s Six Nations squad this season. The young centre put in a helpful contribution with a try, four conversions and three penalties. Saracens did not find their feet until the second half, the first half was 16-3 to the home side and then four further tries followed. To Treviso’s credit they managed to score two tries against a tough defensive line with scores from replacements Franco Sbaraglini and Gonzalo Padrò. The bonus point victory for Saracens was sealed with tries from David Strettle, Chris Wyles, Ernst Joubert and newcomer John Smit. Saracens could not manage to hit the 50 point mark, but they got the vital bonus point. Saracens now face a tough away visit to the South-West of France against Biarritz.
Man of the match: Owen Farrell (Saracens) the youngster was outstanding with ball in hand and with the boot. He controlled the game in the centres and always looked dangerous in attack.



Pool 6
Harlequins 25 Connaught 17
Harlequins won their 11th game in a row in all competitions at the Twickenham Stoop. Nicky Evans made an early penalty count to open the Londoners’ scoring account; however, the score was cancelled out by Miah Nikora’s successful penalty. Evans added another penalty for Quins and then Tiernan O'Halloran was put through for a nicely worked try after a terrific break by Eoin Griffin. Nikora added the conversion from a tough angle to keep the pressure on Harlequins. Evans quickly responded with another penalty and then Karl Dickson went over for a try after 15 gruelling phases. Evans slotted the conversion and another penalty before half-time to stretch Harlequins’ lead. Harlequins were in control at half-time with a 19-10 lead. Connacht’s captain Gavin Duffy scored the only try for the Irish side after a risky miss pass found him out on the left-wing. Niall O'Connor added the tricky conversion to put serious pressure on Harlequins.  Harlequins have had such an excellent start to the season because of their ability to close out tough matches and they showed this once again as Evans kicked a final two penalties to grind out the win on the first weekend of the competition.
Man of the Match: Nicky Evans (Harlequins)


Toulouse 21 Gloucester 17
Gloucester turned up at the Stade Ernest Wallon with nothing to lose- the terrible play on words used in much of English rugby’s media over the past couple of days, but the statement was right. Gloucester’s young guns; including Freddie Burns, Charlie Sharples, Jonny May and Henry Trinder will have learnt a great deal from their experience in the South West of France. They faced International superstars such as Clément Poitrenaud, Luke McAlister, Jean-Baptiste Poux and Lionel Beauxis. After Gloucester held off a near certain try from Toulouse, it was the Cherry and Whites who were awarded with the first scores. Burns slotted a penalty to open Gloucester’s account and Charlie Sharples was released into the corner from some slick handling thanks to the full-back May who had come into the attacking line following a turnover at the scrum. Burns added the conversion to put the Cherry and Whites into a ten point lead. Just before half-time Toulouse managed to get on to the scoreboard with a McAllister penalty and the former All Black put in a clever kick behind Gloucester’s defensive line for Timoci Matanavou to pounce on and score. McAllister missed the penalty meaning Gloucester went into half time with the score at 8-10 in the visitors’ favour. Ten minutes after half-time, Alisdair Strokosch made a crucial error as he slapped the ball from a Toulouse hand as he earned himself ten minutes in the sin-bin. Gloucester managed the 10 minutes well as they were only punished with a single penalty from McAllister. With 16 minutes to go, Beauxis added a penalty after Gloucester were penalised at the scrum. Gloucester demonstrated their counter attacking guile as the made the most of an advantage with Mike Tindall, who made a powerful break through the first line of defence and fed Trinder who picked an outstanding running line and had the pace to make it to the try-line.  The travelling Gloucester fans were delighted as Burns added the conversion to put Gloucester in to a three point lead. Unfortunately for them, Poitrenaud picked a good line off Matanavou’s outside shoulder with a pass that looked forward, but on a second look it appeared to have come off replacement scrum-half Dave Lewis’ hand. Beauxis added the conversion and Burns chose to kick the ball in to touch instead of looking for a miracle score and risk losing the bonus point for being within seven points. Gloucester can be immensely proud of their efforts in Toulouse and Harlequins will worry about the trip to Kingsholm this weekend.
Man of the Match: Henry Trinder (Gloucester) the centre had a fantastic game and he looked dangerous every time he had the ball. He did not look at all out of place against Florian Fritz or Yann David and he picked terrific running lines throughout the match. Trinder is definitely one to watch, he has the ability to be a serious counter-attacking threat, but he can also defend well above his size and weight.



Have you got any thoughts or comments? Who do you think impressed in Round 1? Message/follow me on twitter @tommyd91 Please follow Crouchtouchengage for regular updates form the Heineken Cup, Aviva Premiership and International tournaments.







No comments:

Post a Comment