Substitutes trying to keep warm in Siberia during historic Challenge Cup match between Enisei-STM and Connacht on Saturday (footage in article)

For the first time in the 2015 / 2016 season, teams from Europe’s top leagues were given a breather from domestic competition this weekend and turned their attentions to the Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments. After the horrific events that unfolded in Paris on Friday night, the matches scheduled to be played on French soil were postponed and so here is an abridged round-up of the results.

European Rugby Champions Cup:

The 1st match-up in the premier European competition involved Leicester and Stade Francais on Thursday evening, and the performance of the Tigers set the tone for the Premiership teams that followed over the weekend. While it was Stade who drew 1st blood with a show-stopper of a try from Julien Thomas, Leicester’s control of the set-piece gave them plenty of opportunities to hit back, which they eventually did through Niki Goneva and Matt Smith before halftime. Tries from Paul Williams and Julien Arias were not enough to keep Stade Francais within touching distance as Leicester crossed twice more, with Brendon O’Connor snatching up a loose ball and sprinting 50m to score, and Ben Youngs weaving through for a vintage scrumhalf effort. With a 33 / 20 victory, and standout performances from Youngs and O’Connor under their belt, Richard Cockerill will be delighted with his team’s start to European rugby.

Munster recorded a decisive 32 / 7 win over Benetton Treviso, although there was little of the free-flowing rugby that defined the Leicester match. It was a testament to Munster’s grit, grind and pack strength that they were able to slosh their way to victory in appalling conditions at Thomond Park. All 4 of their tries came from very close range with BJ Botha, CJ Stander, Duncan Casey and Simon Zebo burrowing over to win Munster a bonus point. Treviso’s only respite was a charge-down try from No 8 Braam Steyn.

At Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton were visited by the Scarlets and scratched their way to a 15 / 11 win. Ken Pisi and Alex Waller were most deserving of their tries and Pisi’s 50m break was also instrumental in setting up a ‘try that never was’ for Luther Burrell. Scarlets were unable to capitalise on a pair of Northampton sin-binnings and missed 4 attempts at goal that would have seen them start the tournament off with a victory. Having said that their solitary score was a lovely team effort finished off by World Cup star Gareth Davies, and a losing bonus point is at least a small reward for their endeavour.

Saracens were able to defeat an understandably out-of-sorts Toulouse side 32 / 7 in their 1st Champions Cup match of the season. Given the awful conditions at Allianz Park it was commendable that 17 of Sarries’ points came from the boot of Owen Farrell, with a try from Mako Vunipola and a brace from Chris Wyles making up the total. Toulouse scored in the 2nd half through substitution Chris Tolofua, and that concluded the scoring for the afternoon. Following Sebastien Bezy’s conversion on 51 minutes neither team was able to contribute to the scoreboard and last year’s semi-finalists go top of Pool 1.

Sunday’s 2 games had 3-time champions Leinster hosting Wasps at RDS and Exeter travelling to Liberty Stadium to take on Ospreys. In the 1st face-off, Wasps kicked into high gear to dispatch Leinster 33 / 6, the Irish side’s biggest ever home defeat, and looked convincing in the process, despite missing out on the winning bonus point. Their 3 tries ranged from fluky (Wade’s walk-in after a Dave Kearney slip) to clinical (Frank Halai’s break and offload to Joe Simpson) to downright bizarre (Sailosi Tagicakibau’s attempted try that bounced back into Charles Piutau’s hands) but Wasps were very effective in exploiting Leinster’s weaknesses and their successful season continues. Leinster meanwhile were rudderless and head coach Leo Cullen called it one of the worst days he has had at the club.

Exeter broke the English clubs’ run of success in the Champions’ Cup 1st Round, losing 25/ 13 to Ospreys. The 2 teams contributed a try apiece but the story was written by Dan Biggar who recovered from a patchy 1st half performance and kicked 20 points to give Ospreys the win. Josh Matavesi’s opportunistic interception try capped off the afternoon. Rob Baxter was ‘annoyed’ with the Chiefs’ standard in this game, but will likely be focussing more closely on the Premiership this year, having fallen short in that area in previous season.

