LV= CUP FINAL
GLOUCESTER 34 - 7 NEWCASTLE FALCONS 
FRANKLINS GARDENS - Sunday 20th March 2011
TOM Voyce’s trophy-winning experience with London Wasps rubbed off on his Gloucester team-mates as the Cherry & Whites ensured five trophy- less years came to an end with a 34-7 victory over Newcastle in the final of the LV= Cup.
In five glorious seasons with Wasps, Voyce amassed six winners’ medals and became an integral part of a side that knew how to perform on the big stage.
And the ex-England wing settled any early nerves at Franklin’s Gardens with an eighth- minute try at the start of a game that Gloucester never looked in danger of losing.
In one of the best passages of play of the entire match, the Falcons were opened up by incisive passing from Gloucester, with Tim Molenaar offloading to Voyce who had a clear run to the corner after play switched from right to left.
Further tries followed from in-form Samoan centre Eliota Fuimaono- Sapolu, tournament top try scorer, Charlie Sharples, and replacement Darren Dawidiuk, while fly half Nicky Robinson supplied 14 points through the boot.
The 34-7 win made amends for defeats in the two previous Anglo- Welsh Cup finals against Cardiff Blues and Northampton Saints.
Newcastle rarely threatened a response and did not get on the scoreboard until deep into the contest when Luke Eves went over the Gloucester whitewash.
The Falcons are now left to concentrate on their fight for survival in the Aviva Premiership, while the victory secures automatic qualification for next year’s Heineken Cup for Gloucester regardless of where they finish in the league.
15 Olly Morgan 14 Charlie Sharples 13 Tim Molenaar 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu 11 Tom Voyce 10 Nicky Robinson 9 Jordi Pasqualin 1 Nick Wood 2 Olivier Azam 3 Rupert Harden 4 Jim Hamilton 5 Alex Brown 6 Akapusi Qera 7 Andy Hazell 8 Luke Narraway (C) BENCH: 16 Darren Dawidiuk 17 Yann Thomas 18 Shaun Knight 19 Will James 20 Matt Cox 21 Tim Taylor 22 Freddie Burns 23 Henry Trinder
SCORERS T: Voyce, Sapolu, Sharples, Dawidiuk C: Robinson (4) P: Robinson (2)
15 Alex Tait 14 Luke Fielden 13 Tane Tu’ipulotu 12 James Fitzpatrick 11 Luke Eves 10 Jimmy Gopperth 9 Micky Young 1 Jon Golding 2 Matt Thompson 3 Kieran Brookes 4 James Hudson (C) 5 Andrew Van der Heijden 6 Tim Swinson 7 Brent Wilson 8 Ally Hogg BENCH: 16 Rob Vickers 17 Grant Shiells 18 James Hall 19 Filipo Levi 20 Mark Wilson 21 Hall Charlton 22 Gcobani Bobo 23 Tom Catterick
SCORERS T: Eves C: Charlton
SEMI FINALS
HARLEQUINS 20 - 21 NEWCASTLE FALCONS
THE STOOP - Friday 11th March 2011
QUINS were left shaking their heads and rueing lost chances after a frenetic end to their LV=Cup semi final saw Newcastle run in a last gasp try in added time, to seal their place in next Sunday's final.
The crowd, that had been vociferously behind the home side all evening, were left in stunned silence as Quins saw their narrow four point lead going into the final five minutes dashed by Tane Tu'ipulotu's try. What had felt like a certain trip to Northampton turned into a Sunday by the fire.
Quins started in the strongest possible fashion, running onto the field clearly pumped to avenge last week's loss up at Kingston Park, and with the scent of silverware in the air. They smashed into Newcastle from kick-off, playing with a determination that would have been hard for any side to live with.
The first try came after just 2 minutes played when Karl Dickson found his way through for the perfect antidote to the shoulder injury he picked up against Exeter. Clegg converted, 7-0.
It looked like Quins could run away with the game as the London side continued to dominate play, almost camping in the Newcastle 22 with a series of barracking runs knocking into the Newcastle defence. But, for all that pressure, and with a Newcastle yellow card, Quins could only find their way to six more points in the first half through two Rory Clegg penalties.
Despite all of the Quins pressure, Newcastle's defence held firm and Gopperth punished Quins' mistakes with 6 penalty points. Half Time: 13-6.
