Dillyn Leyds dotted down to sustain La Rochelle’s Champions Cup title defence and set up a playoff rematch against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town.
Champions Cup
– Kyle Steyn captained Franco Smith‘s Glasgow Warriors to a 29-5 bonus-point victory against Toulon, securing third place in Pool 3, while the winless French side finished bottom with two points. Former DHL Stormers prop Oli Kebble and Sharks loose forward Henco Venter were on Glasgow’s bench.
– Connacht were unable to secure a place in the Champions Cup round of 16, despite ending an eight-match losing run by beating Bristol Bears 27-10. Former Shimlas star Shayne Bolton started on the wing for Connacht – who will now drop down to play in the Challenge Cup playoffs – and scored his second try of the season. Benhard Janse van Rensburg was at centre for Bristol, who finished bottom of Pool 1 after just one win.
– Andre Esterhuizen continued his purple patch with his sixth try of the season in Harlequins’ 47-19 triumph over Ulster. Esterhuizen scored for the third game in a row as Harlequins, with Tyrone Green at fullback, secured a home playoff. Steven Kitshoff started for Ulster, who finished fifth in Pool 2 and will play in the Challenge Cup last 16.
– Leinster scored the vital bonus-point try in overtime to complete a comprehensive comeback 27-10 victory over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road and top spot in Pool 4. Hanro Liebenberg scored the opening try, while Handre Pollard kicked a conversion and penalty as the Tigers opened up a 10-0 lead in the first 20 minutes. However, Jacques Nienaber‘s Leinster scored 27 unanswered points to grab the win. Springbok No 8 Jasper Wiese started for Leicester, who still qualified for the Champions Cup playoffs as the fourth-placed side in the pool.
– Siya Kolisi scored his first Racing 92 try as the French club secured a place in the last 16 of the Champions Cup with victory over Cardiff in Paris. The Springbok captain was joined by Trevor Nyakane in Racing’s starting lineup, while fullback Tristan Tedder scored a try and kicked five conversions for a 15-point haul for the Parisians. Flyhalf Tinus de Beer got on the scoresheet for Cardiff, with a try and three conversions.
– Northampton Saints completed an unbeaten run to the playoffs with a sensational come-from-behind effort to beat Munster 26-23 in Limerick, after trailing by eight points at the break. No 8 Juarno Augustus started for Northampton, who topped Pool 3, while centre Burger Odendaal played off the bench for the English side.
– Three-time champions Saracens rescued their campaign by coming from eight points down to earn a bonus-point 39-24 win against Lyon in London, securing fourth place in Pool 1. Scrumhalf Ivan van Zyl got the ball rolling for Saracens with an early try, his fifth of the season.
– Defending champions La Rochelle kept alive their hopes of a title defence with a strong 37-24 victory over Sale Sharks in Salford. The result means that the French side finished third in Pool 4, while Sale Sharks dropped down to the Challenge Cup after finishing fifth in the pool. Dillyn Leyds scored his first try of the season for La Rochelle, who will face his former side the Stormers in the last 16. Robert du Preez, playing at centre, was the only South African in Sale’s starting lineup, while brother Dan du Preez played off the bench.
– Toulouse beat Bath 31-19 in a seven-try thriller which secured the French team top spot in Pool 2 and their position as the best-ranked team in the playoffs. Springbok prop Thomas du Toit scored his seventh try of the season for Johan van Graan‘s Bath, who also progressed to the Champions Cup playoffs. Lock Quinn Roux, flank Chris Cloete, loosehead prop Juan Schoeman and scrumhalf Louis Schreuder were all in action for Bath.
– In a thrilling final Champions Cup pool match, Aviron Bayonnais secured a maiden win in Europe’s top tier by beating Exeter Chiefs 40-17. Flank Jacques Vermeulen started for Exeter, who finished second in Pool 3.
Challenge Cup
– Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe both dotted down as Sean Everitt‘s Edinburgh sealed their place in the knockout stage of the Challenge Cup with a bonus point win, beating Pool 3’s bottom side Scarlets 31-19 in Wales. Veteran tighthead prop WP Nel also scored for Edinburgh.
– Gloucester secured first place in Pool 3 by beating French side Castres 35-5. Flank Ruan Ackermann started for Gloucester.
– Benetton leapfrogged Montpellier to top Pool 2 with a 27-19 victory. Rhyno Smith started at fullback for the Eli Snyman-captained Benetton, while South African-born French lock Paul Willemse captained Montpellier.
Japan League One
– Suntory Sungoliath came from 29-0 down to beat Mitsubishi Dynaboars 36-34 in a thrilling encounter, one of only two league games on Saturday in a round split over two weekends. Cheslin Kolbe started at fullback for Suntory, who will next face New Zealand’s Blues on 3 February in the first game of the Cross Border series.
– Springbok second row Lood de Jager, who last week celebrated his first appearance since July with a try, made it back-to-back scores, when he dotted down for the Wild Knights, in a 70-12 demolition of struggling Honda Heat. De Jager was joined on the scoresheet by Damian de Allende, who kicked a conversion and penalty for the Knights. Fellow Springbok Franco Mostert started for Honda Heat.
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