Glasgow 41 Viadana 31

Doesn't sound like a particularly convincing win for Glasgow but they got the five try bonus point, as did Viadana. Keeps them going in the group with 6 points. Biarritz play Saracens in the second pool game this weekend.

Pool 1

Gloucester 26 Ospreys 18

Where to start with this game? Well it's probably best summed up as a game that the Ospreys threw away as much as Gloucester actually winning it. Ospreys got off to a blistering start with Sonny Parker going over for two tries in the first twenty minutes through some piss-poor tackling from Gloucester. In between they should have scored again when Johhny Vaughton was just in touch as he dotted down in the corner. He was in as a replacement for Shane Williams who surely would have finished it. They missed a penalty during this period too.

However, their discipline was always poor and they conceded too many penalties and finally paid the price with a sin-binning right on half-time. Gloucester trailed 12-9 at half-time but took the game over early in the second half with a breakaway try after Marty Holah spilled a bill at a ruck. Gavin Henson drifted but so did the covering defence and Anthony Allen cut back to sprint in from the half-way line. However that was nothing compared to the brain-fart from the Ospreys which led to Gloucester's match winning try. A terrible garryowen from Hook, a poor chase from the rest of the team allied to some stupidity from Nikki Walker and Gloucester ran it back in from 60 metres with a four man overlap. A late penalty from replacement Chris Paterson denied the Ospreys even a bonus point. Gloucester now lead the pool with nine points.

From Lee Grant
Gloucester 26  Ospreys 18

•  The visiting Sprays looked the real deal for much of the first half and the home team looked nervous

•  For a long time I had been waiting to see 13 Sonny Parker play a good game, without much success, but he put on a couple of 1st half tries through traffic that embarrassed the surrounding Gloucester defenders.  Strong bugger.  The Sprays looked like specials at 3-12.

•  Then, bugger me, Gloucester got their danders up and scored a try after a ruck turnover when 12 Allen ran between two fatties to see nothing but green grass and posts in front of him.   Then after a poor Hook kick, 13 Tindall launched a counter for 14 JSD to score.  The difference in the score was in the goal kicks and the last penalty denied the Sprays a losing bonus point.

•  Some of the contests in the first 50 minutes were like in test matches.  Both teams were smashing the crap out of each other.  The tackling was ferocious and they must have been buggered because I got tired from just watching them.  Then in the last 30 mins, when the forwards slowed down, the backs had a go at each other.  It was a fine game of rugby. `

•    There were some good back rowers on the park.  Gloucester’s 7 Qera and 8 Narraway, plus 7 Holah for the Sprays were like the Energiser bunnies and also as hard as nails.  I’d be interested to see what Holah says about the toughness of the HC compared to the Super14.  This year it looks harder in Europe.

•   9 Mike Phillips started ahead of Justin Marshall for the Sprays and had a terrific 1st half.  He’s a real scrapper and has a bit of toe.  When Marshall came on in the last quarter of the game he lasted only 10 minutes and limped off.  It didn’t help the Sprays that a centre had to take over as scrummie – and how they missed the injured Shane Williams a couple of times in the game.

•  Gloucester didn’t panic when they were behind and patiently waited for their two chances to score tries.  Perhaps their composure came from winning 18 home games on the trot in all competitions.   19 now.

•  On the other hand, the Sprays lost their composure and incurred too many penalties, including one from THP Adam Jones who looked like he was scratching the bum of somebody on the ground with his studs rather than rucking him.  Mind you, they were unlucky that the Gloucester 6 didn’t get a yellow card for tripping, whereas the Sprays' winger got a card for a lesser offence.  While he was off Gloucester scored their 1st try with the Sprays lacking cover.

Bourgoin 24 Ulster 17

No joy again for Ulster as they let a first-half 17-6 lead slip in the second half. Tries from Kieron Dawson and Simon Danielli put Ulster in control but their second half performance showed why they've never won in France. Two terrible "tackles" from Paddy Wallace led to both Bourgoin tries. Ulster leave with just the one point.

Munster 36 Clermont Auvergne 13

Clermont essentially gave up on this game when they named a side containing 14 changes from the side that hammered Llanelli last week. It was no surprise that Munster dominated the game for most of the 80 minutes. They took the lead as early as the 7th minute. Clermont winger Delasau was sin-binned for killing the ball five metres from the line and while the Clermont players were waiting for O'Gara to kick to the corner he simply kicked across the pitch where Shaun Payne gathered for an easy try. They made heavy weather of their domination of possession for the rest of the half until Rua Tipoki stole in for a try on the blindside off a five metre scrum. Brian Carney crossed early in the second half for Munster's third try but after that Clermont came back into it for a while. Marius Joubert crossed for Clermont after blocking Tipoki's clearance. Munster took control again though and crossed twice in the last few minutes to secure the bonus point, Quinlan and Horan crossing for the tries.

A debut to forget for John Smit as he was regularly picked off at the lineouts by a Munster side missing Paul O'Connell.

The result leaves Wasps top of the pool with 9 points, Munster with 6, Clermont with 5 and Llanelli with 0. The next rounds of matches sees back to back clashes between Munster and Llanelli while Clermont face Wasps.