European Rugby Challenge Cup:

The 2nd-tier competition of European rugby kicked off on Thursday with Harlequins vs Montpellier, a showdown that Quins made look rather easy scoring 6 tries on the way to a 41 / 18 final score. Conor O’Shea’s side varied their play, hammering the French men with rolling mauls and close range offense that earned tries for 4 back-rowers, Easter, Clifford, Wallace and Robshaw, and Danny Care. Ollie Lindsay-Hague was beneficiary of a stunning team try started by the red-hot Marland Yarde; the winger also made a 40m break with the very 1st touch of the match. Montpellier came up short in their quest for a try, instead relying on 6 penalties from Benoit Paillaugue.

Friday saw Edinburgh beat Grenoble 28 / 10 thanks to 2 Cornell du Preez tries and 11 points from Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, while Newcastle were unable to take anything more than a losing bonus point from their match against Brive, losing 13 / 9. Malakai Bakaniceva scored after 17 minutes for the French side and Newcastle couldn’t find a response with Tom Catterick kicking 3 penalties as their only points.

Saturday witnessed an historic afternoon in Siberia as Enisei-STM became the 1st Russian team to participate in a European rugby competition, although they couldn’t find a way to win their maiden outing against Connacht. The Irish side were facing temperatures of -18 °C but earned a bonus point with their 31 / 14 win, while Enisei prop Andrei Polivalov will be the happiest of the Russian contingent after scoring 2 tries.

It was wins all round for Saturday’s English teams as Gloucester, Worcester and London Irish recorded victories of varying calibre. In their game against Zebre, the Cherry and Whites failed to improve on a 23 / 0 half-time lead, eventually running out 23 / 10 winners. Worcester made a positive start to their European return, beating La Rochelle 19 / 3 thanks to Ryan Lamb’s 14 points. A 77th minute try from Ben Howard sealed the deal for the Warriors. London Irish were by far the most convincing of the Premiership representatives in the Challenge Cup, dolling out an 8-try thrashing to Agen. 2 Tries each for hooker Gerard Ellis and Alex Lewington were supplemented by tries for Sean Maitland, Rob McCusker, Johnny Williams and Joe Trayfoot leading to an impressive 48 / 10 scoreline.

Cardiff Blues pounded Calvisano 50 / 9 and leapfrogged Harlequins to go top of Pool 3. Lloyd Williams and Tom James crossed before halftime with Ellis Jenkins and Dan Fish confirming the bonus point midway through the 2nd half. Blaine Scully and Gavin Evans’ scores put the result beyond doubt and a 79th minute penalty try finished the Italians off. Sale experienced a hiccup in their promising early season losing to Newport Gwent Dragons 30 / 12 in the final match of the weekend. With Steve Diamond ringing the changes, the Sharks went behind early and in attempting to mount a comeback, were denied twice having crossed the line. 4 Tries for the hosts sees them get the full 5 points this week and top Pool 1.

Hero of the Week:

It’s a bit of a cop-out I know, but I’m going to give the award this week to everyone who played in Connacht’s match against Enisei-STM.

There are lots of layers to this one, first and foremost that the game was played in unbearably cold temperatures, to such an extent that the substitutions had to take extra precaution to keep warm on the sidelines. Just watching players get tackled on the snow covered pitch is enough to make you wince, and the inconsistent kicking is completely forgivable given the cold.

Second, it was a history-making meeting, with Enisei the 1st Russian team to play in a European competition, and with any luck this will lead to the breakthrough of lesser-known teams from fringe rugby nations into the European rugby scene. Finally, we were treated to a brace of tries for a replacement prop which is always a delight, but it was also the 1st 2 Russian tries in European rugby history.

Villain of the Week:

For a couple of reasons, George North has the ignominy of the Villain award this week. 1st He was seen stamping on Michael Tagicakibau, an ugly incident in any scenario but particularly unsavoury when it involves one of the sport’s stars. It continues North’s indifferent run of form with club and country, which is again a disappointment regarding how much he is capable of. Finally, it put paid to a brilliant try from Northampton which could have denied Scarlets the losing bonus point. For a foolish moment to deny his team a try and to hand a point to the opposition, North gets Villain of the Week.

Try of the Week:

As ever, a tough decision to make, with plenty of exciting rugby played. It’s been a few weeks now that teams have had a quality score chalked off for some reason, and this weekend you have to see Luther Burrell’s try that was cancelled out by some George North foul play. Stade Francais put together a sensational move that was finished off by Julien Tomas but the pick of the bunch was definitely Ollie Lindsay-Hague’s try for Harlequins against Montpellier. It involves a great blend of individual flair and teamwork – skip to 1.50 below:

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