Quins should have put the game to bed in the second half after a strong opening 40 minutes but too many unforced errors and mistakes cost them dearly. From one of these mistakes, the loose ball was picked up by Gopperth who was able to run the length of the pitch unchallenged, although Ugo was close on his heels. A simple conversion of his own try took the visitors level and a penalty soon after took them into the lead, 13-16.
A period of sustained pressure followed and with just 9 minutes left on the clock Quins looked to have won themselves a place in next week's final with a try from Mike Brown. Rory Clegg's touchline conversion looked to have sealed the match, but a penalty allowed Newcastle to camp on the Quins line and then score a winning try after 80 minutes. 20-21
15 Mike Brown 14 Tom Williams 13 George Lowe 12 Jordan Turner Hall 11 Ugo Monye 10 Rory Clegg 9 Karl Dickson 1 Joe Marler 2 Matt Cairns 3 John Andress 4 Ollie Kohn 5 Pete Browne 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu 7 Will Skinner 8 Chris Robshaw (C) 16 Joe Gray BENCH: 17 Ceri Jones 18 Mark Lambert 19 Tomas Vallejos 20 Chris York 21 Dave Moore 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta 23 Gonzalo Camacho
SCORERS T: Dickson, Brown C: Clegg (2) P: Clegg (2)
15 Alex Tait 14 Danny Williams 13 Luke Eves 12 James Fitzpatrick 11 Gcobani Bobo 10 Jimmy Gopperth 9 Micky Young 1 Jon Golding 2 Matt Thompson 3 Euan Murray 4 James Hudson 5 Andrew Van der Heijden 6 Tim Swinson 7 Brent Wilson 8 Ally Hogg BENCH: 16 Rob Vickers 17 Grant Shiells 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Filipo Levi 20 Mark Wilson 21 Hall Charlton 22 Tane Tu’ipulotu 23 Tom Catterick
SCORERS T: Gopperth, Tu'ipulotu C: Gopperth P: Gopperth (3)
Andrew van der Heijden
GLOUCESTER RUGBY 45 - 17 DRAGONS 
KINGSHOLM - Sunday 13th March 2011
GLOUCESTER Rugby winger Charlie Sharples ran in four tries as his side booked their place in the LV= Cup Final with a 45-17 victory over the Dragons at Kingsholm.
It was a dream start for Gloucester who opted for a catch and drive within five minutes and Andy Hazell crashed over from close range. Robinson was unlucky to hit the upright with a conversion attempt from the touchline.
The Cherry and Whites only mounted further pressure on the visitors and on 12 minutes an exquisite midfield scissor move between Robinson and Fuimaono-Sapolu put the Samoan in and Robinson converted to extend Gloucester's lead at 12-0.
Visibly shattered by this opening, the Dragons showed great fortitude to hit back. Indeed, Gloucester had a couple of nervy moments as the visitors were unlucky not to open their account.
Just as Newport looked to be getting back into the game, their ambition in attack was exploited and on 33 minutes Robinson intercepted a cut-out pass in midfield for a 60m dash to the line to extend the lead to 17-0; this core remained into the break.
The second period rapidly became the Sharples show.
On 44 minutes, the home side found themselves camped in the visitors' 22 and a delicate offload from Jim Hamilton put an advancing Yann Thomas into space. The substitute prop was brought down close to the Newport line and the ball was recycled for Robinson to deliver a delightful miss pass to Henry Trinder who put Sharples in for a simple finish in the corner. This time Robinson was successful from the conversion on the touchline.
On 51 mins, Newport finally registered their first contribution to the scoreboard after a strong drive from Toby Faletau towards the Gloucester line. The No. 8 was brought down just short and left it to Wayne Evans to put Adam Jones in for a try in the corner. The visitors could not add the extras to leave them trailing 24-5.
Nicky Robinson was in outstanding form by this point and on 54 minutes a simply sublime missed pass from the fly-half allowed Morgan to utilise the space in front of him and put Sharples in for another score in the corner. Robinson clearly found his kicking boots at half-time and slotted the conversion from the corner. 31-5
The visitors were now really on the ropes and a sloppy overthrow at a Newport lineout on the Gloucester 22 was picked up by substitute Akapusi Qera who broke away and fed Sharples for a scintillating surge to the line for his hat-trick. Robinson furthered his reinvigorated kicking form with another conversion, this time from the opposite touchline.
