04-11-2010, 02:17 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 588
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Wasps v Gloucester:
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Tom Varndell helped himself to a hat-trick as Wasps progressed to the last four of the European Challenge Cup with an exciting 42-26 victory over over Guinness Premiership rivals Gloucester at Adams Park.
Early tries from Ben Jacobs and Serge Betsen put the hosts in control and even though Adam Eustace replied for the Cherry and Whites, Varndell's treble put Wasps out of sight.
Gloucester had started brightly and took the lead with a penalty from No.10 Nicky Robinson. However, Wasps responded with a try, fullback Jacobs finishing off a sweeping passing move which he had started.
Robinson and Cipriani then exchanged penalties before the latter put Betsen away to score Wasps' second try on 22 minutes. However, Cipriani undid all his good work by twice failing to halt Jonny May as he went about setting up Eustace for the score which got Gloucester right back into the game.
It was then, though, that Varndell decided to light up the game. He bagged his first just before the interval, the former Leicester Tigers ace touching down after evading Freddie Burns and Lesley Vainikolo.
Robinson's goal-kicking kept Gloucester in touch but Varndell was to strike again on 72 minutes, this time after Joe Simpson, Cipriani, Kefu, Dominic Waldouck and, lastly, Jacobs had all combined to set him away.
Charlie Sharples briefly raised hopes of a late Gloucester comeback when he crossed shortly after coming on as a replacement but Varndell, quite fittingly, had the final say, completing his hat-trick with the final play of the game.
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Cardiff Blues v Newcastle:
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Wasps will now meet Cardiff Blues in a mouth-watering semif-final after the Welsh region recorded a stunning 55-20 rout of the Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park later in the day.
The victors racked up seven tries in total, with Taufa'ao Filise bagging a brace and Casey Laulala, Martyn Williams, Ben Blair, Jamie Roberts and Ceri Sweeney all scoring one apiece. Blair converted every try and also added two penalties for good measure as he ended with 25 points to his name. Newcastle managed two tries of their own, through Charlie Amesbury and Micky Young, while fly-half Jimmy Gopperth added 10 points with the boot.
The Blues bossed proceedings right from the first whistle and they opened their account with just nine minutes on the clock, Laulala crashing over after Richie Rees had exploded off the back of a five-metre scrum.
Gopperth hit back with a penalty for the home side but the Falcons made a mess of attempting to gather the subsequent restart and their sloppiness eventually led to Williams worming his way over for Cardiff's second try.
Amesbury lifted the Kingston Park crowd when he shrugged off challenges from Williams and Deiniol Jones to score on 16 minutes. Gopperth added the extras and then stroked over a penalty to draw Newcastle to within a point of their visitors.
However, that was to be as close as the Falcons would get. After Blair had landed a penalty to send the Blues in 17-13 up at the interval, the Blues set about blowing Newcastle away in the second half with a fine exhibition of attacking rugby.
Filise burrowed over after Xavier Rush and Bradley Davies had softened up the Falcons defence before Williams put Blair over in the 53rd minute. There was no containing Cardiff now and Roberts cruised over two minutes later after a terrific passing move. Filise crossed again before the hour, the prop the beneficiary of some good work from Paul Tito.
Young added a modicum of respectability to the scoreline when he touched down shortly after the hour but the Blues were not done and Sweeney put the seal when he dotted after a wonderful run from Wales wing Leigh Halfpenny.
Meanwhile, Connacht and Toulon will meet in the other semi-final after they racked up vastly different victories over Bourgoin and Scarlets respectively on Saturday afternoon.
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