British and Irish Cup Semi Final draw

Posted on Jan 30, 2012 in Latest Rugby News

The 2011-12 British & Irish Cup semi-final draw has been made.

Three of the four home nations are represented in this year’s semi-final line-up, with an all Irish tie set to take place when Leinster A host Munster A.

Munster will be hoping to push through to their second British & Irish Cup final, having lost to inaugural winners Cornish Pirates in May 2010.

Standing in their way are close rivals Leinster A, who topped Pool 3 with three wins and a draw against London Welsh. A comprehensive 32-0 home win against Pontypridd confirmed the Irish club’s entry to the semi-finals.

In the second semi-final, newcomers Cross Keys have made their first year in the competition known, finishing top of Pool 2 just one point ahead of Munster A.

The Principality Premiership side will welcome Cornish Pirates to Pandy Park, following a dominant win over Llanelli in the quarter-finals.

The Pirates are the only team in the line-up to have won all four of their pool matches, securing their path to the semi-finals with a win over fellow RFU Championship contenders Nottingham Rugby.

British & Irish Cup semi-finals, April 6-8

• Semi-final 1: Leinster A V Munster A
• Semi-final 2: Cross Keys V Cornish Pirates

Amlin groups go down to the wire

Posted on Jan 17, 2012 in Amlin Challenge Cup

Four clubs, including four-time Heineken Cup champions Toulouse, are still in the mix to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup this season as the battle for coveted quarter-final places in Europe’s top two tournaments reaches a climax in Round 6 of Pool matches this week.

Toulouse may be leading Harlequins by two points in Pool 6 in the Heineken Cup, but unless they win at Kingsholm against Gloucester on Friday night they could possibly find themselves heading into the Amlin Challenge Cup last eight.

The five Pool winners in the Amlin Challenge Cup earn quarter-final places, and going into the final round, the winners of all five Pools have yet to be decided. The final three places in the knockout stages are filled by the third, fourth and fifth best Pool runners-up from the Heineken Cup.

Only Munster and reigning champions Leinster are so far guaranteed Heineken Cup quarter-final tickets, so there will be the usual number of twists and turns to come in the over the next few days.

There will also be plenty of drama from Thursday onwards in the Amlin Challenge Cup with two clubs in each of the five Pools still in contention for top spot. The most dramatic weekend of action in European rugby will kick-off at Edgeley Park on Thursday night when two-time tournament winners Sale Sharks host former Heineken Cup holders Brive.

That will be the first of 22 fixtures across the two tournaments that will determine which 16 clubs move forward to chase the top two titles in northern hemisphere club rugby.

As well as Toulouse, two more Heineken Cup winners, Ulster Rugby (1999) and Leicester Tigers (2001, 2002), as well as the Ospreys, could conceivably make their Amlin Challenge Cup debuts depending on results.

“Since we launched the system of three Heineken Cup runners-up joining the Amlin Challenge Cup Pool winners in the quarter-finals the quality has certainly risen. To add to that, the winners of the Amlin Challenge Cup are assured of a place in next season’s Heineken Cup,” said ERC Chief Executive, Derek McGrath.

AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP POOL BATTLES

Pool 1 – Stade Français Paris or Worcester Warriors
Stade Français Paris lead Worcester Warriors by four points. Warriors must win and deny Stade anything to bring the equation down to tries or aggregate points in their two games, or they must win with a try bonus point and once again deny Stade a losing bonus.

Pool 2 – Toulon or Newcastle Falcons
Toulon have a two point advantage over Falcons and lead them in the head-to-head. Toulon host Petrarca Rugby in Round 6 and Falcons travel to Lyon. A Toulon win will be enough to secure the Pool winners spot, as will be a draw if Falcons don’t earn a bonus point victory in Lyon.

Pool 3 – London Wasps or Bayonne
London Wasps lead by two points from Bayonne, but are down 2-1 on tries in the head-to-head. That means they need to beat Bordeaux-Begles at home in Round 6 to guarantee a quarter-final place. Bayonne host Rovigo and can go through with a draw or a win, as long as Wasps fail to earn any points.

Pool 4 – Exeter Chiefs or Perpignan
Exeter Chiefs are one point ahead of Perpignan and have a precious losing bonus point from their game there in France in Round 1. They host the French side in a winner-takes-all clash at Sandy Park.

Pool 5 – Brive or Sale Sharks
Brive head to Edgeley Park on Thursday night knowing they need to get at least a losing bonus point to top the Pool. A win or draw will send them into the last eight, while two-time winners the Sharks need to go for broke and win without conceding a bonus point to overcome the three point gap at the top.

Quality rises to the top in the Amlin

Posted on Nov 24, 2011 in Amlin Challenge Cup

The big clubs are certainly making their mark in the Amlin Challenge Cup as the race for the title begins to hot up. Some of the greatest names in European rugby are at the top of the Pools and their form in the opening two rounds will no doubt have raised a few eyebrows among the Heineken Cup clubs who might enter the tournament at the quarter-final stage.

Michael Cheika knows all about what it takes to win in Europe having guided Leinster to their first Heineken Cup triumph and his Stade Français Paris side look determined to go one better than their Amlin Challenge Cup final defeat at the hands of Harlequins last season.

