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Premiership: Bristol Bears, Leicester Tigers and London Irish continue play-off push

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Three Premiership matches took place this Sunday, with Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Bristol Bears notching up important victories over Gloucester, Sale Sharks and Harlequins respectively.

Despite a poor start to the season, Bristol Bears are clawing their way into a play-off spot, and their win over Harlequins only strengthens their bid.

The Bears scored seven tries, with Harry Thacker and Charles Piutau both recording braces and Gabriel Ibitoye, Semi Radradra and Harry Randall also crossing.

Harlequins flanker Jack Kenningham scored a try double of his own from close-range drives while wingers Josh Bassett and Cadan Murley ensured the visitors returned home with a bonus point.

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After four Premiership wins on the bounce, Bristol are now seven points from the play-off places with a game in hand over their rivals. Harlequins sit eighth, one point and one place below the Bears.

Bristol wasted little time in opening the scoring with hooker Thacker spinning off the side of a maul from a lineout to dot the ball down in the corner.

But the lead was short-lived as Kenningham dived over a ruck after sustained bombardment by the visiting forwards.

The tries continued to flow in the dry conditions in BS3 with Piutau unlocking the Londoners’ defence with an out-the-back offload to Ibitoye who cut in off the left wing to run in under the posts, celebrating before dotting down against his former club.

Shortly after, Bristol winger Siva Naulago had a try disallowed for a knock on, but the Bears fans only had to wait a couple of minutes to celebrate again. The Fijian fooled the Harlequins’ defence with a dummy run to open up a gap for Thacker, who finished an arcing run under the posts which started off the top of a lineout 20 metres out.

Within 24 minutes the hosts had the bonus point wrapped up as fly-half AJ MacGinty delayed a pass beautifully before hitting Radradra on a straight line which again ended under the sticks.

Harlequins hit back with a nice foray down the left wing, working an overlap to put Dino Lamb away along the touchline before the lock passed back inside to Bassett to finish the cutting move.

USA international MacGinty added a penalty to take his tally to 11 points and put Bristol 31-12 ahead after 30 minutes before he limped soon after to be replaced by Sam Bedlow.

Bristol opened the scoring in the second half with a penalty from the boot of James Williams.

Kenningham then powered over from close range for his second of the afternoon before the Bears responded with a superb purple patch to blow the game out of the water.

First Randall sniped his way over and Harlequins lost hooker Sam Riley to the sin bin for a high tackle.

With the extra man, Piutau finished two wonderful, sweeping attacking moves to continue his rich vein of personal form.

Murley’s interception from Bedlow’s pass and 80m run-in secured the bonus point for Harlequins, on a day largely to forget for Tabai Matson’s men.

Leicester defeat Gloucester at Kingsholm

Leicester won 26-5 at Kingsholm to maintain their recent dominance over Gloucester and keep alive their hopes of an end-of-season play-off spot.

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It was Leicester’s sixth consecutive win over Gloucester and their 14th in the last 17 fixtures between the clubs.

Their tries came from Mike Brown, Julian Montoya, Ben Youngs and Jasper Wiese, with Handre Pollard adding three conversions.

Gloucester’s sole response was a Jonny May try, with this defeat a bitter blow to their playoff hopes.

Gloucester exerted early pressure with a couple of close-range driving lineouts, but they lost possession at the second to enable the Tigers to clear the danger.

Minutes later, Leicester had a similar period of pressure, but they also could not capitalise as the hosts broke away with a superb passage of play.

First May, playing against his old club, burst away down the right wing before a long pass from Santiago Carreras saw Ollie Thorley run 40 metres on the opposite flank, but desperate defence from Tigers kept their line intact.

It was Leicester’s turn to threaten when Matt Scott made a clean break and looked a likely scorer, but the centre was indecisive in not running hard for the line, and the cover defence was able to haul him down.