On 65 minutes, Gloucester rubbed salt into Newport wounds as replacement Tim Taylor received the ball blind from a scrum and shifted it on for substitute Jonny May to feed Sharples for his fourth score of the afternoon. Robinson's boot was on fire and his conversion from the corner gave Gloucester a 45-5 lead.
Gloucester had by now emptied their bench and had Taylor at scrum half and Dawidiuk at openside flanker as the physical nature of the encounter took its toll.
With ten minutes left on the clock, Newport had nothing to lose and a kick into the Gloucester corner from the Welshmen was collected by fly-half Jason Tovey who flicked inside to winger Aled Brew to score. Matthew Jones was unable to convert from the corner to leave the visitors trailing at 45-10.
There was nothing left in this semi-final now or Newport but pride and in the final minute they restored some of that with a try from replacement Jevon Groves.
Tovey drop goaled the conversion to conclude a fantastic 45-17 victory for Gloucester that sends them into a final against Newcastle Falcons at Franklin's Gardens next week.
15 Olly Morgan 14 Charlie Sharples 13 Henry Trinder 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu 11 Tom Voyce 10 Nicky Robinson 9 Jordi Pasqualin 1 Nick Wood 2 Olivier Azam 3 Rupert Harden 4 Jim Hamilton 5 Alex Brown 6 Peter Buxton 7 Andy Hazell 8 Luke Narraway (C) BENCH: 16 Darren Dawidiuk 17 Yann Thomas 18 Shaun Knight 19 Will James 20 Akapusi Qera 21 Tim Taylor 22 Freddie Burns 23 Jonny May
SCORERS T: Hazell, Fuimaono-Sapolu, Robinson, Sharples (4) C: Robinson (5)
15 Martyn Thomas 14 Will Harries 13 Tom Riley 12 Pat Leach 11 Aled Brew 10 Jason Tovey 9 Wayne Evans 1 Phil Price 2 Lloyd Burns 3 Dan Way 4 Luke Charteris (C) 5 Adam Jones 6 Andrew Coombs 7 Lewis Evans 8 Toby Faletau BENCH: 16 Steve Jones 17 Hugh Gustafson 18 Pat Palmer 19 Adam Brown 20 Jevon Groves 21 Adam Hughes 22 Jonathan Evans 23 Matthew Jones
SCORERS T: AM Jones, Brew, Groves C: Tovey
ROUND 4
BATH Rugby silenced Welford Road with a try bonus point victory over rivals Leicester Tigers. Final Score 12-26. Following on from last week's win over Newcastle Falcons, Bath Rugby travelled to Welford Road to face Leicester Tigers in their last pool game of the LV= Cup.
Ed Slater scored his first try for the Tigers, and Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino added another, but with the Tigers still licking their wounds from the previous week's loss to Exeter Chiefs, Bath’s Nick Scott, Tom Biggs, Simon Taylor and Davis Barnes rubbed salt into those wounds with a try piece for an all important away win.
Gloucester took on a very good London Irish side at Kingsholm on Saturday and simply ran riot in an opening 40 minutes which laid the platform for an impressive 41-8 victory.
The equation for Gloucester was simple as they came into the game. A win would equal a place in the LV= Cup semi final. And the win was effectively in the bag after half an hour with the try scoring bonus point secured and the win within reach. Along with a penalty try, the home side’s tries came from Molenaar, Sharples (2), Hamilton, Morgan and Qera, while the visitors mustered only one unconverted second have try from Chris Hala'ufia and a penalty from Ryan Lamb.
The Northampton Saints scored four second-half tries at Franklin's Gardens to overcome a stubborn Leeds Carnegie side in the LV= Cup. Six different try scorers (Geraghty, Sharman, Wilson, Powell, Commins, Tonks) provided the bonus-point and overturned a half-time deficit, though the Saints' LV= Cup defence came to an end as Gloucester thrashed London Irish at Kingsholm.
The Dragons booked their place in the semi-final of the LV=Cup and a date with west country rivals, Gloucester, thanks to a fine 26-9 victory over the Scarlets.
Heading into the game the Dragons knew a win would be enough to take them through and duly delivered thanks to a brace of tries from Martyn Thomas and one from Luke Charteris. However, they were made to work every step of the way against an inexperienced yet determined Scarlets’ side and only in the second half were they able to show their superiority.
Exeter's exploits in this season's LV= Cup have ended for another year after the Chiefs bowed out of the competition with a resounding 17-3 defeat to Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park.