They top Pool 1 with two wins and nine points, while the 2010 runners-up Toulon are locked on nine points with Newcastle Falcons in Pool 2. Toulon have recruited the vastly experienced England and British & Irish Lions lock Simon Shaw this season and he knows all about winning in Europe with two Heineken Cup and one Amlin Challenge Cup winners medals to his credit.

The Falcons also have a wealth of experience in the Amlin Challenge Cup and are looking to shed their bridesmaid tag having reached the semi-finals in 1998, 2001, 2006 and 2008 without ever reaching the final stage. They go head-to-head with Toulon in the December rounds, with the prospect of Jonny Wilkinson returning to Kingston Park on Thursday, 8 December.

London Wasps have a maximum 10 points to their credit in Pool 3 and are seeking their fourth European title having won the Heineken Cup in 2004 and 2007 and the Amlin Challenge Cup in 2003. Their back-to-back games next month with the other unbeaten team in their Pool, Bayonne, will be vital.

Newport Gwent Dragons upset Perpignan at Rodney Parade in Round 2 and sit proudly on top with two from two, while the 1997 Heineken Cup winners Brive are leading the way in Pool 5.

Lyon move to new home

Posted on Nov 24, 2011 in French Rugby

Rome may not have been built very quickly, but it only took 82 days to complete the 8,000 Matmut Stadium to house Lyon Rugby’s new Top 14 and Amlin Challenge Cup side.

And the club chose their first home European game to officially open their €12.5m new ground last weekend in their Pool 2 clash with Toulon.

Matmut Stadium was built to replace Stade Vuillermet when Lyon climbed into the top flight and they managed to pick up a bonus point against the 2010 Amlin Challenge Cup finalists with a late try from replacement Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux in a 26-19 defeat.

Watched by new France coach Philippe Saint-André, whose younger brother Raphael is Director of Rugby at Lyon, the home team produced a strong second half performance with former Springbok scrum half Ricky Januarie and Argentine international Juan Leguizamon to the fore.

England World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson made an appearance off the bench to kick a penalty and a conversion as Toulon registered their second win of the campaign to move to the top of the Pool.

England women win Newquay 7s

Posted on Jul 4, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

England Women won their first 7s tournament of the year defeating close rivals, an RFUW Development side, 27-0 in Saturday’s final.

A hat-trick of tries from Wasps’ Michaela Staniford and a brace from Richmond’s Alice Richardson secured the convincing 27-0 victory.

England, who had to settle for second best in Rugby Rocks and the West Country 7s last month, booked their place in the final after a 44-0 victory over the Army, a 21-7 win over Premiership side Saracens and a 58-0 win over the Mauraders in the pool stages.

England met Welsh side the Cross Keys, who fielded several Welsh internationals, in the quarter finals and inflicted a 31-5 defeat on them with Jennifer Brightmore, Richardson, Heather Fisher, Staniford and Danielle Waterman all scoring.

In the semi finals England again met Saracens and this time upped the ante with a more convincing 38-0 victory, with Richardson scoring a brace of tries. There were also touch downs for Fisher, Merchant, Kay Wilson and Staniford, which set up England nicely for a showdown against the RFUW Development side.

England 7s Head Coach Barry Maddocks said: “It was great to have two England sides in the final as this really helps strengthens the development of our 7s programme as we look to the future. The weekend has gone well, and it is a great bonus for us to take the next step and win in the final.

“The biggest thing, however, for us is that we have improved in each tournament. Just like the tournaments before us, Newquay has provided some really tough opposition for us, such as Saracens who had England and Canadian internationals playing for them, and Cross Keys.

“Next up is the European 7s later this month and there we will have to pitch ourselves against full international sides. That will be another big step up, but we have put ourselves in a good position ahead of that tournament.”

England 7s Squad

JennyBrightmore    (Worcester), Heather           Fisher(Worcester), Sonia  Green (Saracens), Sarah             Guest(Worcester), Katherine Merchant (Worcester), Sophie Nicholas        (Lichfield), Alice            Richardson   (Richmond), Michaela        Staniford (Wasps), Lydia    Thompson     (Worcester), Danielle         Waterman, (Worcester)

Kay Wilson (Richmond)

Pool stages

England 44 Army 0

Tries: Richardson (1min), Waterman (2min), Guest (3), Merchant (8min), Wilson (10 min), Wilson (12 min), Brightmore (14).

Conversions: Richardson 

England 21 Saracens 7

Tries: Waterman (5min), Waterman (9 min), Merchant (13 min).

Conversions: Richardson  (3)

England 58 Mauraders 0

Tries: Thompson (1min), Nicholas (3min), Thompson (4min), Guest (6min), Thompson (7min), Wilson (8min), Green (9min), Waterman (10min), Wilson (11min), Nicholas (14)

Conversions: Nicholas, Wilson (2), Waterman.

Quarter finals

England 31 Cross Keys 5

Tries: Brightmore (2min), Richardson (3min), Fisher (9min), Staniford (10min), Waterman (12min).

Conversions: Richardson (3)

Semi finals

England 38 Saracens 0

Tries: Fisher (1min), Richardson (4min), Richardson (7min), Merchant (10min), Wilson (13min), Staniford (14min)

Conversions: Richardson (4)

Final

England 27 RFUW Development 0

Tries: Staniford (1min), Merchant (3min), Merchant (7min), Staniford (10min), Staniford (12).

Conversions: Richardson (1)