As a result, an evenly-contested first quarter finished scoreless, but soon after Leicester suffered a blow when their wing Harry Potter was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.

In Potter’s absence, the home side were able to build up a real head of steam and, aided by frequent penalties in their favour; they were able to batter the opposition line.

It seemed Gloucester must score, but remarkably Tigers held out with Potter able to return with no damage done to the scoreboard, and it remained at 0-0 at the interval.

Second half

After the restart, the home side continued to have the lion’s share of possession and territory, but in the 48th minute, Leicester replaced both their locks.

One of the new faces George Martin, made an immediate impact by brushing aside Jordy Reid’s tackle on a thunderous burst into the home 22.

From that position, Gloucester were penalised, and Tigers appeared to have scored when Hanro Liebenberg reached out to touchdown, but TMO replays showed there was a double movement from the flanker.

However, Leicester were not to be denied, and they broke the deadlock after 55 minutes when Brown finished off a succession of close-range drives.

Pollard’s conversion rebounded back off a post, but five minutes later, his side scored another when their skipper Montoya finished off a driving lineout.

Pollard succeeded with a more difficult conversion before Gloucester finally got a reward for their commitment with a try from May.

The game looked in the balance, but Lewis Ludlow was yellow-carded for a needless deliberate knock-on, with Tigers capitalising with a try from Youngs.

Gloucester’s woes continued when May followed his captain into the sin-bin, but although Ludlow returned, Wiese powered off for the bonus-point try with the last play of the game. 

London Irish boost play-off hopes

London Irish gave their play-off aspirations a boost as they overcame second-placed Sale 36-18 in a compelling battle at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Tries from Hugh O’Sullivan, Agustin Creevy, Lucio Cinti, Tarek Haffar and James Stokes secured the bonus-point victory.

Jean-Luc du Preez and Sam Dugdale’s scores had kept the game within reach for the Sharks until the closing minutes, before two late home tries sealed matters.

Exiles’ fast start

The hosts took an early lead when Paddy Jackson slotted three points after a Sale breakdown infringement. Irish then added the opening try as Rory Jennings found space in the left wide channel and coolly passed inside to O’Sullivan for an easy run-in.

The visitors soon got themselves on the scoreboard, as Rob du Preez converted a simple penalty after being handed the kicking tee ahead of George Ford, who is knocking on Steve Borthwick’s door following a spell in his England camp earlier this week.

The opportunistic Creevy majestically hacked a loose ball for a 50:22, before Irish’s driving maul steamed over to allow the former Argentina captain to finish off the chance he created with a score.

The hooker’s countryman Cinti was next over the whitewash, as a Jackson cross-field kick reached the winger, who suavely cut inside Tom O’Flaherty for the five-pointer.

But Irish’s party was brought to a halt as Facundo Gigena received a 10-minute bin sentence after making shoulder contact with Joe Carpenter’s head in a tackle.

The loosehead prop was indebted to Tom Pearson, whose low tackle from behind forced the Sale full-back to drop to a knee as the hit registered, saving Gigena from receiving his marching orders from referee Matthew Carley.

Sharks capitalised on their man advantage as Jonny Hill slammed the ball firmly into Jean-Luc du Preez’s breadbasket, and he streaked clear of the maul before driving over before the interval.

Second half

Following an outstanding kick to touch from Ford, Sale referred to their bread-and-butter once again, utilising the destructiveness of their pack to maul over as Dugdale touched down.

The 5ft 9in Jennings epitomised the spirit of rugby with a sacrificial try-saver that forced 6ft 5in Cobus Wiese into touch with a hit that saw the bigger man replaced moments later.

A Ford penalty moments later reduced the gap to four points, but the marauding Pearson soon broke free of a tackle, before Josh Caulfield passed outward to allow prop Haffar to show some wheels as he outpaced Carpenter to the line.

Another Jackson cross-field kick retrieved by Cinti was this time passed inside to Stokes, allowing the Exiles faithful to get the party started.