Converted late tries from Alex Tait and Luke Eves sealed victory for the Falcons, who had trailed at the break after Gareth Steenson gave the Chiefs a 3-0 lead with the very last kick of the opening half.
Nick Macleod raised the hopes of the Sale Sharks when he scored under the posts with only ten minutes played. But Saracens ran in eight tries as they put a half century of points on Sale Sharks in a 50-7 victory at Vicarage Road on Sunday afternoon.
Man of the match Chris Wyles scored a hat-trick with Jamie George, Ernst Joubert, Justin Melck, Rodd Penney and Jackson Wray also crossing the line in the LV=Cup win.
But the bonus point win wasn’t enough to put Sarries into the semi-finals of the competition with the Dragons victory over the Scarlets earlier in the day seeing them through having won more games in the group.
Quins continued winning ways by defeating Cardiff Blues, in front of a Sunday night crowd at the Stoop. The win sees them unbeaten in their last 9 games and secures them a semi final place in the LV= Cup against Newcastle Falcons.
Cardiff started off the stronger of the two sides, pressuring the opposition defence with an early try from Andreis Pretorius converted by Ceri Sweeney, but that was the extent of points for the Blues. Quins’ tries came from Man of the Match, Nick Evans and Sam Smith, with Evans keeping the score ticking over kicking 13 points.
Wasps LV=Cup campaign ended in a narrow defeat at the Brewery Field. Despite scoring the only two tries of the game from Mark Van Gisbergen and Tom Varndell, they were unable to get the better of a determined Ospreys side, but the result was academic, as Newcastle’s victory over Exeter meant that they finished top of Pool 1.
Four penalties from Dai Flanagan, plus a penalty and drop goal from Dan Biggar was enough to overcome a strong challenge from an experienced London Wasps team, but it was a deserved win for a team who led from the fourth minute.
RESULTS
LEICESTER TIGERS 12 - 26 BATH RUGBY 
Friday 4th February 2011
GLOUCESTER RUGBY 41 - 8 LONDON IRISH
Saturday 5th February 2011
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 38 - 24 LEEDS CARNEGIE
Saturday 5th February 2011
DRAGONS 26 - 9 SCARLETS
Sunday 6th February 2011
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 17 - 3 EXETER CHIEFS 
Sunday 6th February 2011
SARACENS 50 - 7 SALE SHARKS 
Sunday 6th February 2011
HARLEQUINS 23 - 7 CARDIFF BLUES
Sunday 6th February 2011
OSPREYS 18 - 13 LONDON WASPS
Sunday 6th February 2011
ROUND 3
THE first match of round 3 of the LV= Cup did not bode well for the hosts, Sale Sharks who conceded three tries within a ten minute spell at the start of the second half of their match against the Newport Gwent Dragons. Turning round 6-3 ahead, Matthew Jones outscoring Rob Miller by two penalties to one, the Dragons ran in three tries within a ten-minute spell and were then bombarded for the final twenty. Sharks scored three tries in reply but were left eight points short.
Bath Rugby notched up a second win in the Anglo-Welsh tournament as an Aaron Jarvis try and two Olly Barkley penalties delivered an 11-6 LV= Cup victory over Newcastle Falcons. Bath needed to win to Welford Road to face Leicester Tigers - and they did just that after fighting back from 6-0 down.
A red-hot first half display from Rob Baxter's Exeter Chiefs side saw them not only see off visiting Leicester Tigers for the first time this season, but at the same time keep alive their hopes of progression in this season's LV= Cup.
Having tasted defeat twice to the reigning Aviva Premiership champions this season, the Chiefs gained a modicum of revenge in this latest encounter with a powerful display with a brace of tries from Slade, Ewers, Clark, Thomas and Moon and Gareth Steenson converting each one. Dan Hipkiss and Boris Stankovich, both making their first starts of 2011, grabbed the Tigers tries, but that was all the second-string visiting team could muster.
Saracens ran in five tries to maintain their chances of a place in the semi-finals of the LV=Cup with a 34-7 victory over Llanelli Scarlets. Tries from James Short, Hayden Smith, Ben Ransom, Jamie George and Noah Cato saw the visitors to an impressive bonus point victory against the Welsh region. It wasn’t until the last quarter of the match that Scarlets hooker Emyr Phillips, who was a stand-out player for the Scarlets crossed near the corner. Shingler converted the score to put the Scarlets points on the board but that was all that the home side could manage.
