Wales star Louis Rees-Zammit touched down late on to help Gloucester move into the play-off places with a 28-26 triumph over Harlequins at Kingsholm.

The speedster was making his return from injury and sealed the win in the latter stages as he sauntered under the posts.

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Rees-Zammit had earlier been denied a brilliant individual try from a Tommy Allan cover tackle, but he did eventually get his name on the scoresheet.

His effort was the last of the Cherry and Whites’ tries, with Sebastian Blake, Ollie Thorley and Santiago Carreras also going over.

Quins did get two bonus-points as Tom Lawday, Cadan Murley, Sam Riley, and Matas Jurevicius touched down, but they succumbed to their fifth successive Premiership defeat.

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Rees-Zammit featured among the replacements, while prop Val Rapava-Ruskin, who recently signed a new club contract, made his 100th Gloucester appearance.

Quins scrum-half Danny Care clocked up a club record 352nd appearance for the London club, overtaking former England team-mate Mike Brown’s total, with four starting XV changes seeing starts for Murley, Jack Musk, James Chisholm and Luke Wallace.

Rees-Zammit made an early entry after Thorley went off following a collision with Murley, and Gloucester struck through a sixth-minute try.

Chisholm was yellow-carded by referee Luke Pearce, Gloucester kicked the resulting penalty to touch, and Blake crashed over at the bottom of a driven lineout, with Carreras converting.

It was a miserable start for Quins, yet they delivered a maul try of their own after 12 minutes when Lawday touched down, and Allan converted, before Thorley rejoined the action following a head injury assessment and Rees-Zammit returned to the bench.

Thorley immediately made his presence felt, catching Carreras’ superbly-placed kick and breaching Quins’ defence for his team’s second try inside the opening quarter.

Carreras’ conversion made it 14-7, and although Quins had plenty of possession and territory, handling errors and poor discipline often undermined their build-up play.

Gloucester finished the first half on top, yet they were unable to increase their advantage, and Quins remained firmly in the contest.

Quins struck first after the interval, capitalising on aggressive close-quarter work by their forwards before possession was moved wide and Murley crossed.

Allan drifted the conversion attempt wide, and that was cue for Rees-Zammit to make a permanent entry, replacing Jonny May after 57 minutes, and he almost claimed a spectacular solo score.

He beat three defenders on a dazzling 30-metre run before touching down, but television replays showed a foot in touch and the try was disallowed.

The speed of @LouisReesZammit 🤌

The try-saving tackle from @Allan_Tommy 🤩

This action-packed clash is live on @btsportrugby 🙌#GallagherPrem | #GLOvHAR pic.twitter.com/ww9qMGtImM

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) February 17, 2023

And Gloucester’s agony at that near-miss was compounded four minutes later when Quins regained the lead through Riley after Care’s clever scoring pass, with Allan’s conversion putting the visitors five points in front.

Gloucester were not finished, though, and Carreras weaved his way over for what proved to be a critical moment, and he added the extras to his score and Rees-Zammit’s touchdown to leave his team firmly in contention to secure a top-four finish.

An absolute beauty 🤩@SantiCarreras4 sets up @LouisReesZammit for a brilliant score under the posts in front of a roaring home crowd 👏

Catch the action on @btsportrugby 📺#GallagherPrem | #GLOvHAR pic.twitter.com/udSHa3IELp

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) February 17, 2023

Harry Randall inspires Bristol win

Scrum-half Harry Randall scored two tries to move Bristol off the bottom of the Premiership table with a bonus-point victory over Newcastle at Ashton Gate.

Newcastle had the better of the possession and territory, but polished performances from Randall and half-back partner AJ MacGinty proved the difference as Falcons spurned a number of scoring opportunities.

Chris Vui and Fitz Harding were also on the scoresheet for Bristol, with James Williams adding two penalties and two conversions. Gary Graham and Jamie Blamire scored Newcastle’s tries.

🐻 @fitz_harding sealing the deal 🤝

A quick-thinking final play from @BristolBears makes the win even sweeter with a BP try 🔥

Make sure to grab you PRTV passes, so you never miss these moments 🎥#GallagherPrem | #BRIvNEW pic.twitter.com/O6ydtoFlgj

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) February 17, 2023

Bristol took the lead in the ninth minute with an excellent try. From a ruck on halfway, a superb break from MacGinty carved the defence apart before his pass sent Joe Batley racing away, with the lock providing Randall with an easy run-in.

From the restart, Newcastle responded with a sustained period of pressure which was rewarded when Graham forced his way over from close range.

Connon converted to give Falcons the lead, but Bristol were soon back in front when they declined a simple kick at goal in favour of close-range drives, one of which saw Vui crash over.

The players made light of the miserable playing conditions to provide an entertaining and evenly-contested first half-hour before the visitors suffered two injury blows in quick succession. First, their full-back Tom Penny limped off before wing Mateo Carreras fail a head injury assessment.