Lucas Moura offered to Tottenham

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PSG have offered both Lucas Moura and Angel di Maria to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, with varying responses, according to France Football.

Mauricio Pochettino does not believe that Lucas Moura is good enough, and so cast that option aside, preferring Angel di Maria.

Tottenham’s board however appear to have decided that the Argentine is too expensive.

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United Rugby Championship: John Dobson frustrated with Stormers second half but impressed with their character to hold on to the win

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Stormers coach John Dobson was disappointed with his side’s second-half despite winning the South African Shield in their narrow 29-23 victory against the Sharks in Cape Town.

The win means that the Capetonians have completed a clean sweep against their South African counterparts this season and claim the Shield with three rounds of the regular season to play.

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Dobson’s men started well in front of an electric crowd of 30,000 odd fans, building a 26-6 lead at a point in the game.

Let the Sharks back in the game

However, the defending champions left the door open in the second period, and the Sharks obliged, bringing the game very close as the Stormers were reduced to 13 men after two yellow cards.

Dobson was frustrated with some aspects but praised the team’s character to get over the line at home.

“There were some disappointing elements in our game like that, but then the character of our team came through again (at the death),” he said.

“But with 13 players we looked comfortable in defence. It was a bit odd. In the end, I felt we were in control of the game. But jeepers, how many tries did we throw away in the second half?

“I thought we were going to give up the clean sweep and that would’ve been sad. I was very disappointed with our discipline in the second half, it was poor.”

Scrum domination

The Stormers pack was brilliant and dominated the Sharks, particularly in the scrum, something which delighted Dobson.

“The scrumming was superb and we have some big personnel coming back, but to have that dominance (in the game) today. I think we could’ve gotten some more reward from it,” he added.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard on the shape and depth of the group. Everyone here feels a sense of belonging, it doesn’t matter who they are.”

The Stormers have a two-week break whilst they gear up for a blockbuster URC clash against the league leaders, Leinster, in Dublin.

It will be first playing second as the Capetonians look to end the Dubliners’ 15-game win streak.

Premiership: Bristol Bears run rampant as they thrash play-off chasing Northampton Saints at Ashton Gate

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Bristol Bears easily produced their best performance of the season to stun title challengers Northampton Saints with an incredible 62-8 victory on Friday.

Pat Lam’s men were magnificent throughout and, despite a slow start, had the bonus-point wrapped up by the break.

Charles Piutau was in particularly outstanding form, and his two assists – for Harry Randall and Ioan Lloyd – enabled them to go 27-3 in front at the break.

Randall scored another while Harry Thacker also went over, leaving the Saints with plenty to do after the interval.

They ultimately had no answer as Bristol continued to dominate, with Lloyd completing his brace and Chris Vui also touching down.

George Hendy’s try did give Northampton some consolation, but the Bears did not relent, and George Kloska, Fitz Harding and Jake Heenan completed their biggest-ever Premiership triumph.

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Northampton were without a number of players due to injuries and England training commitments, but their capitulation was startling on a night that saw them outplayed in every key department on the way to a club-record Premiership loss.

But Bristol, despite suffering a run of eight league games without a win earlier this term, now find themselves chasing a play-off spot.

A five-game run-in begins at home to Harlequins next weekend and, with confidence levels soaring, a concerted semi-final push looks likely.

Saints were immediately on the front foot, with wing Tom Collins sparking a thrilling counter-attack that stretched Bristol’s defence before Smith opened Northampton’s account through an eighth-minute penalty.

Even though AJ MacGinty kicked an equalising three-pointer four minutes later, Bristol found themselves dominated in terms of territory and possession.

But just when they required a flash of inspiration, it arrived in the form of England international Randall, who sprinted over from 20 metres out after wrong-footing Saints’ defence.

Bristol thought they had scored again from the restart when number eight Magnus Bradbury sent Thacker clear, only for him to find the unmarked Siva Naulago with a forward pass.