The Cardiff Blues started their LV=Cup match against the Ospreys with the youngest team ever to play for the Blues and wing Harry Robinson became the youngest player aged, 17 years and 9 months. The youngsters started strongly and Gavin Evans scored in the corner with Griffin adding the conversion. But that was the first and the last of the scoring from the homeside.
A penalty try and a Morgan Allan score put the Ospreys in pole position at the break, but they had to soak up extensive pressure in the third quarter after being reduced to 13 after yellow cards for Ian Evans and Cai Griffiths before a Hanno Dirksen touchdown rounded off the win.
Gloucester partly exorcised the demons of New Year's Day with a hard fought but deserved 30-16 win over Leeds Carnegie at Headingley to move into top spot of pool 3 of the LV= Cup. Tries from Vainikolo, Voyce, Wood and Molenaar secured a try scoring bonus point although Gloucester were only able to relax in the final few minutes as a tenacious Leeds side refused to throw in the towel. Ceiron Thomas provided all but 5 of Leeds’ points which came from a final quarter try from Scott Mathie.
London Irish outscored Northampton Saints by five tries to two to keep them in the running for an LV= Cup semi-final place. Once the Exiles found their rhythm they were far too hot for the Northampton Saints to handle. George Stowers, Steffon Armitage, Dan Bowden and two tries from Brian Blaney kept the Saints on their toes, and early penalties and three conversions from Ryan Lamb cemented the 37-20 win. Brett Sharman and Scott Armstrong both crossed for the visitors but it was not enough.
Harlequins are the only side in the competition to have a 100% record following their convincing 38-13 win over London Wasps in Abu Dhabi. In the grounds of the impressive Emirates Palace, which was a welcome change from the Wycombe Industrial Estate, Quins excelled in the balmy evening weather to run in 5 tries from, George Lowe, Ceri Jones, Sam Smith and two from Karl Dickson.
In what must be the quietest stadium in the history of premiership-level rugby where one could hear a pin drop, Wasps opened the scoring with a penalty; Tom Varndell scored the first of two tries from the homeside at the start of the second quarter, and Joe Launchbury went over for the other just a minute after being subbed on with less than 10 minutes to go, but all the pomp and circumstance of the occasion could not stem the Quins penchant for scoring under the Middle Eastern moonlight.
Qualification for the semi finals will be assured if Quins beat Cardiff Blues for the first time in five attempts.
RESULTS
SALE SHARKS 20 - 28 DRAGONS
Friday 28th January 2011
BATH RUGBY 11 - 6 NEWCASTLE FALCONS
Saturday 29th January 2011
EXETER CHIEFS 35 - 10 LEICESTER TIGERS
Saturday 29th January 2011
SCARLETS 7 - 34 SARACENS
Saturday 29th January 2011
CARDIFF BLUES 7 - 29 OSPREYS
Saturday 29th January 2011
LEEDS CARNEGIE 16 - 30 GLOUCESTER RUGBY
Sunday 30th January 2011
LONDON IRISH 37 - 20 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
Sunday 30th January 2011
LONDON WASPS 13 - 38 HARLEQUINS
Sunday 30th January 2011
ROUND 2
SCARLETS, Harlequins and Sale are the only sides to have won both their games in the first two rounds of LV= Cup action.
The Welsh region maintained their proud unbeaten record in all competitions against London Irish, with a 25-16 win at the Madejski Stadium, which sets them up nicely for the fixture against Saracens - another English side that has never beaten them - when the competition resumes in January.
Harlequins punished Newcastle for losing three men to the sin- bin, to run out 28-20 winners. Newcastle stay top of Pool One despite the setback, but only points difference puts them above Wasps who beat Bath 18-16 thanks to six penalties from Mark Van Gisbergen.
A 28-3 defeat at Northampton was not enough to dampen the Dragons’ fire in Pool Two. Paul Turner’s men still lead the way over three teams – Saracens, Leeds and London Irish – who have yet to muster a win between them.
The Dragons will hope to back up last season’s cup win over Sale when the two sides meet in the next round, although the Sharks are still very much in the swim themselves, lying level on points with the Scarlets in Pool Three after a 23-17 win at Leeds.
Bath, bottom of Pool Four, are still in with a shout of qualifying for the semi- final stages as the losing bonus point they picked up at Adams Park leaves them just three points behind leaders Harlequins.
