ACC, r4: Toulon maintain 100% record to set up Saracens showdown; SCA Albi win again

20 December 2009

Toulon eased to a 30-7 away win at Rugby Rovigo on Sunday to maintain their 100% record in this year's Amlin Challenge Trophy.

Philippe Saint-André again opted to rest a host of first-team regulars, but his buoyant Top 14 outfit still proved too strong for the Italians as they ran in four tries to secure a bonus-point victory.

The result lifted them five points clear of second placed Saracens in Pool 3, with the two sides due to meet at Vicarage Road in the next round of matches in January. A win there would guarantee Toulon a quarter-final slot, and even a defeat would not be disastrous - such is their current advantage over the Guinness Premiership leaders, who edged past Castres 18-14 earlier in the weekend (see below).

Amlin Challenge Cup - Pool results and tables

Argentina skipper Felipe Contepomi - again starting in place of the rested Jonny Wilkinson - got the scoreboard ticking with a first-minute penalty, but the home side responded positively and soon forged ahead thanks to an 11th-minute try from winger Andrea Pratichetti.

Full-back Stefan Basson kicked the ensuing conversion to give the Rovigo a 7-3 lead, but Contepomi's second penalty success narrowed the gap before Christiaan Loamanu touched down for Toulon's opening try. Contepomi added the extras, and was again on target after Olivier Missoup grabbed the visitors' second try just before half-time.

Rovigo hooker Luke Mahoney didn't help the home team's cause with a 44th-minute yellow card, and Toulon took full toll of their numerical advantage to add two more tries within five minutes as they effectively ended the contest.

Irish prop Timmy Ryan was first over - touching down in the 45th minute for his maiden try for the club since his summer move from Munster - before lock Argentine lock Esteban Lozada followed suit just two minutes later.

That was it as far as the scoring went, with the remainder of the match fizzling out amid a blizzard of substitutions as both sides took the opportunity to give players a run out.

The other French side in action on Sunday was SCA Albi, who beat Petrarca Padova 38-16 to make it four wins from their last five matches as they continue to build vital momentum.

Top 14's basement club have only the slimmest of chances of progressing through to the knockout stages, but their back-to-back wins against Padova should at least have given squad morale a further boost as they continue their fight for survival in France's top division.

Outside centre John Stewart grabbed a brace of tries, with Clément Maynadier and Anthony Pujol also going over for the home side, while half-back pair Frédéric Manca and Kevin Boulogne kicked two penalties apiece.

Albi remain third in Pool 5 despite their latest win, although they are only five points behind leaders Newcastle Falcons.

Earlier in the weekend, Racing-Métro 92 and Montpellier both recorded comprehensive away wins on Saturday to maintain their respective hopes of securing quarter-final berths.

Racing thrashed Rugby Parma 53-3 in Italy to move within five points of Pool 4 leaders London Wasps, who they host in the final group match in January.

Saturday's away win followed last week's 62-0 drubbing of the same opposition and extended their winning run to eight matches in all competitions for the in-form Parisians.

The French outfit ran in eight tries against Parma, with eight different scorers, Pierre Berbizier's side ran amok in Italy. Scrum-half Jérôme Fillol, number eight Jacques Cronje and Fijian winger Sireli Bobo all touched down in the opening period, with flanker Jone Qovu Nailiko, hooker Carlo Festuccia and replacements Andrea Lo Cicero, Francois Steyn and Remi Vaquin all getting in on the act after the interval. Fabien Fortassin added four conversions, with Greg Goosen chipping in with a penalty and a conversion as Racing clocked up another half century of points.

Their next game in this tournament is away to Bayonne, and if they can win that and stay within five points of Wasps then we could be in for a fantastic final-match showdown between the pool's two leading teams.

Montpellier made similarly light work of Olympus Rugby XV Madrid, spanking the Spanish side 42-6 to consolidate second spot in Pool 2 - two points behind leaders Connacht Rugby.

The French side raced into a 28-6 half-time lead before easing off the gas, with Florian Nicot, Giorgi Chkhaidze (2) and Geoffrey Doumayrou all touching down before the interval. Doumayrou added a second try after the break, with replacement Saklusa Matadigo grabbing the final score just two minutes from the end.

Scrum-half Adrien Tomas kicked four conversions, with full-back Jacques Schutte slotting the other two as Montpol kept their qualification hopes alive. Their next match will be decisive, however, with a trip to pool leaders Connacht in round five. The Irish side won 22-19 at Montpellier back in October and the French side know they have to win the return match if they want to progress to the quarter-finals.

In the other match on Saturday Castres went down 18-14 at Guinness Premiership leaders Saracens in Pool 3, despite outscoring their hosts by two tries to nil.

Winger Paul Bonnefond scored the game's opening try after 19 minutes - with Thomas Bouquié converting - but Castres still found themselves 12-7 down at half-time due to four successful penalty kicks from Saracens fly-half Glen Jackson.