Northampton were in reverse gear, though, and Bristol punished them again through a close-range Thacker try that MacGinty converted, opening up a 17-3 lead.

Bristol’s attacking game had found full throttle, which was underlined seven minutes before half-time when Northampton had no answer to the brilliance of full-back Piutau.

Piutau spun his way out of a tackle just inside Bristol’s half, then tormented Northampton defenders on a weaving run before kicking towards the corner, and Randall gathered a kind bounce to collect a second try.

Piutau was well and truly in the mood to cause havoc, and Bristol collected a bonus-point try following another destructive break that ended with a one-handed pass to Lloyd, whose strong finish made it 27-3 at the break.

Bristol had no intention of sitting on their sizeable lead, and Northampton’s defence was opened up again five minutes into the second period when Randall and Piutau combined to create a second try for Lloyd.

It was now nothing more than a damage-limitation exercise for Northampton, yet Vui’s opportunist try, converted by MacGinty, took Bristol past 40 points with almost 30 minutes remaining.

Hendy grabbed a Northampton consolation score, but Bristol continued to pick Saints off with ease as Kloska rounded off a concerted spell of pressure with try number seven, and then Harding and Heenan completed the rout.

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How PSG missed out on signing Naby Keita in 2016

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The Journal du Dimanche reports today that PSG missed out on signing Naby Keita in 2016, despite sending a team of negotiators at the time to Austria to negotiate with the player’s club Red Bull Salzburg.

The 22-year-old will join Liverpool next summer for a record fee for the Premier League side, but the former Ligue 2 player, who was at Istres just three years ago, was made available by the French second division side for €500k to Bordeaux, Montpellier, Guingamp and Monaco, who all turned down the chance to sign the player.

Gérard Houllier, now Lyon adviser, was in charge of Red Bull’s transfers, and eventually facilitated Keita’s move to RB Salzburg for a total agreement of around €1.5m. Keita performed well in Austria, and PSG even sent a negotiating team in 2016 to try to sign the player, but were informed that Keita had already been promised to franchisee RB Leipzig for €15m, which was where the story ended.

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Six Nations: Rhys Webb one of six changes to Wales team for Italy clash

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Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made six changes to his XV that will face Italy in a crucial Six Nations clash at the Stadio Olimpico.

Rhys Webb has been brought in at scrum-half ahead of a benched Tomos Williams, while Owen Williams continues in the number 10 jersey for the Rome match.

Rio Dyer and Josh Adams are picked on the wings with Liam Williams returning at full-back, with Louis Rees-Zammit in jersey 23 and Leigh Halfpenny injured.

Midfield is unchanged

Mason Grady, who won his first senior international cap against England at the Principality Stadium in Round Three, and Joe Hawkins continue in Wales’ midfield.

Up front, Wyn Jones returns at loosehead prop to join captain Ken Owens (hooker) and Tomas Francis (tighthead prop) in the front-row for Saturday’s fixture.

Exeter Chiefs’ Dafydd Jenkins makes his second start for Wales this week, partnering Adam Beard in the second-row, with Alun Wyn Jones left out of the 23.

The Wales forward pack is completed with a back-row of Jac Morgan at blindside flanker, Justin Tipuric at openside and Taulupe Faletau as the number eight.

Among the Wales replacements, Scott Baldwin, Gareth Thomas and Dillon Lewis provide the front-row cover. Rhys Davies, who made his senior Wales debut against Scotland at Murrayfield in Round Two of the Championship, and Tommy Reffell are the other forwards selected in the matchday 23 by head coach Gatland.

Joining Williams and Rees-Zammit as the backline options off the bench will be George North, with no specialist fly-half in reserve should injury hit at 10.

Gatland said: “We feel that having watched Italy and how they’ll tend to play from everywhere, including their own 22, getting guys on the ball is going to be pretty important.

