Heineken Cup

Leicester qualify for the Heineken Champions Cup last 16 with a game to spare as they return to winning ways at Clermont.

Leicester qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup last 16 with a game to spare as they returned to winning ways with a bonus-point victory at Clermont. Leicester Tigers: (27) 44 Clermont Auvergne: (14) 29

Leicester Tigers defeated Clermont 44-29 in France to put poor domestic form behind them and qualify for the Champions Cup last 16 with a game to spare.

Leicester held off an increasingly confident Clermont and prop James Cronin sealed the Tigers’ win with a try in the 78th minute. It was Clermont who looked brighter after the break as Anthony Belleau scrambled on to a loose ball to score after Charlie Atkinson’s last-ditch defence failed. After a couple of rocky weeks in the Premiership, Tigers made themselves comfortable early with Scott’s interception score, but Clermont hit back through Bautista Delguy after Handré Pollard’s penalty.

Tigers win a nine-try thriller but Richard Wigglesworth confirmed that Anthony Watson is not available for England selection on Monday.

Two quickfire tries at the start of the second half – the first for Belleau after a fortunate bounce, the second for lock Paul Jedrasiak after a gorgeous dummy – put the hosts back in contention. Interspersed with those two scores, the Tigers scored a handsome try of their own to keep their noses in front: straight off the training ground, Pollard put Freddie Steward through a hole, before the wing drew Newsome to give Scott his second. The wing, out of nothing, left Pollard for dead and was stopped only by a phenomenal cover tackle from Charlie Atkinson. Belleau delayed a wonderful pass to full-back Alex Newsome, before the softest of pick-ups from Irae Simone put Bautista Delguy in at the corner. With nine tries, this was a flawed classic, and Belleau's late penalty set up a five-point, grandstand finish. Youngs's time-splitting pass to Harry Simmons put the Clermont defensive line in the headlights, but the wing still had plenty to do. Leicester, grappling with a torrid injury crisis, without the likes of Jasper Wiese and Julián Montoya, have struggled of late for gain-line muscle. The scrum-half did not depart for a Head Injury Assessment after the independent match doctor waved play on. The cachet of this once grand tournament had taken a bit of a battering in recent weeks, but here in the Massif Central was a spoon-fed opportunity for it to recapture some of the glitz. No team in this competition or its previous guises had ever put more than 40 points on Clermont at their Stade Marcel-Michelin fortress, but Leicester did, defeating their French foes for the fourth time in nine months – and the second at home. Even if the alluring fortress was 5,000 short of capacity. At times on Friday night, when they wanted to be, their fluidity was otherworldly; the problem, however, was that too often they were shambolic.

In a thrilling tie, two-time European champions Leicester edged the try count five to four in France and collected an offensive bonus point. Matt Scott, Harry ...

Leicester Tigers became the first team to reach the Champions Cup last 16 on Friday as a 44-29 win at Clermont gave them a third successive victory in the competition. South African international stand-off Handre Pollard kicked 14 points on his first start for Leicester in the tournament. In a thrilling tie, two-time European champions Leicester edged the try count five to four in France and collected an offensive bonus point.

It's an incredibly busy Friday and Saturday in the Heineken Champions Cup, with nine fixtures over the next two days as the teams tee up their charges into ...

The day begins with a bang as Gloucester host Leinster and Sale welcome Toulouse (both 1pm). Clermont vs Leicester (8pm) Having crushed them at home and taken a strong squad to South Africa, they will be hoping they can earn another big European success as the competition becomes their primary focus.

Leinster Rugby prop Cian Healy is set to become only the fifth player to reach 100 appearances in the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday. The 35-year-old.

Healy will join Ronan O’Gara (110), Gordon D’Arcy (104), John Hayes (101) and Peter Stringer (101) in the elite group of players to have achieved a century of games in EPCR’s leading tournament. The 35-year-old is in line to face Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium as he looks to help Pool A leaders Leinster to a third straight win in this season’s competition. Leinster Rugby prop Cian Healy is set to become only the fifth player to reach 100 appearances in the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday.

