Best of the Weekend: Exeter & Connacht grab home semi-finals

Exeter bounce back by bulldozing Quins

Exeter guaranteed a second-place finish by steamrolling Harlequins 62-24, and in doing so also secured a home semi-final. The Chiefs scored 10 tries to spoil Conor O’Shea’s final Premiership match in charge of Harlequins, starting from James Short’s score within ten minutes. The first of the winger’s two tries was added to by efforts from Dave Ewers and Jack Nowell in the first half, with Harlequins scoring their first in the last moment of the half, Danny Care the scorer. It was in the second half that Exeter truly smelt blood however, with Nowell scoring twice more to complete a hat-trick, Short adding a second and Henry Slade, Phil Dollman, Will Chudley and Julian Salvi also helping themselves to tries. Harlequins managed to put Kyle Sinckler and Ben Botica in for further tries, but it was Exeter’s afternoon and the Devonians exorcised their Champions Cup demons in style.

Leicester surrendered points but not league places in their 38-27 defeat at the hands of Bath. With a top four position secured, Richard Cockerill gave run-outs to several youngsters in a second-string side, and Bath were able to put a sweet finish on their miserable season with a bonus point victory. But despite the perceived weakness of Leicester’s squad, the first half was dominated by the Tigers. After Semesa Rokoduguni’s third-minute try, Leicester rumbled into life and worked two tries from forward moves for Fraser Balmain and Peter Betham. With Bath only replying from the tee, Leicester had earned a healthy 19-10 lead after Matthew Tait’s try before half-time.

After the break, Bath seemed revitalised and the energetic Anthony Watson ignited Bath’s attacking instinct, starting the move that ended with Ollie Devoto scoring under the posts, before Bath struck twice more in quick succession. First Francois Louw picked up the scraps of Dave Denton’s powerful drive to score, before Rokoduguni bagged his second with a classic winger’s finish. With the wind thoroughly knocked out of them, Leicester were able to regroup and score their fourth try through Will Evans, but it was Bath and Jeff Williams in particular who had the last laugh, breaking free to score try number five for the afternoon.

Wasps cemented third place in the table by beating Championship-bound London Irish 38-12, while there were wins elsewhere for Northampton, 28-20 over Gloucester, and Saracens by 43-19 against Worcester. Danny Cipriani bade farewell to Sale Sharks in their 21-15 victory over Newcastle Falcons.

Aviva Premiership Star Man: Henry Slade

Connacht grab home semi-final

Connacht ground their way to a 14-7 victory over Glasgow Warriors, leapfrogging their opponents into second place and clinching home advantage for the Pro12 playoffs. Soggy conditions at the Galway Sportsground ensured that it would not be easy going for either side and it was Connacht who struck first through the ever-present Bundee Aki following a close-range maul. This came after two opportunities for points for Glasgow following some phenomenal play from Leone Nakarawa, Finn Russell missing a resultant penalty and Gordon Reid knocking on close to the line. Several further chances were squandered by both sides, with Russell in particular failing to bring his kicking boots, and fans had to wait until after half-time for Glasgow’s counterpunch to land. Warrior’s hooker Reid crashed over following a series of Connacht infringements and Russell’s conversion drew the sides level. Soon after however, Glasgow would suffer a considerable loss, with prop Sila Puafisi red-carded for a dangerous challenge and ten minutes later, Connacht replacement Shane O’Leary placed a perfectly weighted cross-field kick into Tiernan O’Halloran’s bread basket, for the second decisive try for the Irishmen. This win lines up a rematch between the sides in the playoffs.

The Scarlets denied themselves playoff qualification by losing to Munster 31-15. The Scarlets required a victory to give them a chance of seizing fourth place, but five tries from Munster shut the door on the Welshmen. All the Scarlets could manage were penalties from Steve Shingler, the fly-half kicking five of them in answer to Munster’s five scores. Francis Saili was on particularly fine form, creating the chance that led to his try after just 13 minutes and his partner in the centres, Rory Scannell, added the first of his brace of tries in the 26th minute. Shingler’s boot kept the Scarlets in touch, until after the break when the Munstermen pulled away, back-rowers Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander both crossing the Welsh line before Scannell’s second of the game put the scoreline beyond any doubt.

The two remaining playoff sides, Ulster and Leinster, both recorded victories in the Pro12 final round, Leinster handing Treviso a 50-19 tonking and Ulster overcoming Ospreys 46-26. Away from the top four picture, Zebre produced a resilient performance to beat fellow strugglers NG Dragons 47-22 and Cardiff Blues edged their match with Edinburgh by 21-17.

