This weekend was going to be interesting because it was the european play-offs again with the semi-finals taking place. The Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup were the two coveted trophies in the Northern Hemisphere. Teams involved were not far away.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, Super Rugby was reaching the second-half of the season. The competition was always going to be unpredictable with almost all the franchises involved for the play-offs. It was going to be a great battle in all the fixtures.
With the World Cup coming even closer, the players were trying to perform well. They wanted to be in contention to be included in their respective country’s squad. Each World Cup, there are always surprises in the team’s naming so they were fighting.
* Sunwolves vs. Hurricanes : Super Rugby (Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo, Japan)
The Sunwolves started pretty well with an opening try from Semisi Masirewa and a penalty from Hayden Parker. The Hurricanes hit back with a superb individual try from TJ Perenara. However, the Sunwolves added two more penalties with Hayden Parker.
Semisi Masirewa got a brace after that and the Hurricanes needed a reaction. Fletcher Smith kicked a penalty before the Half-Time. In the second-half, winger Ben Lam concluded a nice move. Fullback Chase Tiatia charged a kick down and got the try.
Moving the ball wide, winger Wes Goosen made a chip-kick. He re-gathered it and touched down. The Hurricanes remained strong in defence in the last quarter of the game. They managed to get a good away win in a very tough game in Tokyo (FT : 23-29).
* Waratahs vs. Rebels : Super Rugby (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia)
The Melbourne Rebels began the game well with a penalty from Quade Cooper. Though, the Waratahs spread the ball and Adam Ashley-Cooper touched down. The Melbourne Rebels shifted the ball as well and Bill Meakes got his try after a godd attacking build-up.
The Melbourne Rebels got a second try with Reece Hodge as Quade Cooper kicked a penalty. In second-half, the Waratahs were composed and Bernard Foley kicked two penalties. On a missed lineout from the Melbourne Rebels, Bernard Foley was there.
He took the ball and raced to the try line for the score. He got the Waratahs back in front with a penalty. Sam Talakai was yellow-carded for the Melbourne Rebels after too many infringements. The Waratahs made the turnover in defence to get a big win (FT : 23-20).
* La Rochelle vs. Sale : Challenge Cup (Marcel Deflandre, La Rochelle, France)
The two kickers, Ihaia West for La Rochelle and AJ McGinty for Sale Sharks, both missed their first penalty. Sale Sharks got a penalty try as Victor Vito was yellow-carded for a maul infringement. After that, Ihaia West and AJ McGinty both kicked a penalty.
Stade Rochelais came back with a penalty try as Denny Solomona was binned for Sale Sharks after a high tackle. Fullback Kiriki Murimurivalu touched down as well for the home side. Though, Sale Sharks came back with Chris Ashton who picked up a loose ball.
Stade Rochelais got one more try with Gregory Alldritt. AJ McGinty kicked another penalty while Ihaia West missed his kick. Julien Favre was binned for Stade Rochelais for foul play. The home side made one last turnover at scrum time to win it (FT : 24-20).
* Clermont vs. Harlequins : Challenge Cup (Marcel Michelin, Clermont, France)
First of all, Camille Lopez scored a drop-goal for Clermont as Marcus Smith replied with a penalty for the Harlequins. Camille Lopez added a second drop-goal and Morgan Parra kicked a penalty before Fritz Lee carried powerfully over the line for the first try.
He was followed by winger Damian Penaud who got a stunning try. The Harlequins replied with a try from Mike Brown but Morgan Parra kicked a penalty. In the second-half, Morgan Parra scored two more penalties but the Harlequins still came back.
They had a try denied for a foot in touch but flanker Chris Robshaw scored. James Lang got another try after a mistake in defence from Clermont. Also, Alex Dombrandt scored from a maul. Clermont won the re-start and kicked the ball out to win (FT : 32-27).
Conclusion
This weekend was great and entertaining. To start with, in Super Rugby, the Hurricanes managed to snatch the win in Tokyo. Besides, the Waratahs got back to winning ways. In the Challenge Cup, there were some great fixtures as well with the French clubs.
Stade Rochelais got the scrappy home win on a last scrum. Clermont secured the semi-final win as well. It means that the Challenge Cup will come to France as two French clubs will face each other in Final. It will take place in May, in Newcastle, England.
Next weekend, the league games will come back again. It will be the final Round in the Pro14 with the qualifiers to take place as well. In the other leagues such as Top14, Premiership and Super Rugby, the regular season will go on with play-offs coming.
Max.
Rugby, Only Rugby ! 