RESULTS
CARDIFF BLUES 23 - 23 EXETER CHIEFS
Friday 12th November 2010
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 28 - 3 DRAGONS
Friday 12th November 2010
OSPREYS 46 - 13 LEICESTER TIGERS
Friday 12th November 2010
GLOUCESTER RUGBY 36 - 10 SARACENS
Saturday 13th November 2010
LONDON IRISH 16 - 25 SCARLETS
Sunday 14th November 2010
HARLEQUINS 28 - 20 NEWCASTLE FALCONS
Sunday 14th November 2010
LONDON WASPS 18 - 16 BATH RUGBY
Sunday 14th November 2010
LEEDS CARNEGIE 17 - 23 SALE SHARKS
Sunday 14th November 2010
ROUND 1
DRAGONS 18 - 12 GLOUCESTER RUGBY
RODNEY PARADE - Thursday 4th November 2010
HT: 13-7 Att: 5,500
TWO successive penalties from Mathew Jones opened the scoring for the Dragons, and though Gloucester had the upper hand on more than one occasion, they could not capitalise. A turnover deep in their own territory created the perfect opportunity for the home side to score the first try of the night from Adam Hughes. The Dragons then repeatedly disrupted Gloucester’s scrums on their own line resulting in a penalty try, converted by Freddie Burns taking the teams into half time 13-7.
Gloucester dominated much of the proceedings in the second half, and despite the torrential downpour disrupting play, Leslie Vainikolo narrowed the gap to just one point with an unconverted try early on Defence held up well up both sides, and with just ten minutes left on the clock, Gloucester conceded a penalty which the home side elected to kick to the corner and resulted in the final try of the game.
Dragons
T: Hughes, Sowden-Taylor
C: M Jones
P: M Jones 2
Gloucester
T: Penalty try, Vainikolo
C: Burns
Pat Leach Adam Hughes (G Williams 67) Rhodri Gomer-Davies Ashley Smith Aled Brew (S Jones 61) Matthew Jones (T Cooper 61) James Leadbeater; Hugh Gustafson (N Hall 66) Tom Willis (C) (L Burns 50) Pat Palmer (D Way 46) Adam Jones Scott Morgan (R Sidoli 66) Lewis Evans Robin Sowden-Taylor Hugo Ellis (J Groves 61)
Olly Morgan (C Sharples 64) Tom Voyce Henry Trinder Jonny May Lesley Vainikolo Freddie Burns Jordi Pasqualin (R Lawson 61) Alasdair Dickinson Olivier Azam (D Dawidiuk 61) Pierre Capdevielle (R Harden 64) Dan Williams Alex Brown (J Hamilton 70) Peter Buxton (C) (L Narraway 64) Akapusi Qera Matt Cox
LEICESTER TIGERS 25 - 34 HARLEQUINS
WELFORD ROAD - Friday 5th November 2010
HT: 12-22 Att: 16,197
IN wet conditions Quins put in a mighty performance to break down the walls of Welford Road and come away with their first win in 14 encounters against Leicester Tigers.
It took Nick Evans just two minutes to put points on the board for the visitors with a penalty from halfway, and it took just as long for Billy Twelvetrees to respond in a similar vain. Eight penalties later and half an hour into the game, Tomas Vallejos Cinalli found the try line. Nick Evans converted, knocked over yet another penalty and took the mighty Quins into the break with a 10 point lead.
For the homeside it was Twelvetrees that scored 18 of their 25 points banging home a raft of penalties until eventually a penalty try was awarded whilst Quins were down to 14 men 8 minutes from time. But in the meantime, Gonzalo Camacho collected Lucas Amorosino's high kick and spun out of a tackle before racing up to the 22, where he found Tom Guest on his shoulder to score. Evans' conversion gave Quins a 29-15 lead.
A Harlequins win never looked in doubt as they took the lead from the outset and did not let up until the final whistle left the Tigers in their wake.