From Lee Grant
Harlequins 13  Cardiff Blues 13

•  I thought Cardiff was fielding an NPC team for a while when I saw 15.  Ben Blair, 9. Jason Spice, 8. Xavier Rush, and 5. Paul Tito, but no, it was a Heineken Cup match.

•  Quins had enough ball and territory to score a swag of tries but things kept going wrong for them.  Their forwards were strong and were good at lineout, whilst holding their own in the scrum – but they didn’t have the zip to score tries.  The referee didn’t help, nor did he help the visitors, but when you have a hack like Aussie Chris Malone in the 10 jersey, you know, or at least we Aussies know, that there is not going to be a lot of inspiration.

•  I watched the game attentively waiting for the rugby to start in the 1st half, but it didn’t.  Then just before the interval the Quins scrummie, Gomersall kicked to the box and it got muffed.  The excellent Easter got the pill from the lineout 5M out and rushed forward to knock over his tacklers who weren’t there; so he scored a try instead.

•  Cardiff looked like they had no clue how to score a try and then, bugger me, somebody hoists a garryowen and it was marked by Quins’ winger Ugo Moyne who held onto the ball after he bounced off the sponsors’ goal post pads.  Instead of tapping and passing to someone with a big hoof he kicks himself and it is fielded by the excellent Cardiff winger, Tom James.  The Quins players looked shagged after an hour and didn’t chase; so TJ gets up a head of steam, knocks over 3 of them and passes inside to cheeky Jason Spice who scores.

•  Let’s forget the penalties, missed penalties, field goals and missed field goals which are the stuff of northern rugby and get to the end,  It’s 13-13 in the last play of the game and Quins’ journeyman Malone is about 35 metres out waiting for the pill to miss his 3rd FG of the night; but he doesn’t get it.  His scrummie, Gomersall sees the Cardiff players going for Malone and decides to run himself, and according to the ref, into his own man.  Accidental offside and end of the game.

•  This was not a high quality game though there were a few good players.  I like the look of Mike Brown, the Quins fullback.  He hoisted 3 times and took them all on the run, and made just one mistake I can remember.  The Quins backrowers 6. Robshaw and 8. Easter had strong games.  Rob Shaw will be terrific under the “Stellenbosch laws”.

•  For Quins I thought that 9. Spice, played well and it was good to have a good long look at the new Wales captain 1. Gethin Jenkins for Cardiff; he can play though I can’t argue that his presence in the scrum made a difference

'From Lee Grant
Llanelli Scarlets 17 Wasps 33

•  Wow, that was a thrashing, because the score flattered Llanelli who played without any punch or penetration.   The home crowd were more used to seeing their team win HC matches at Stradey Park and will now realise that the Scarlets will be at long odds to advance beyond the group stages.

•  I can’t remember a game where the midfield was so dominant.  According to TV stats MOTM 13 Fraser Waters and 12 Rikki Futey, the Wasps centres, combined to carry the ball 13 times, beat defenders 16 times (obviously more than once per carry !) and score 3 tries.  They were like a couple of naughty boys getting up to mischief unless you kept your eye on them all the time.

I said last week that Tipoki is playing better for Munster than he did at home, and now Flutey is doing the same for Wasps (if you ignore a couple of restart kicks out on the full).  There is talk of his being called up for the England squad when his residency qualifies him.

•  Young Wasps’ flyhalf Capriani is getting almost a perfect start to his career.  Before he is through he will play behind some weaker packs and learn to deal with the consequences, but at the moment he has the happy experience of having time and space bequeathed by his forwards.  He’s not the real deal yet but watch this space in 2 years’ time.

•  The Scarlets didn’t have too many good moments but one was when the Wasps’ scrum got penalised.  8 Dallagio stepped in to bully the referee so he wouldn’t ping Wasps the next time, whilst his mates watched the master give the lecture, but meantime the impressive Scarlet’s scrummie, Peel, tapped and went, and went, and went.  Eventually skipper 6 Simon Easterby, a Pom who plays club rugby in Wales and internationals for Ireland, scored the try.

Another good moment was when winger Mark Jones got the ball near a ruck and beat the pillars and loiterers for a run up the middle to the posts.  The game was already lost but it was good to see the Welsh flyer at top speed.

•  13 Regan King had a top game for the Scarlets despite the success of the Wasps’ midfield.  He made half breaks and passed in the tackle a few times and his ability to pass off the wrong foot kept puzzling tacklers.

Pool Standings:

Pool 1
London Irish 10
Perignon 0
Dragons 1
Treviso 0

Pool 2
Gloucester 9
Bourgoin 5
Ospreys 4
Ulster 1

Pool 3
Blues 7
Stade Francis 5
Bristol Rugby 4
Harlequins 2

Pool 4
Biaritz Olympic 8
Glasgow Warriors 6
Saracens 6
Viadana 1

Pool 5
Wasps 9
Munster 6
Clermont Auvergne 5
Scarlets 0

Pool 6
Toulouse 9
Tigers 5
Leinster 4
Edinbourgh 1