European Challenge Cup Round-Up Week 3

The European Rugby Challenge Cup returned for a pulsating third round of fixtures this past weekend and we have somehow shortened the action into one full round-up which includes Newcastle Falcons maintaining their 100% record, Garth Steenson's 16 point haul for Exeter at La Rochelle and a whole load more. Who do you think is on course to make it to the quarter-finals at this stage?

Pool 1

Winger Richard Smith inspired Cardiff Blues to a superb 24-14 win against London Irish at Arms Park to go top of the Pool. Smith touched down to cancel out Geof Cross’s opening score before creating the decisive try for Llyod Williams after the break. Kristian Dacey's then crossed the whitewash to make the result secure for the Blues before the Exiles were awarded a late penalty try. The result takes Cardiff four points clear of the Exiles before next week's meeting at the Madejski Stadium.

Grenoble got their first win of the Pool when they thrashed Rovigo 68-10 on Friday night. The hosts had the better of their visitors from the start, touching down their first try after just five minutes through hooker Laurent Bouchet, before adding two further tries through Benjamin Thiery before the break. They then made the victory more compelling in the second-half when Robinson Care, Loick Jammes and Thibault Rey all touching down. James Hart was also impressive from the tee, making seven from eight conversion attempts to take his tally to 38 points from three matches. The result lifts Grenoble off the bottom of Pool, and leaves Rovigo bottom without a win in Europe this season.

Pool 2

Garth Steenson celebrated putting pen to paper a new deal at Exeter with a 16-point haul in their 36-10 victory on Thursday night at La Rochelle. The bonus point has put the Chiefs top of their pool and extends their winning run to seven matches in all competitions. Adam Hughes, Brett Sturgess, Byron McGuigan and Fetu’u Vainikolo all ran in tries but it was the boot of Steenson that everybody had their eye on and he delivered, kicking two conversions and four penalties to make the result comfortable for the visitors.

Connacht scored five-tries to trounce Bayonne 42-19 on Friday night to cut the Chiefs lead at the top of the Pool to just one point. Two tries from Danie Poolman gave the hosts a half-time advantage of 15-12. Although Bayonne battled back after the break the assured kicking of Jack Carty and a breakaway try from Bundee Aki allowed Connacht to open up a comfortable lead and secure the victory.

 Pool 3

Dean Richards much-changed Newcastle Falcons side battled to a hard fought 30-23 victory over Stade Francais at Kingston Park on Friday night.  The win means the hosts maintained a 100% record in Pool 3, and also ensured they have a three point lead over second place Newport going into the fourth round of fixtures.  Chris Harris and Simon Hammersley crossed the whitewash in the first half for the Falcons, while confident kicker Morne Stern kicked three penalties for the visitors to keep things tight. Stade took the lead after the interval through a Julien Thomas score but handed the impetus back to their hosts when Jonathan Ross was sin-binned. Young fly-half Tom Catterick kicked a penalty to put the Falcons back in front before Sean Robinson touched down to put them further ahead. Krisnan Inu tstruck back for Stade but winger Noah Cato secured the win and the bonus point for the Falcons soon after. 

Elsewhere in the Pool Newport Gwen Dragons came from behind to win comfortably 37-10 against Bucharest Wolves on Saturday, which solidifies them second in the Pool. The Wolves had led 10-0 early on through a penalty and conversion from Romanian international Florin Vlaicu as well as a try from Sean Morrell but unfortunately for them it would be the end of their scoring.  The Welsh side then responded superbly through tries from Ashley Smith, Rhys Thomas, James Thomas, plus a brace from Andrew Coombs, while Rhys Jones and Jason Tovey added the remaining points from the tee.

Pool 4

Bordeaux scored five-tries to come out 37-29 victors against their domestic rivals Lyon in a very entertaining Rugby Challenge Cup battle. It was a tight affair throughout until with 12 minutes to go Thibault Lacroix battled over to increase Bordeaux's lead to eight points.  The visitors Jerome Porical and hosts Leonel Beauxis both kicked superbly throughout but the try scoring power of the hosts turned out to be crucial, especially the two after the break which in the end sealed the victory for Bordeaux.

Edinburgh came from behind to maintain their 100% record with a 25-13 win against London Welsh at Murrayfield on Sunday. Former Bath winger Rhys Crane ran in a try for Welsh as the visitors went into half-time with an unexpected 13-6 lead. However after the break the hosts roared back with WP Nel touching down immediately after the restart before Neil Cochrane and Rory Sutherland added further scores for Edinburgh in the final 15 minutes to ensure London Welsh remain without a win in any competition this season.

Pool 5

Oyonnax survived a late revival from domestic rivals CA Brive to clinch what could be a crucial 30-22 away win in Pool 5 on Friday evening. The visitors took control from the start with Fabien Cibray sprinting over after two minutes before Riann Smith’s boot ensured they were ahead at the break. The hosts improved in the second half, but Romain Sole missed the chance to kick Brive ahead with ten minutes to go and they were made to pay when Dug Codgko powered over for Oyonnax's third try to seal the victory. The result keeps Oyonnax in contention in Pool 5, while Brive are still looking for their first win of the competition. 

Billy Twelvetrees returned from England duty to captain Gloucester as they moved a step closer to the knockout rounds with a 35-10 bonus point victory over Zebre at Kingsholm on Sunday. The Cherry and Whites raced into a 21-5 half-time lead after Steve McColl and James Hook had touched down, while Greig Laidlaw kicked the other 11 points, completing one conversion and kicking three penalties. In the second half tries from Mark Atkinson and Matt Kvesic secured the bonus point, meaning Gloucester remain top of Pool 5 with a cushion of six points ahead of next weeks clash in Parma.