Hugo Keenan, Jordan Larmour, Jimmy O'Brien start in a back three. Gary Ringrose starts as captain at 12, while Jamie Osborne starts beside him.

Front row: 1. The second row of Ross Molony, and James Ryan provide the engine. Ross Byrne Scrum half 9. Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, and Michael Ala’alatoa start in the front row. The side is completed by Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, and Caelan Doris. Ross Byrne starts at 10, Jamison Gibson-Park start at 9.

All the build-up, team news, live play-by-play match updates, reaction, analysis, stats and highlights from Kingsholm.

The line out from Dan Sheehan is thrown long to Ryan Baird on the crash. Leinster tap and go. The Cherry and Whites come into the game having lost 57-0 against Leinster last time out in the Champions Cup after head coach George Skivington sent a second team to Dublin on a controversial move. A scrum penalty for the home pack allows Santi Carreras to arrow the ball into the Leinster half. The Cherry and Whites looks to switch the direction of play and spread the ball wide with a misspass to Lewis Ludlow on the wing but the skipper can't hold onto the tough pass and the pill goes into touch. The backrower is just stopped and a couple of phases later George McGuigan competes for the ball at a ruck and Leinster go off their feet trying to clear it out to concede a penalty. Moments later the ball is worked down the blindside and Hugo Keenan has a one on one with George Barton thanks to a clever slap pass from Ross Byrne and the Irish full back puts in a hitch kick and steps his way beyond down the touchline and score. But the Cherry and Whites were playing with a penalty advantage and kicked to the corner, executed their lineout and set the maul drive only for Caelan Doris to bring it down illegally. The Shed thought Jonny May was over for a try moments earlier after bursting onto a pass from Ollie Thorley and speeding over but the pass from Thorley was clearly forward. Billy Twelvetrees kicks his side into the corner from a penalty but for once the catch and drive game malfunctions with Gloucester putting blockers in front of their maul. Ronan Kelleher is over from a catch and drive, the maul rolls down the blindside to put the replacemennt hooker over. Leinster secure their position at the top of Pool A with a dominant display.

A busy day of Heineken Champions Cup continues as Munster face Northampton Saints at Thomond Park, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with live commentary on RTÉ ...

They run the ball from inside their own half, Smith finding Hutchinson in oceans of space down the right. That could be a big moment. 67: Munster withstand 12 phases of pressure on their own tryline to keep Northampton out. - 16:54 He kicks a penalty to touch but is hobbling badly afterwards. - 16:56

Leinster book their spot in the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup by hammering Gloucester 49-14 at Kingsholm.

Gloucester were awarded a second penalty try with 16 minutes to play when Doris brought down a rolling maul and the second row was shown a yellow card. Leinster secured the bonus point with the clock six minutes into the red when, in similar fashion to Ala'alatoa's try, a tap-and-go penalty resulted in Doris crashing over on the final play of the half. The hosts got their reward when Andrew Porter brought down a rolling maul, which led to a penalty try and the prop being shown a yellow card.

Leinster became the second team to qualify for the last 16 in the Heineken Champions Cup as they made it three bonus-point wins in a row in Pool A.

The loss of a man didn’t affect Leinster’s progress and for the second time in the match they scored with 14 men. They had sent a second team to the RDS in the second round and conceded nine tries in an embarrassing 57-0 defeat. They say you have to silence the crowd at Kingsholm to stand any chance of winning in the west country and Garry Ringrose’s men stunned them into silence with a blistering start.

Leinster have their first try on three minutes through Jordan Larmour, one of training ground beauty brought to the match environment: beautiful off the top ...

