Another big weekend of rugby from around the globe, here’s my round-up of all the action.
This is going to be a brief summary as it’s school holidays over here and I have not had the time to do more.
The Rugby Championship
South Africa 18 – 10 Australia
Argentina 17 – 36 New Zealand
2 from 2, I’m still 100% for the tournament!
The All Blacks had already won this tournament and it’s really down to who comes second. So far all the other sides have won their home games against each other and it’s coming down to bonus points. At the moment the Springboks have 1 more bonus point than the other 2 sides but it might all hinge on Argentina taking their home game against the Wallabies to Twickenham.
One of the talking points from the weekend was when you turn down the 3 points and go for a scrum instead. Look at the replies to my linked tweet to see how the discussion went on #RugbyChat.
Aviva Premiership
Bristol 0 – 39 Saracens
Northampton Saints 20 – 19 Exeter Chiefs
Sale Sharks 34 – 30 Leicester Tigers
Gloucester Rugby 6 – 15 Bath
Wasps 47 – 18 Harlequins
Worcester Warriors 11 – 9 Newcastle Falcons
4 from 6, I did pick a draw so it’s my own fault really.
Wasps are the only team to still be unbeaten but they will have to defend that record away to Saracens this coming weekend. It’s still a congested table with the biggest gap being 11th to 12th where Bristol are 7 points behind Quins. Their game this coming weekend against Newcastle is looking crucial especially as we are about to change competitions and play European games.
On #RugbyChat we discussed Sale’s home v away record and it’s perhaps not as clear-cut as you think.
Pro12
Newport Gwent Dragons 17 – 26 Glasgow Warriors
Connacht Rugby 28 – 15 Edinburgh
Munster 49 – 5 Zebre
Ulster 9 – 7 Ospreys
Benetton Treviso 6 – 22 Scarlets
Cardiff Blues 13 – 16 Leinster
5 from 6, I though that the Blues would win at home on their plastic pitch.
The top 3 sides are Irish (Ulster, Munster then Leinster) and there’s an 8 point gap between the top and bottom halves of the table. After a season of fairy tales last time it looks like we have reverted to the same story in the Pro12.
Top 14
Clermont Auvergne 29 – 19 Castres
Pau 28 – 30 Bordeaux Begles
Bayonne 22 – 22 Lyon
Toulouse 31 – 3 Grenoble
Brive 25 – 16 Racing Metro 92
Stade Francais 31 – 26 La Rochelle
Toulon 28 – 6 Montpellier
4 from 7, not helped by another draw! That’s 5 so far this season.
Clermont top the table as La Rochelle lost away. It’s an exceptionally congested table with only 7 points separating second from twelfth! The 2 big surprises are La Rochelle at the top end and Racing 92 who are languishing in eleventh.
Currie Cup
Lions 28 – 16 Sharks
Eastern Province Kings 30 – 38 Pumas
Western Province 30 – 28 Boland Cavaliers
Cheetahs 63 – 26 Griquas
4 from 4, a satisfying way to end the regular season.
The Cheetahs will host the Lions and Bulls will host Western Province in the semi-finals. Those games will be in a fortnight’s time as there is a rest week. The Kings ended the season as the only team not to win a game but will not be relegated as they are a franchise team.
Mitre10 Cup
Waikato 23 – 29 Canterbury
Tasman 15 – 10 Counties Manukau
Wellington 60 – 21 Southland
North Harbour 44 – 34 Bay of Plenty
Manawatu 21 – 30 Hawke’s Bay
Auckland 54 – 17 Otago
Taranaki 34 – 39 Canterbury
Northland 48 – 27 Waikato
4 from 8, but if Northland get a victory you know that the world has gone mad.
Canterbury still lead the way in the Premiership. With 2 rounds to go it looks like the remaining semifinal positions are between Auckland, Taranaki, Counties and Tasman with Waikato slipping off the pace.
Despite losing their last 2 games Otago still top the Championship standings with Wellington 1 point behind. North Harbour are favourites to join them in the finals with Manawatu and Bay of Plenty fighting it out for the last spot.
NRC
Queensland Country 40 – 38 NSW Country Eagles
Sydney Rays 58 – 14 University of Canberra Vikings
Melbourne Rising 30 – 68 Western Sydney Rams
Perth Spirit 60 – 22 Brisbane City
2 from 4, really didn’t read it well this weekend.
With 1 round to go 6 of the 8 teams can mathematically make it into the playoffs. The Eagles and Rays have already made it. The Spirit lead the pack of teams fighting it out for the last 2 places. The Rising and Vikings have a good shout but the Rams need everything to fall their way to make it.
#RugbyChat
Join the #RugbyChat on twitter for an hour of discussion about the action this weekend. If you can’t make the hour then you can still give your view as the conversation keeps going over the following day.
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