Challenge Cup Review: Gameweek One
Byron McGuigan scored a hat-trick as Sale Sharks kicked off their Challenge Cup campaign with a win
©PA
Joe Harvey rounds up the action in the opening fixtures of this season's Challenge Cup, where Sale and Worcester provided the standout results.
Friday
Perpignan 24 – 41 Sale Sharks
This game was defined by an early red card for Perpignan’s Manu Leiataua in just the 19th minute. There were also early tries for Byron McGuigan and Pierre Lucas while Rob Webber got on the scoresheet too prior to two Bousquet penalties.
There were even scores from Janse van Resburg that was converted by the returning Faf de Klerk. Tries from Sam James and two more from McGuigan rounded off a good evenings work for Sale on the road.
Saturday
Ensei-STM 21 – 82 La Rochelle
A 100-point game is a rare thing these days. These two sides played each other on Saturday morning, with La Rochelle running away with the victory. It wasn’t so long ago that La Rochelle sat of at the summit of the Top 14, but now they have the Challenge Cup to contend for.
Maxime Lafage enjoyed a very good game at fly-half, scoring 10 conversions as well as a try in the emphatic victory. Paul Jordaan also got on the scoresheet as the understrength French side took a big lead in their group after just one game.
Timisoara Saracens 17 – 54 Dragons
It was Timisoara Saracens who took an early lead through a penalty in this contest against the Dragons, but from there, it was the Welsh side all the way. Wales hooker Elliot Dee scored two tries in the first half, Leon Brown also scored for his team as Josh Lewis enjoyed a good game from the tee.
There were a series of yellow cards in the second half that essentially sealed the Dragons win. A penalty try, as well as a score from Ollie Griffiths, secured the Dragons a thoroughly deserved victory over Timisoara.
Benetton Rugby 40 – 14 Grenoble
Tommy Allan had a man of the match performance against Grenoble. He was in action early on, converting a try. He would go on to convert three more tries, as well as score two for himself as Benetton broke down Grenoble in impressive fashion.
Grenoble have had an indifferent start to their Top 14 season. Duncan Casey scored one of their tries in the game with Theo Nanette kicking reliably from scrum-half. Benetton finished the strongest though, as Hame Faiva and Nacho Brex scoried late on and Antonio Rizzi added one conversion.
Harlequins 54 – 22 Agen
Quins enjoyed a dominant performance over their French visitors. Mike Brown scored the first try of the game and was joined on the scoresheet by Semi Kunatani, Nathan Earle, George Merrick and Joe Marchant.
This was probably just what Quins needed after an interesting start to the season where they have failed to be consistent. Quins were also aided by the ill-discipline of Agen as the visitors had received three yellow cards at the Stoop as Paul Gustard’s side kicked off their European campaign with a win.
Bristol Bears 43 – 22 Zebre
Bristol got back to winning ways with a resounding victory over Italian side Zebre. Aalapati Leiua started the scoring for Bristol in the sixth minute. Winger, Ryan Edwards, was the next player on the scoresheet. Joe Latta, Nick Haining, Jake Armstrong and Andy Uren all scored tries too.
Zebre didn’t have a bad game by any means. Francois Brummer played well at fly-half for the Italians whle Argentine Eduardo Bello scored a try as Zebre managed to rack up 23 points at Ashton Gate.
Connacht 22 – 10 Bordeaux-Begles
Connacht seem to be continually improving this season. They beat Bordeaux relatively comfortably in this game and Jack Carty proved his worth at fly-half for the men from Galway. Former-Australian international Kyle Godwin scored a try, as did Finlay Bealham who contributed to the Connacht win.
Afa Amosa and Lucas Meret made up Bordeaux’s 10 points for the game. It just seemed like the French side struggled to get a foothold in the contest, perhaps this is because they don’t travel well, but they will probably do better next week.
Ospreys 27 – 0 Pau
To describe this Ospreys performance as dominant would probably be doing the Swansea side a disservice. James Hook had a starring role for his team, scoring the first try of the game and he also had kicking duties as Ospreys outclassed Pau.
George North even got on the scoresheet as he continues to impress back in Wales and Luke Morgan even nabbed himself a try to complete the rout.
Northampton Saints 20 – 41 ASM Clermont Auvergne
Northampton were disappointing for the second week in a row. This time it was Clermont who were victorious largely thanks to Greig Laidlaw. Peter Betham also starred for Clermont with two tries and Peceli Yato grabbed himself a brace despite starting on the bench.
Dan Biggar scored a couple of penalties for Saints, but it was tries from Tom Collins and David Ribbans that gave Northampton most of their points. Clermont were always going to do well in this game and are probably favourites for the entire tournament.
Stade Français Paris 27 – 38 Worcester Warriors
A massive result for Worcester, coming just one week after their biggest ever Premiership victory against Bristol. Jules Plisson put Stade in front early on with a penalty before a Matt Cox try gave Worcester’s Jono Lance a conversion from the tee. Tom Howe also scored two tries in the first half contributing to Warriors’ half time lead.
Warriors kept on building in the second half with scores from Ted Hill and Jamie Shillcock. Stade scored their tries through Kylan Hamdaoui, Laurent Panis and Piet van Zyl. It was a really good game in Paris and it was impressive to see Worcester carry their league form into European competition.
