01-24-2010, 02:34 PM
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#10 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Pensacola, FL
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Cardiff v. Quins:
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Cardiff Blues powered to a 45-20 victory over Harlequins in their Pool 5 clash at The Stoop to claim a place in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
The Welsh side ran in six tries - with centre Jamie Roberts returning to form with a brace - to finish the pool stages on a high and pip Sale Sharks to a place in the last eight of Europe's second tier competition. Gareth Thomas, Ceri Sweeney, Xavier Rush and Ben Blair also touched down for the visitors with the Blues' fullback weighing in with 15 points with the boot. George Lowe, Nick Easter and Danny Care all crossed for Quins but it was not enough to prevent the Premiership side from slumping to their sixth straight European defeat.
The Blues entered the clash knowing they still had a chance of ensuring European rugby in April and named a strong side for the task but were immediately on the back foot with Quins wing David Strettle setting up Lowe for the opeing try of the game with a little over a minute on the clock. Quins increased their lead when Rory Clegg boomed over a penalty from near halfway and Cardiff missed their first kick at goal a minute later when Blair's 35-yard attempt sailed wide.
The visitors finally got on the board after an impressive driving maul stretched Quins before scrum-half Richie Rees fired the ball to the right Gareth Thomas who crossed unopposed with Blair converting. The Blues' pack continued to turn the screw and while some desperate defence held them out initially it did not last. Casey Laulala's wonderfully timed pass sent Blair in to score midway through the half with the Kiwi also adding the conversion.
Quins responded with England No.8 Easter touching down after a battering burst by Chris Brooker but the Blues were soon back on the front foot. Sweeney finished off another tremendous build-up - again involving Laulala, and Blair's conversion put the Welsh in the driving seat. The task facing Quins got even tougher when Easter was sin-binned just past the half hour mark. Quins' demolition seemed complete when Rush rounded off another multi-phased attack with a try on the right, and Blair made it four conversions out of four. But Quins rallied and when Chris Robshaw tapped down a lineout, Care scampered away for a try that was converted by Clegg.
Blair missed two penalties in the first six minutes of the second half, lapses that clearly lifted the home side, who welcomed Easter back from the bin. But a fifth try for the Blues, scored with pace and power between the posts by Lions centre Jamie Roberts, and converted by Blair, took the visitors 15 points clear. That gap was extended further when Blair punished offside with a penalty on the hour.
Try number six sparked a mass exodus of disenchanted home fans as Gary Powell shook off three poor tackles before sending Roberts clear for his second try, and Blair kicked his sixth conversion out of six.
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Toulouse v. Sale:
Quote:
Toulouse booked a home quarter-final in this season's Heineken Cup with a 19-13 victory over Sale Sharks in their Pool 5 clash at Edgeley Park.
The French side's hard-fought victory set up a showdown with Top 14 rivals Toulouse in the last eight when the competition resumes in April while defeat for Sale - combined with Cardiff Blues' victory over Harlequins - ended the Sharks' hopes of claiming a place in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
The two sides played out a tight first half with two penalties from Sale fly-half Charlie Hodgson cancelled out by two drop goals from Toulouse No.10 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde. The visitors edged ahead in the second half thanks to a try from hooker Virgile Lacombe and although centre Matthew Tait crossed for the hosts the boot of Elissalde saw Toulouse home.
Stripped of the services of injured scrum-half Dwayne Peel, the Sharks opted for Richard Wigglesworth at No.9 while hooker Mahonri Schwalger, lock Chris Jones and flanker Luke Abraham were part of a reshuffled pack. Frederic Michalak came in for Byron Kelleher at scrum-half for Toulouse while Louis Picamoles and Gregory Lamboley replaced Shaun Sowerby and Jean Bouilhou in the back row.
Requiring a win to stand any chance of progressing to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, the home side began strongly and were unlucky not to open the scoring early on with impressive No.8 Sisa Koyamaibole denied a score thanks to a desperate tackle from Toulouse wing Vincent Clerc. Jones then stole the first Toulouse lineout forcing the French side to give away a penalty that Hodgson converted from in front of the posts.
Michalak made a mess of an attempted drop goal soon after but his side's cause was helped when a moment of madness from Koyamaibole resulted in a yellow card. The Fijian was guilty of taking Michalak out off the ball in front of referee Alain Rolland leaving him with no option. Elissalde then levelled the scores with a sweetly-struck drop goal but Sale weathered Koyamaibole's absence and took the lead once more with Hodgson notching his second penalty midway through the half.
Toulouse began to take control of the contest in terms of territory and possession but they were frustrated by the home side with some desperate defence denying Clerc after some good work from centre Yann David. However, the pressure was building on the Sharks and lock Jones was the second Sale player to see yellow after he was penalised at a ruck. Toulouse chose to kick the penalty to touch but Elissalde ensured they left the Sale 22 with points as he knocked over his second drop goal just seconds before half-time.
Sale fullback Nick Macleod gifted Toulouse an attacking platform in the opening minute of the second half and from the resulting lineout Lacombe barged his way over for the first try of the game. Elissalde's conversion gave Toulouse a 13-6 lead and kept them on course for a home quarter-final.
A cross field run from Toulouse fullback Clement Poitrenaud soon caused more trouble for Sale with centre Yannick Jauzion adding some muscle to the attack. But his pass to Clerc gave the winger little room for manoeuvre and he was bundled into touch. Wigglesworth then looked to relieve the pressure with a chip and chase but the move was brought to a sudden halt by Clerc whose body-check was deemed worthy of the game's third yellow card.
The Frenchman's departure coincided with the return of Jones but Sale failed to capitalise on the numerical advantage and instead it was Toulouse who extended their lead with a simple penalty from Elissalde.
To their credit, Sale raised their game and a strong run from replacement Anitele'a Tuilagi sucked in four defenders before Wigglesworth found lock Dean Schofield on a great line but the move broke down in the final third. The Premiership side were soon pressing again with Koyamaibole wreaking havoc again before Tait powered through a gap before forcing his way over for a try. Hodgson's conversion brought them within range but Elissalde steadied the Toulouse nerves with another penalty as the game entered the final ten minutes.
With the clock ticking down, Hodgson kicked a penalty to the corner for the lineout but the ball was scrambled away and with it went Sale's chance of a late turnaround.
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