And it was a similar story after the break, with Castres once more taking the early initiative (and a 12-14 lead) through Yoan Audrin's converted try, only for Jackson to slot two more penalties in the closing eight minutes to seal the win.

Montauban withstood a second-half fightback by Newcastle Falcons to record a 24-19 home win on Friday evening to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the ACC quarter-finals.

The hosts surged 16-6 ahead by half-time at the Stade Sapiac, with Julien Audy's three penalties and a conversion adding to a 22nd-minute try by hooker Grégory Arganese.

Pool five leaders Newcastle Falcons replied with two penalties from Jimmy Gopperth, with the Kiwi adding another just four minutes after the resumption to narrow the gap to seven points.

Montauban's response was immediate, with winger Adrien Figueiredo intercepting in his own 22 before haring away to touch down on 48 minutes and give the home side further breathing space in a game they knew they had to win.

At that point the Guinness Premiership visitors looked like returning back to England empty handed, but replacement scrum-half Mathieu Belie's yellow card proved crucial, with the visitors using their numerical advantage to set up Springbok centre Gcobani Bobo for a 64th-minute try - his first for the club - which Gopperth converted to leave the score 21-16 going into the final quarter of an hour. Belie than landed a 75th penalty to ease home nerves, but Gopperth's fourth successful penalty in response - just three minutes from time - was enough to earn Newcastle what could turn out to be a crucial defensive bonus.

And yet Montauban had the chance to deny Newcastle that defensive bonus when they were awarded a straight-forward pot at goal with the last kick of the game, only for the home side to go in search of a third try instead. Coach Marc Raynaud looked on in disbelief from the sidelines as Montauban effectively gifted Newcastle their extra point.

It means that Newcastle - who won the first match 17-6 - remain top of Pool five, three points ahead of Montauban with just two games to go. It also means that Montauban will now be looking to Top 14 rivals SCA Albi to help them in their quest to qualify as they play host to Newcastle in the next round before travelling to Montauban for the final pool match.

Bayonne's hopes of rescuing a troubled season with a European cup run were dashed by London Wasps on Thursday evening as the French side lost 3-12 at home to effectively end their interest in this year's Amlin Challenge Cup.

Wasps' win made it double joy for the London club - following last weekend's 22-18 home victory - and means they are now seven points clear in Pool 4 and obvious favourites to claim a quarter-final berth.

Bayonne, meanwhile, must now re-focus all of their energies on Top 14 survival as they seek to make up for a woeful first half to the season. The Basques are currently 13th in the French league and in serious danger of being relegated to ProD2 if they don't halt their slide. They have now lost six of their last seven games - as well as six of their last seven league games - and the recent change of head coach (with Thierry Mentières taking over from Richard Dourthe - does not appear to have stopped the rot. 

Thursday's match was a must-win game if they hoped to progress in the ACC but they came unstuck as Wasps' fly-half Dave Walder kicked the visitors to victory. Walder landed a brace of first-half penalties to put the visitors 6-0 up at the interval, and he subsequently added a third penalty and a drop-goal to complete the win after the break.

Wasps' victory was based on forward dominance, and they even managed to overcome the temporary loss of two players as both Serge Betsen and George Skivington were yellow carded - in the 38th and 51st minutes respectively. It was a mixed night for Betsen, the former France international and Biarritz flanker, but it certainly ended happily enough for the Wasps captain.

Bayonne's only response came via a Cédric Garcia penalty midway through the second half.

It was a different story for fellow Top 14 strugglers Bourgoin, however, as they ran in five tries to secure a 31-10 bonus-point home win against Rugby Parma.

The victory lifted them top of Pool 1, five points ahead of Leeds Carnegie, who are at home to Bucuresti Oaks on Sunday. It now looks like the group will go down to the wire with Bourgoin's final match away to Leeds likely to decide which club goes on to the quarter-finals.

Argentine centre Matias Viazzo got the scoreboard ticking when he touched down for the game's opening try after just two minutes, and the hosts were 14-0 ahead within 10 minutes following a further try from prop Sylvain Charlet. Fly-half Benjamin Boyet was on target with both conversions, and Parma's already difficult task was made even harder when hooker Alvaro Tejeda was yellow-carded in the 12th minute.

But Bourgoin only added one more try before half time, with 22-year-old full-back Mael Moinot going over in the 20th minute. Boyet again added the extras, before Parma finally registered their first points courtesy of Francesco Mazzariol's 30th-minute penalty.

Visiting flanker Francesco Minto became the second Parma player to see yellow - just two minutes after the resumption - but the Italian side temporarily narrowed the gap further when winger Ignacio Martin scored a 66th-minute try, which Mazzariol converted.

The try galvanised Bourgoin into action again and, amid a flurry of substitutions, they managed two more scores before the end with Jean-Francois Coux and Coenraad Basson both going over in the final 12 minutes.

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