Despite these setbacks, Newcastle had much the better of the closing stages of the first half. Aided by Bristol’s ill discipline, the visitors camped in the opposition’s 22, and it took a superb tackle from home flanker Harding to prevent Graham from touching down for his second try.

Falcons were made to pay for their profligacy when with the last kick of the half, Williams fired over a penalty to leave his side with an undeserved interval 15-7 lead.

Within two minutes of the restart, Bristol scored a crucial third try. In their own half, their opponents lost possession for MacGinty to race away and put the defence on the back foot before Randall took advantage to nip over for his second.

The home side suffered a blow when wing Gabriel Ibitoye was sin-binned for a high tackle, with Newcastle immediately capitalising when Blamire broke away from a driving maul to score.

Ibitoye returned from the sin-bin in time to see Williams extend his side’s lead with a long-range penalty before they sealed victory with a bonus-point try from Harding with the last play of the game.

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Bordeaux have completed the signing of Monaco’s Soualiho Meïté on a six-month loan deal with no option to buy.

The defensive midfielder, who only joined Monaco in the summer of 2017, will link up with Jocelyn Gourvennec’s side, giving them a bit more defensive stability in the middle of the park.

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The 23-year-old was born in Paris and has been made to take a longer route back to Ligue 1 than maybe he had expected. After leaving Auxerre to join Lille in 2013, he would spend two seasons with LOSC before heading out to Belgium with Zulte Waregem.

Meïté won the Belgian Cup in 2017 before joining Ligue 1 Champions Monaco, where he would play two games in the domestic league competition. Meïté’s style will add a bit more power and physicality to Bordeaux, who are looking to improve on their poor start to the Ligue 1 campaign.

T.S.

Former Paris-Saint Germain and AC Milan forward Jérémy Ménez has completed a move to Mexican outfit Club América for €250,000.

Until now, Ménez has been plying his trade in Turkey with Antalyaspor, but managed just nine appearances in the first half of the season – scoring and creating no goals. 

The 30-year-old will now continue his career in the Liga MX, just 17 months after departing Bordeaux. 

S.H.

The head of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), Bernard Laporte, has been found guilty in a trial over influence peddling and illegally acquiring assets.

He was found guilty of four out of five bribery-related charges in a French court on Tuesday.

Laporte, who is also the World Rugby vice-chairman, has been fined €75,000 and got a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Altrad’s involvement

The FFR president’s lawyers immediately confirmed that they would appeal the decision after sentencing was handed down.

Laporte was convicted after the court ruled that he showed favouritism in awarding the shirt sponsor contract to Altrad, the company owned by his close friend Mohed Altrad – the billionaire owner of Montpellier.

Altrad has been given a suspended prison sentence of 18 months and has been fined €50,000.

The court deemed that Laporte ensured a series of marketing decisions favourable to Altrad and that he would get €180,000 image licensing in return – which was never carried out.

Altrad and Laporte’s history

Laporte was elected president of the French Rugby Federation in late 2016, and in March of the following year, a deal worth €1.8m was struck for Altrad to become the first-ever sponsor to appear on the French national team’s jerseys.

And in 2018, a follow-up deal negotiated by Laporte was signed, which prosecutors in the case say bears all the hallmarks of corruption.

Further accusations were made that Laporte interfered with French rugby’s federal disciplinary commission after a fine against Altrad’s company was reduced from €70,000 to €20,000.

Laporte’s ban includes any link to French rugby, but because he will appeal, he will retain his FFR presidency for now.

World Rugby’s reaction

World Rugby has provided a short reaction to the decision.

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“World Rugby notes the decision of the French court to sentence Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) President and World Rugby Vice Chairman Bernard Laporte on corruption charges which relate to domestic matters,” a statement read.

The governing body did add that “The World Rugby Executive Committee will convene tonight to determine the next steps in accordance with the international federation’s Integrity Code.”

Updates are expected following the meeting.

The verdict comes only nine months before the Rugby World Cup kicks off in France on September 8, 2023.

Worcester Warriors’ Premiership encounter against Newcastle Falcons will go ahead on Saturday at Sixways after the beleaguered club met all the conditions needed for them to host the fixture.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed that the Warriors met the the noon deadline on Thursday to prove that they can host their second league match of the 2022/23 campaign despite their debts exceeding £25million.

It could be their last match, however, as the RFU warned the Warriors that they face suspension from all tournaments unless they are able to demonstrate a credible plan for lifting the club out of crisis by Monday, September 26.

Worcester’s owners, Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham, have until 5pm on that day to show that they have made progress on insurance, payroll and finding a new buyer.

Worcester facing permanent removal

If the club is suspended for failing to meet the aforementioned criteria, they could then be permanently removed from all tournaments.