Leicester Tigers
T: Penalty try
C: Ford
P: Twelvetrees 6
Harlequins
Tries Vallejos Cinalli, Guest, Camacho
Cons Evans 2
Pens Evans 5
15 Lucas Amorosino 14 Alesana Tuilagi 13 Dan Hipkiss 12 Billy Twelvetrees 11 Horacio Agulla 10 George Ford 9 Jason Spice 1 Marcos Ayerza 2 Rob Hawkins 3 Julian White 4 Calum Green 5 Ben Gulliver 6 Steve Mafi 7 Ben Pienaar 8 Jordan Crane (C) BENCH: 16 Joe Duffey 17 Martin Castrogiovanni 18 Peter Bucknall 19 Ed Slater 20 Thomas Waldrom 21 James Grindal 22 Geordan Murphy 23 Manu Tuilagi
15 Tom Williams 14 Ollie Lindsay-Hague 13 Ollie Smith 12 Jordan Turner-Hall 11 Gonzalo Camacho 10 Nick Evans 9 Karl Dickson 1 Ceri Jones 2 Joe Gray 3 John Andress 4 Tomas Vallejos 5 George Robson 6 Chris Robshaw (C) 7 Will Skinner 8 Tom Guest BENCH: 16 Chris Brooker 17 Joe Marler 18 Mark Lambert 19 Olly Kohn 20 Maurie Fa’asavalu 21 Dave Moore 22 Rory Clegg 23 Benjamin Urdapiletta
BATH RUGBY 29 - 19 CARDIFF BLUES
THE REC - Friday 5th November 2010
HT: 20-16 Att: 11,911
ON a rain-sodden Guy Fawkes Night at The Rec, England hopeful and captain Matt Banahan charged through the Blues’ defence to score five minutes from kick off. Olly Barkley’s conversion took the lead for the homeside which they refused give up for a full eighty minutes. Another fifteen minutes and this time Tom Biggs touched down in the corner thanks to Barkley’s cross-kick which he promptly converted. Another penalty and a drop goal took Bath into the break with a 20-16 lead.
Three more penalty kicks from Olly Barkley took Bath up to the final 29 points, but the Blues were determined not to let the homeside have it all their way. On his debut Thomas Young scrambled for the try line but the ball slipped out of his hands on the line to deny him. Gareth Davies provided all 19 of the visitors’ points with four penalties and a converted try.
Cardiff Blues
T: G Davies 1
P: G Davies 4
C: G Davies 1
Bath Rugby
T: Banahan 1 Biggs 1
P: Barkley 4
C: Barkley 2
D/G: Barkley 1
15 Dan Fish 14 Richard Mustoe 13 Gavin Evans 12 Dafydd Hewitt 11 James Loxton 10 Gareth Davies 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Tom Brown 7 Ben White 6 Andries Pretorius (C) 5 James Down 4 Bryn Griffiths 3 John Yapp 2 Gareth Williams 1 Tom Davies BENCH: 16 Rhys Williams 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Ian George 19 Corey Hill 20 Thomas Young 21 Tom Slater 22 Joe Griffin 23 Owen Williams
15 Jack Cuthbert 14 Jacques Boussuge 13 Matt Banahan (C) 12 Ben Williams 11 Tom Biggs 10 Olly Barkley 9 Mark McMillan 1 David Flatman 2 Ross Batty 3 Duncan Bell 4 John van der Giessen 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe 6 Josh Ovens 7 Guy Mercer 8 Ben Skirving BENCH: 16 Lee Mears 17 David Barnes 18 Aaron Jarvis 19 Peter Short 20 Will Skuse 21 Chris Cook 22 Paul Roberts 23 Nick Scott
SALE SHARKS 39 - 14 LONDON IRISH
EDGELEY PARK - Friday 5th November 2010
HT: 25-0 Att: 5,106
SALE had it all their way from the first minute with a penalty from Rob Miller throughout the first half scoring four tries from Tom Brady, Paul Williams and two from Fergus Mulchrone. With just one conversion, the homeside went into half time with a 25 point lead; London Irish did not get a look in.
The second half looked a little brighter for the visitors as they managed two converted tried from Marland Yarde and Chris Hala’Ufia, but the side were not a patch on the team that beat Sale convincingly the previous week. Sale, however, did not get complacent with their 25 point lead and both Rhys Crane and Chris Leck added two more tries to the scoreboard, Miller converting both.
