Anthony Foley

The opening weekend of European Rugby was overshadowed by the death of Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley, the Munster coach and general Irish Rugby legend. With 62 Ireland caps and 201 appearances for Munster, the only top tier side he played for, Foley has been described as a great Rugby man, a Number 8 that would run over you during the game and then find you for a beer afterwards.

Our thoughts are with his young family, his friends and all those that were close to him.

European Rugby gets going with a bang on the pitch

If ever a competition needed an exhilarating opening weekend of action, this was it. The European Champions Cup has been on the receiving end of some abuse since it’s re-imagination and rebranding from the Heineken Cup. Fans have been disillusioned as TV money has talked and seemingly given the rich French and English clubs a distinct advantage. In the two seasons it has been in place, only one team from outside these countries has made it out of the group stages.

So, when Leicester Tigers rocked up at a raucous Scotstoun to face Glasgow Warriors, all eyes were on the game to see what would come of it. If Leicester ground out a victory in such a tight group, it would leave the Scots facing an uphill struggle to stay in the competition. Thankfully, for every neutral, Glasgow didn’t just win; they dominated and put their name down as serious contenders. Gregor Townsend had said that this competition was a priority for his group of talented players, and the fire that they showed completely backed this up.

The opening was feisty and ferocious when every player on the pitch reacted to the Tigers debutant Matt Toomua’s tip-tackle on Finn Russell, where he was lucky to escape with only a yellow card. The tone was set. Even when Leicester took the lead through an Adam Thompstone try, and Ryan Wilson had received a yellow of his own, the home team were intense and uncompromising in everything they did.

In a blistering spell, they scored three tries by exploiting Leicester’s porous defence, particularly having a lot of ‘luck’ around the fringes of the ruck. The way they kept the ball moving and the defence retreating was a joy to behold. They went in 22-13 up and came back out in much the same vein. The defence left Tigers wondering what to do with the ball, and when they had the opportunity, they were lethal. Nobody epitomised this more than Man-Of-The-Match Leonardo Sarto, who finished off a fine game with an intercept try for his second score, leaving Leicester staring at an embarrassing 42-13 defeat.

It was arguably the performance of the weekend. They will need to nick an away win somewhere (probably at Welford Road), but should be confident of their best run in the tournament. Let’s leave any Tigers talk…

Saracens show steel and Northampton nab win

The champions served up a reminder of the favourites tag they possess, beating three time champions Toulon in the south coast of France. It was the first time the French side had been defeated at home in this competition and the nature of the loss was even harder to take. The first half from Sarries was impeccable. They scored three tries and left the crowd livid as they went in 25-6 up. A couple of yellow cards nearly derailed the effort, as Levan Chilachava and Bryan Habana got tries to get back within touching distance, but the returning Owen Farrell nailed a late penalty to deny the hosts even a losing bonus point, leaving the score 31-23.

Losing at home is never a good sign in Europe, and they may travel to Allianz Park later in the season with the unenviable task of having to win to qualify. Saracens are already up and running for a title defence they will be more than confident about.

Stephen Myler slotted a penalty with the last kick of the game as Northampton beat Montpellier 16-14. The hosts had had a disappointing start to the premiership season and needed this to springboard themselves properly into a different competition. Saints made full use of a lethargic beginning by the French, with Callum Clark barging over. Francois Steyn replied with one of his own before the break, but Saints went in ahead. Last season’s second tier winners got a couple of penalties to take the lead, before Myler showed a nerveless edge to get Saints four vital points.

Mixed bag for Irish teams

Unfortunately, the overriding feeling in Ireland this weekend will be one of grief, no matter who you cheer for. I will refrain from talking about it too much, as there will be many people that knew Foley who can write real tributes, but feel free to leave your memories of the Munster legend in the comments.

Connacht picked up their biggest European win, seeing off Toulouse 23-21 in Galway. The Irish province has already started to really turn around what was a dreadful start to the season. They left themselves with a mini mountain to climb, but kept the former European heavyweights scoreless in the second half, whilst scoring tries through Tiernan O’Halloran and Bundee Aki. With Zebre in the group, both these sides will be confident of qualifying.

Despite their excellent start in the Pro12, Ulster were left reeling in Bordeaux. They lead for the majority of the game, but conceded three tries in the final ten minutes to go down 28-13. How they lost control will be the urgent question that needs answering ahead of Exeter’s visit next week.

A bonus point win over Castres in Dublin has Leinster in a very nice position after the first round of games. A poor season last year looks like it may have kicked the three time winners up the bottom. They never let Castres have a sniff, scoring five tries and converting four of them in a 33-15 win

Clermont clinical, Cipriani stars and Scarlets see off Sale

Exeter Chiefs were thoroughly disappointing in their loss to Clermont. The Frenchmen were under the kosh at the start, but then cut loose to win 35-8. The defence from the Devonians was akin to Tigers in parts; soft and not making their opponents work for tries, alongside mistakes. They showed moments going forward, but errors undid all the good work. As for Clermont, they look the French team most likely to do it this year. Every opportunity, they seemed to score and were meaty and physical. With an away victory already, they should make it through this tight group.

Danny Cipriani controlled the game expertly from fly half, guiding his team to a twelve try, 82-14 romp over Zebre. It won’t be a competition the Italians will target, obviously, but the scoreline will endlessly please Wasps. They should comfortably make it out of the pool, and will have eyes on going even further than last year.

The only Welsh team in the competition, Scarlets, won 28-11 over a Sale team who still struggle on the road. The game was as comfortable as could be, but they will perhaps be a little disappointed not to bag a bonus point in a competition that places such high importance on them.

What to say about the Challenge Cup?

This tournament needs reinventing already, however it did produce some interesting results.

Worcester travelled to Russia to face Enisei-STM and lost 19-12. It’s not the first big result that the Russians have got at home in this competition, but if they can back this up away, it would be great to see them in the knockouts.

Harlequins and Gloucester proved themselves as the team’s from England most likely to take the competition as a realistic chance of silverware. The Londoners smashed Stade Francais 43-21 and the cherry and whites beat Bayonne 47-27 in France.

In a result of rarity for a French team, Stade Rochelais went away to Treviso and looked like they wanted to be there. They won 41-10 and may have eyes on a double. Lyon also went away, to fellow Frenchmen Grenoble, and the 39-13 scoreline in their favour may tell a story about their ideas in the competition.

Edinburgh also won big. The Timisoara Saracens from Romania were on the end of a 59-17 hiding. Ospreys smashed Newcastle 45-0 and Dragons beat Brive 37-16, whilst Cardiff made the short trip to Bristol and won 33-20. Bath also started with a victory, 25-22 in Pau.

Try of the weekend

I wanted Glasgow to go over after Sarto’s break (and I am a Tigers fan). It would have made this decision easy. There were a number of other good ones, but Nick Abendanon’s for Clermont after some neat offloading was pretty nice. We’ll try to find the video.

Hero of the weekend

Two tries and a break that would have set up a certain try of the weekend, if they had finished it. Leonardo Sarto was literally everywhere in defence and attack. An absolutely inspired performance. If only his countrymen could put a performance together in this competition for their teams.

Villain of the weekend

It could have gone to Matt Toomua, but he scraped away with only a yellow and, whilst deserving of a red, there was nothing malicious in it. Instead, I will give it to the numpty that took away the carrot of Champions Cup qualification for the winner of the Challenge Cup. The competition literally means nothing again. Only during the latter stages will teams take it seriously, and even then it will be dependent on how they are doing domestically.

By Joe Large

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images