Leinster concede a penalty, Ross Molony at the lineout and the home side go to the corner again. Leinster guilty of a couple of handling errors, the first from Jimmy O’Brien and then after Ben Morgan produces a thumping tackle. 10 mins: Wonderful break from Jamie Osborne and even though he’s tackled short, Gloucester are offside and centre Seb Atkinson receives a yellow card. It was a poor decision to try and run the ball and they are penalised at the ruck when Harris nails Ringrose. The young centre takes a pass from Gibson-Park and runs a gorgeous line following a Leinster lineout, cuts back against the grain, steps George Barton and dots down, a superb individual score. The home side, particularly Val Rapava-Ruskin, Morgan and Harris, are winning the collisions and with a bit more composure in contact could have Leinster in a little more trouble. Sheehan makes a big break after Gloucester lose a lineout, but Leinster concede a penalty 26 metres from the Gloucester line for not releasing in the tackle. Leinster win a free kick at a scrum but they give away a gilt edged try scoring chance by illegally clearing out at a ruck six metres from the line. Porter and Larmour return to the pitch. It’s been a good half for Leinster on the scoreboard and in some of the rugby that they have played. 60 mins: Leinster win a scrum penalty, concede one at a lineout, win another one at a scrum and then get another as referee Brousset takes centre stage. 32 mins: Two good defensive sets for Leinster but Gloucester are seeing more of the ball with Porter in the sin bin.

Leinster cruised into the Heineken Champions Cup round of 16 after sweeping aside Gloucester 49-14 at Kingsholm.

Leinster showed no sign of slowing up after the break and it took just six minutes for them to score a fifth try, courtesy of Keenan’s impressive finish when he rounded opposite number George Barton. Byrne converted and Leinster secured a bonus-point on the stroke of half time with their fourth try. Leinster were off and running inside four minutes, slicing open Gloucester’s defence from a short-range lineout as Larmour touched down unchallenged, with Byrne’s conversion making it 7-0.

Leicester Tigers coach Richard Wigglesworth was pleased to see his side qualify for the last 16 after being Clermont 44-29 on Friday.

We couldn’t do it before the score because the forwards were doing so well, and we never got to see the ball. “It was still not perfect because we conceded 29 points, and that made it difficult, and their crowd got up. Even though it was a solid win for his side, Scott feels that there are still things to work on. The boys have done a fantastic job in this tournament. “We fought and scrapped for everything. “I felt there was a performance coming from the side, and we started brilliantly.

Gloucester head coach George Skinvington conceded that his side 'couldn't get a foothold in the game' against Leinster in their Champions Cup loss.

GLOUCESTER 14-49 LEINSTER - ALEX BYWATER AT KINGSHOLM STADIUM: The hosts endured yet another savage mauling at the hands of their Irish opponents.

Ronan Kelleher’s driven-over try was the icing on the cake of a supreme Leinster display. The entrance of Cian Healy for his 100th European game showed off Leinster’s riches. Cullen removed Byrne, Ala’alatoa and Dan Sheehan with the game won. Then, from a innovative line-out play, Jordan Larmour was given the freedom of Kingsholm to waltz to the line. The tries kept coming. Finally, the home crowd had something to cheer. Santiago Carreras left the ball behind and then dropped a sitter. The joy didn’t last long. Leinster were pinpoint, but the Cherry and Whites didn’t help themselves. Osborne’s brilliant arcing run caused all sorts of panic in the home defence, forcing Seb Atkinson to try and slow the ball down illegally by entering the ruck from the side. Val Rapava-Ruskin was held up over the line. It was a record Champions Cup home defeat for Gloucester.

Gloucester head coach George Skivington conceded that his side 'couldn't get a foothold in the game' against Leinster in the Champions Cup.

He had some really outstanding moments in the game.” “There was some good stuff – it wasn’t a complete horror show. “We have been very good defensively this year, but that was a step up. Fly-half Ross Byrne was on song from the tee converting all four scores. “There are some good learnings for us as a team. “Gloucester had their moments in the game, and they didn’t make life easy for us, so there is plenty for us to get better at, but it was a good day for us.”

The Vodacom Bulls delivered a classy display against the Exeter Chiefs to score six tries to four for a valuable 39-28 bonus-point victory in their Heineken ...