“Whilst we appreciate that this will be unwelcome news, it is clear that the current state of affairs cannot continue, and in particular without the RFU and Premiership Rugby receiving these assurances,” the RFU said in a letter sent to the owners on Wednesday.

Goldring and Whittingham have been accused of asset stripping the club and have yet to finalise selling it to new owners despite repeated claims that a deal is imminent.

They have also been served with a winding-up order by HMRC, who are pursuing £6million in unpaid tax.

Worcestershire MP Robin Walker has asked the Government to intervene and will debate the matter in the House of Commons on Thursday night.

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French youth international and central midfielder Remi Walter is set to complete a loan move from OGC Nice to ESTAC Troyes, according to L’Équipe.

There is an option to buy in the deal for the 22-year-old former Nancy man.

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Edinburgh head coach Mike Blair believes his side panicked in their match against Munster and failed to put the game to bed as a result.

Blair’s men started well and led Munster 17-7 at a point on Friday in the United Rugby Championship clash on home soil.

However, Edinburgh’s second-half performance left a lot to be desired as the visitors dominated to claim a 38-17 triumph.

Irish teams demand intensity

The coach insists that against the Irish opposition in the competition, games need to be played at a higher intensity as Edinburgh did in the first half but a lack of composure allowed Munster in to steal the game.

“I believe these games against the Irish opposition in particular must be played at Test match intensity,” said Blair.

“That’s why I was so pleased with the first half because we blew them away in the first half.

“But it was in complete contrast to the second half because we looked panicky on the ball and lacked all composure.

“There were a couple of bits where we mentally weren’t in it and it was really frustrating. The way Munster came out in the second half, we gave them everything they wanted. We were ponderous on the ball in attack, they won the contact, the physicality and they thoroughly deserved their win.

“The positive is that we showed in the first half we can do it but the negative is the second half, which was a completely different story.”

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Tough Saracens challenge

Blair looked ahead to his team’s Champions Cup clash next weekend against Premiership leader Saracens, who are yet to lose a game in England this year.

“Saracens are nine from nine, they’ve got lots of quality internationals and top-level club players so we’ve got to be on it,” he said.

“We’ve certainly got to be a lot better than we were against Munster.”

The loss to Munster leaves Edinburgh fifth on the United Rugby Championship table, with half the regular season completed by the Scottish side.

Michael Cheika is unconcerned over the clash which will see his Argentina side play on the same weekend as Lebanon in the Rugby League World Cup.

The former Wallabies boss took on the Lebanon role ahead of the 13-man game’s global tournament and has impressively guided them into the knockout stages.

The Cedars finished in second place in their pool following victories over Ireland and Jamaica to reach the quarter-finals, where they will coincidently face Australia.

England first up for Argentina

There was always the prospect of a clash, with Los Pumas set to begin their Autumn Nations Series campaign in November.

There is just two days between the matches as Lebanon take on Australia in the last-eight on Friday, November 4 in Huddersfield before Argentina face England on Sunday, November 6 in London.

“We’ve just got to work out how we get it done and make sure we try to do both things really well, and I’m sure we’ll find a way,” Cheika told reporters.

“We’ve been hoping for this week for a while and now it’s here, I’ve got to make sure I get across it and make sure I do justice to both teams.”

Argentina are already in England preparing for their opening clash, with Cheika being able to visit the Pumas camp on a couple of occasions.

Lebanon is currently taking priority due to the importance of the competition, but the 55-year-old is also looking to help the South Americans where possible in the lead up to Sunday’s international at Twickenham.

One day here, one day there

“It’s probably going to be one day here, one day there. Everything has to be nailed down here first because we’re in a World Cup and it’s extremely important,” Cheika added.

“We’ve done a lot of preparation work with the coaches from Argentina. They were here from Sunday through Wednesday with the team last week.

“We had permission to have a camp and I was able to spend a couple of days with them because we had days off.”

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After their encounter with England on Sunday, Los Pumas finish 2022 with matches against Wales and Scotland.

Ligue 1 duo St Étienne and Bordeaux sent representatives to watch Japanese attacker Shoya Nakajima this weekend, according to L’Équipe.

The 23-year-old is currently on loan from FC Tokyo at Portuguese newly promoted first division side Portimonense.

Nakajima has scored six times in eight outings so far for his loan club.

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Belgian winger Yannick Ferreira Carrasco will not be prevented by Atletico Madrid from leaving this month if a substantial offer is made, according to RMC.

The former Monaco man has not been receiving regular playing time in Madrid this season, and with this being a World Cup year, Ferreira Carrasco wants to give himself the best chance of forcing his way into Roberto Martinez’s plans for this summer.

Atleti are willing to consider a straight transfer or a loan with obligatory option to buy.

AS Roma are rumoured to be interested in the player, but have yet to make an offer, contrary to other reporting.

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