Guinness Pro12 Star Man: CJ Stander

Champion Highlanders pick up the pace

The defending champion Highlanders were boosted by the return of Waisake Naholo, as the winger scored twice to defeat the Chiefs 26-13. The first half offered little in terms of points, with both sets of defenders clearly having had their Weetabix, and the Highlanders held a 6-3 lead from two Lima Sopoaga penalties to one from Aaron Cruden. That was until the half-hour mark where prop Daniel Lienert-Brown gathered a loose ball and sprinted in from 25 metres for the game’s opening try. After half-time, Naholo wrote his name on the scoresheet for the first time, showing all the speed and power that made him last year’s top scorer in Super Rugby, although his effort was soon cancelled out by a Cruden try following a splendid, flowing break. With the conversion going awry for the Chiefs, they trailed 18-8 and Naholo’s second try, along with a Sopoaga penalty gave the victory safely to the Highlanders. Sam Vaka’s consolation try made it 26-13.

The Blues outscored the Southern Kings by five tries to two and by 34 points to 18, recording their first win on South African soil since 2012. James Parsons and Melani Nanai scored the Blues’ first two scores either side of James Hall dotting down at the base of the post for the Kings’ opener. Leading 12-7, Nanai crossed once more after knifing through in midfield and led the Blues into the break with a 19-7 advantage. Edgar Marutlulle’s 55th minute try brought the Kings close once more but a further two Blues tries from Billy Guyton and Tevita Li ensured that the New Zealanders would enjoy the spoils.

Round 11 represented something of a recovery for the somewhat struggling Australian sides as there were victories for the Brumbies (23-6 v Bulls), Western Force (40-22 v Sunwolves) and Waratahs (21-6 v Cheetahs). The Reds however were given a hiding by the Crusaders, losing 38-5 and the Sharks overcame the Hurricanes by 32-15.

Super Rugby Star Man: Jone Macilai-Tori

Plenty of time left in Top 14

Unlike the Premiership and Pro12, the Top 14 still has some weeks left to run. With places in the quarter finals still up for grabs, Brive recorded a surprise victory over Racing 92 by 33-27. In an action-packed first half, Racing outscored their opponents by three tries to two but trailed 23-21 at the break. Hooker Camille Chat scored once and Marc Andreu crossed twice all in the space of 12 first-half minutes for Racing, while Brive got their five-pointers from Guillaume Namy and Johan Snyman, with more reliance on Gaetan Germain who kicked two conversions and three penalties to give Brive the lead. The second half was a much cagier affair, and Racing were held without a try, with Benjamin Dambielle kicking two penalties to score their only points. It was Sisa Koyamaibole’s 52nd minute try that ultimately separated the sides, with Germain adding a further penalty and conversion to keep Brive ahead.

It was quite possibly the perfect week for Toulouse to face Top 14 whipping boys Agen, as they seek out a quarter final spot with the season in its twilight weeks. And the southerners secured just the victory they were after, running eight tries past the basement side on their way to a 52-19 win. The Stade Ernest Wallon saw a steady stream of scoring after Sebastien Bezy got proceedings underway with a fifth minute try, with Gael Fickou (2), Vincent Clerc and Louis Picamoles also grabbing first-half tries. While Agen were able to score once through Johann Sadie, the victory and the bonus point were secured for Toulouse by the halfway point and in the second period they continued to score but allowed Agen a little more leeway. Corey Flynn and Gillian Galan (2) added to Agen’s woe with the minnows scoring their own tries through Tamaz Mchedlidze and Leka Tagotago. Toulouse move five points clear of 6th placed Bordeaux with the win.

Clermont Auvergne and Toulon were unconvincing in their victories over Pau and Castres respectively. Les Jaunards defeated Pau 16-10 while Toulon’s Sunday match saw them win 17-7. Montpellier suffered a 36-10 defeat at the hands of La Rochelle which could prove costly, while Stade Francais thrashed Oyonnax 69-8 and Bordeaux fought off Grenoble to win 20-14.

Pro 12 Star Man: Gaetan Germain

Try of the Week: My choice is Ken Pisi’s try for Northampton. Started by Harry Mallinder’s break, it was a pretty slice of Premiership running rugby. Honourable mention goes to Melani Nanai’s first try for the Blues against the Kings, and the Chief’s backline move finished by Aaron Cruden.

Hero of the Week: Andy Goode, for being named on the RPA Players’ Player of the Year list of nominees. Just the latest accolade in the great man’s storied career.

Villain of the Week: Whoever is in charge of picking the RPA Players Player of the Year nominees! Andy Goode played a key role in saving Newcastle from relegation, but he has spent most of the year without a club – a brilliant servant to the Premiership, sure, but that is not what this award is about!

By Fraser Kay (@fraserkay)

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images