Exeter Chiefs 28 (14) – Tries: Josh Hodge, Solomone Kata, Jannes Kirsten, Jack Innard. This handed the hosts a 15-7 lead. Penalty Goal: Smith (1).

The Bulls avenged their 44-14 defeat at Sandy Park by securing a 39-28 bonus point victory over Exeter Chiefs on Saturday in the Champions Cup.

Meanwhile, Baxter won’t need to dig too deep to understand why Exeter was on the wrong end of the result this week. There was a significant improvement in this area of his game, particularly in this clash, as Exeter were shut down on several occasions by the Bulls’ line speed. Their pack certainly looks to be one that could front up with the best the Arendse has taken his form from the Springbok jersey back into the Bulls’ jumper, producing on both sides of the ball. When they do select their first team, they look far more like the side that toppled Leinster last season to reach the United Rugby Championship final. His versatility makes him a huge asset in the replacements. While he did have the odd error or two, especially when kicking penalties into touch, overall, it was a solid outing from the Bulls playmaker. It took him just two minutes to stop an attack dead in its tracks with a terrific turnover, setting the tone at the breakdown. But the Bulls’ mentor may have finally found his best backline, and it was the same one named to face the Ospreys last week. Chris Smith was named to start that match but was ruled out through illness. Gerhard Steenekamp and Mornay Smith were comfortable victors in the front-row battle despite taking on Test internationals Scott Sio and Harry Williams. Henry Slade was on top of his game in the opening half of the match as he looked to impress the new England coach staff ahead of the Six Nations.

All the build-up, team news, live play-by-play match updates, reaction, analysis, stats and highlights from Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

No worries. No Hogg? Henry Slade is playing that playmaker role to perfection, and he's clearly got his kicking boots on too. During the break, the attendance at Loftus Versfeld is announced as 8,693. A rather odd development, as it appears the altitude is not only affecting the players. Try - Bulls Try - Exeter TRY - Bulls Penalty - Bulls TRY - Exeter Chiefs RED CARD - Exeter Chiefs FULL TIME - Bulls 39 Exeter Chiefs 28

Cai Evans proved decisive as Ospreys took a huge step towards qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Heineken Champions Cup.

[Leo Coly](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/leo-coly/) and [Anthony Bouthier](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/anthony-bouthier/) each added a conversion. Coly converted from in front of the posts. Coly took over the kicking duties but he too failed to slot over the conversion. There was a hint of a double movement but the officials awarded the try. [George North](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/george-north/) for his first appearance since picking up a facial injury against Leicester in mid-December and it was in time to his side regain the lead when [Keelan Giles](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/keelan-giles/) kicked ahead for the irrepressible Tipuric to win the race to touch down. [Owen Williams](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/owen-williams/) was high tackled by Montpellier hooker [Brandon Paenga-Amosa](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/brandon-paenga-amosa/), with Evans making no mistake with the resulting penalty. [Bastien Chalureau](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/bastien-chalureau/), [Thomas Darmon](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/thomas-darmon/) and [Cobus Reinach](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/jacobus-reinach/) also on the scoresheet. [Rhys Webb](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/rhys-webb/) left the field after being shaken up by a thumping tackle. Three minutes after the restart, Evans succeeded with another three-pointer but Montpellier took the lead for the first time when Chalureau crossed after the home defence had been softened up by a series of powerful forward drives. [Louis Carbonel](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/louis-carbonel/) was unable to reward their efforts as he missed a 40-metre penalty. [Justin Tipuric](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/justin-tipuric/) and [Morgan Morris](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/morgan-morris/) the others but Montpellier were unlucky losers on a great night for rugby. [Cai Evans](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/cai-evans/) proved decisive as Ospreys took a huge step towards qualifying for the knock-out stages of the [Heineken Champions Cup](https://www.rugbypass.com/european-champions-cup/) with a thrilling 35-29 win over Montpellier in Swansea.