“Rhys Webb gets an opportunity at nine having been training well. He’s been great in the squad, he brings that experience and a voice to that nine position.

“Liam Williams comes in at full-back. We did discuss whether we put Louis Rees-Zammit to full back and how that would have looked. But he still hasn’t played a lot of rugby in terms of coming back from a relatively long injury with his ankle and we just felt with the way the game’s going to be and the pace of the game that him coming off the bench and the impact he can have could be pretty important.

Disappointing start

“We’ve been disappointed with the results so far and for me it’s hard to take as it’s the first time I’ve lost three games in the Six Nations with Wales. We’ve had a lot of things going on off the field as well but there are no excuses.

“The message to the players has been that we have to be smart in terms of the way we play but we’ve also got to be brave and make sure that when the opportunities are on we shift the ball. We have to keep scanning and looking at options and if there’s a chance to move the ball then be brave and do that.”

Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Jac Morgan, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 George North, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit

Date: Saturday, March 11
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Damon Murphy (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

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Scotland: Stuart Hogg to reach 100 game milestone in Six Nations match against Ireland while Jack Dempsey starts

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Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg will make his 100th appearance for his country when they face Ireland in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Hogg, who made his debut in 2012, has gone on to become their record try-scorer and is set to be the fourth Scotland men’s player to reach the landmark.

Head coach Gregor Townsend has made two changes to his side that lost to France, with Jonny Gray and Jack Dempsey being named in the starting XV.

Gray, who will enter Scotland’s top 10 most capped players in running out for his 76th Test game, joins his brother Richie in an experienced second-row with Grant Gilchrist unavailable through suspension following his red card against Les Bleus last time out.

First Six Nations start for Dempsey

Number eight Dempsey earns a first start of the Six Nations as part of a back-row reshuffle, with captain Jamie Ritchie moving to openside flanker and Matt Fagerson selected on the blindside. Hamish Watson has been moved to bench duty for this weekend.

Scotland’s front-row again comprises hooker George Turner, Pierre Schoeman and Zander Fagerson, the same trio who lined up against Wales and France in the previous Six Nations matches.

For a fourth straight game, the starting back division remains unchanged, with Hogg at full-back and Kyle Steyn and Duhan van der Merwe on the wings.

Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones – the 2023 Championship’s current leading try scorer – continue their centre partnership and will hope to shine again.

Elsewhere, the half-back combination of Ben White and Finn Russell is retained and Ireland will no doubt be paying close attention to the number 10.

Amongst the replacements, Scott Cummings is in line for his first involvement of this year’s Six Nations, with fellow forwards Fraser Brown, Simon Berghan, Jamie Bhatti and Watson also part of coach Townsend’s matchday squad for the Murrayfield fixture.

Triple Crown on the line on Sunday

Ali Price, Blair Kinghorn and Chris Harris complete the 23-player line-up as Scotland go in search of what would be a first Triple Crown win in 33 years.

The Scots are currently in second place on the standings on 10 points heading into Round Four, five points behind pace-setters Ireland, in a huge game.

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Harris

Date: Sunday, March 12
Venue: BT Murrayfield
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

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Aymeric Laporte: “Spain are more interested in me than France are.”

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Speaking to L’Équipe, French central defender Aymeric Laporte turned up the heat on Didier Deschamps and France, threatening to accept a proposal to join the Spanish side as the international team he will represent.

“One plays at Chelsea, the other at PSG. I am at Bilbao, a club that is maybe not thought of highly enough in France. Here, being at this club does not stop certain others from making it to the national team… It is as if Marseille is superior to Athletic Bilbao. Each to their own. If it is worse, it is not worse by much.”

“If I am honest, I think that sometimes there have been injuries, changes and opportunities that have been given to others but not to me. A part of me is Spanish because I have loved there for 8 years. But if I do [choose the Spanish national team] it will be because of how much interest they are showing in me. More than France are.”

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