Bulls got sweet revenge by beating Exeter Chiefs by 39-28 during their action packed Heineken Champions Cup clash at Loftus on Saturday night in the absence ...

he visitors drew level when Josh Hodge exploited poor defence by the Bulls with a 30-metre run to score a try that was easily converted by Joe Simmonds. The Bulls started the second half on a good note when Wandisile Simelane produced a moment of magic to score their bonus-point try and he was followed closely by Grobbelaar with a fifth try. The Bulls increased their lead with a penalty by Smith and a fabulous try that was started by a brilliant turnover by Bismarck du Plessis and led to Kurt-Lee Arendse releasing David Kriel to score an unconverted try.

Ospreys take a huge step towards Heineken Champions Cup qualification by completing the European double over French champions Montpellier.

The conversion was missed as Ospreys held a point advantage. Evans again converted from the touchline. Evans converted from the touchline. Evans added the extras. The home side turned down a late penalty kick at goal to go for the bonus point try and it was vindicated as Morris dived from close range. Back came Montpellier for a fifth try as Carbonel created the try for replacement scrum-half Reinach. Webb was replaced by Reuben Morgan-Williams. This laid the platform for a well-worked second try for Cuthbert with the final pass coming from Tipuric. The physical nature of the contest was typified by a big Willemse hit on Davies that was adjudged to be legal by the officials with the hit ruled to be on the chest and not the head of the attacker. Evans then slotted over a second penalty to give the hosts a three-point half-time advantage. Tipuric took a knock while clearing out a Montpellier defender at a ruck, but was not required to leave the field for a head injury assessment. Tipuric was outstanding as he led his side to a notable victory, producing a brilliant try against the French champions, who missed four kicks at goal.

Bulls players celebrate the try of Elrigh Louw during their Heineken Champions Cup match against Exeter Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on January 14 2023 ...

“You can see the focus in everyone and the energy is just a few levels up and people enjoy this because it brings the best out of the players. “For us, this is our first taste of the Heineken Cup. There is definitely a different energy this week because it is power against power, which is the equivalent of a Test week.

Ospreys boss Toby Booth said his side and Montpellier produced a 'magnificent spectacle' as the Welsh side emerged 35-29 victors in the Champions Cup.

Ospreys captain Justin Tipuric scored a stunning try as the lead changed hands again, with Cobus Reinach’s score putting the visitors ahead in the final 10 minutes. “Our attack was good tonight, although we made a few mistakes defensively, but the two points we picked up makes sure that we are still in the mix.” “We had opportunities to win, but we had little success on the kicking front,” Saint-Andre said. “After beating them down there, we knew they would come flying out the blocks, but in the end, we managed to win,” Evans said. “After the game over there, we knew they would come over with a point to prove, but we just found a way to win. After the match, Booth said: “We are in the entertainment business, and that game certainly provided it as it went from one end to another.

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth hails captain Justin Tipuric after his player-of-the-match display in the Heineken Champions Cup win over Montpellier.

"I think what it does, for the players, who are under extreme mental fatigue and uncertainty, and the coaches and organisations... Lots of stuff has taken place to get to this point. We have the man in the blue hat who can play anywhere. "To do that and maintain the level of output is absolutely credit to their professionalism and their desire to want to be a good player for the Ospreys. He could probably have played six, seven, eight nine, 10, 12 or 13 or 15 and Justin is exactly the same. It's much deeper than just going out and producing performances, it's about culture and vision and a collective effort.

Bulls assistant coach Chris Rossouw on squad rotation to manage players in Heineken Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship (URC). 5 hours ago.

"Wandi is still finding his feet and it probably won't be long before Jake has a conversation again with him over his career path, be it at fullback, centre or wing. There will be times where you feel like a fish out of water and that's when you begin to grow because you're out of your comfort zone." Every time he's going to get picked at 13, he'll use the opportunity and probably excel," he said. "We gave him his first run at centre last week. We'll continue focusing on it," said Rossouw. "To be honest, the past two weeks were probably designed for him to simply gain some confidence by playing in a position he's very comfortable with.