Sale Sharks
T: Brady, Mulchrone 2, Thornley, Crane, Leck
C: Miller 3
P: Miller 2
London Irish
T: Yarde, Hala’Ufia
C: Malone 2
15 P Williams (C)(M James 56) 14 T Brady (I Thornley 11) 13 C Bell 12 F Mulchrone 11 R Crane 10 R Miller 9 D Peel (C Leck HT) 1 L Imiolek (K Wihongi 74) 2 M Jones (B Roberts HT) 3 H Thomas (A Croall 69) 4 C Jones (D Hall 62) 5 S Cox 6 C Brightwell (C Fearns 62) 7 N McMillan 8 A Boko
15 J Lennard 14 M Yarde 13 E Seveali’i (C) 12 G Armitage 11 M Watson 10 C Malone 9 D Allinson 1 D Murphy 2 D Paice 3 J Tideswell 4 G Johnson 5 M Garvey 6 K Roche 7 S Armitage 8 C Hala’Ufia BENCH: 16 B Blaney 17 A Corbisiero 18 P Ion 19 K Low 20 D Sisi 21 J Joseph 22 S Edgerley 23 A Lalanne
SCARLETS 52 - 13 LEEDS CARNEGIE
PARC Y SCARLETS - Saturday 6th November 2010
HT: 31-13 Att: 5.013
CHRIS Lewis-Pratt opened the scoring for Leeds with a penalty, but this was not a taste of things to come. The first half of the game was not too tragic for the visitors who managed a converted try from Warren Fury. The Scarlets were busy with tries from Lee Williams, Dan Newton and two from Jonny Fa'amatuainu all converted taking the homeside into the break 31-13.
The second half was far more devastating for Leeds who did not muster a single point. The first 20 minutes were entirely pointless but then the Scarlets rallied and continued their try tally beginning with a hat trick for Fa'amatuainu, and second try for Williams and first for Aaron Shingler; younger brother Steve Shingler converted all three tries and Leeds returned home downtrodden.
Scarlets
T: Fa'amatuainu 3, Williams 2, Newton 1, A Shingler 1
P: Newton 1
C: Newton 4, Shingler 3
Leeds Carnegie
T: Fury 1
P: Lewis-Pratt 2
C: Lewis-Pratt 1
15 Daniel Evans 14 George North 13 Nick Reynolds 12 Scott Williams 11 Lee Williams 10 Dan Newton 9 Gareth Davies 8 Ben Morgan 7 Richie Pugh 6 Jonny Fa'amatuainu 5 Aaron Shingler 4 Vernon Cooper 3 Peter Edwards 2 Ken Owens (C) 1 Phil John BENCH: 16 Rhys Lawrence 17 Rhodri Jones 18 Simon Gardiner 19 Dominic Day 20 Nic Cudd 21 Martin Robers 22 Steven Shingler 23 Lee Rees
15 Leigh Hinton 14 James Tincknell 13 Henry Fa'afilli 12 Luther Burrell 11 Semi Tadulala 10 Christian Lewis Pratt 9 Warren Fury 8 Alfie Tooala 7 Kearnan Myall (C) 6 Danny Paul 5 James Craig 4 Dominic Barrow 3 Phil Swainston 2 Phil Nilsen 1 Mike MacDonald BENCH: 16 Miguel Alonso 17 Gareth Denman 18 Jesus Moreno-Rodriquez 19 Oliver Stedman 20 Chris Walker 21 Craig Hampson 22 Peter Wackett 23 Oliver Denton
EXETER CHIEFS 29 - 6 LONDON WASPS
SANDY PARK - Saturday 6th November 2010
HT: 10-3 Att: 7,799
AN excellent entrance for the Premiership newbies into the LV= Cup saw them trounce London Wasps by a significant margin. Sireli Naqelevuki provided the first try, easily converted by Ignacio Mieres to add to his earlier penalty, whilst with the visitors only managed a single penalty from Elliot Daly.
Returning from the half time break, Matt Jess charged over the tryline for the hosts, and Mieres had no problem converting to take the lead to 17-3. Not helping the visitors was being reduced to 14 men in both halves thanks to yellow cards for Will Mathews and Marty Veale, though the final yellow handed to Andy Powell in the 78th minute had little impact. Wasps scored just one more penalty early in the second half, while Mieres tacked on another two for the Chiefs. It was a surprising and disappointing result for London Wasps since they did have a small host of senior and international players in the squad.
Exeter Chiefs
T: Naqelevuki Jess
C: Mieres 2
P: Mieres 5
Wasps
P: Daly 2
15 Josh Matavesi 14 Paul McKenzie 13 Nic Sestaret 12 Sireli Naqelevuki 11 Matt Jess 10 Ignacio Mieres 9 Garrick Cowley (C) 8 Dave Ewers 7 Andy Miller 6 Chad Slade 5 Peter Kimlin 4 Dave Gannon 3 Ignacio Elosu 2 Chris Whitehead 1 Ben Moon BENCH: 16 Jon Vickers 17 Ruaidhri Murphy 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Chris Bentley 20 Herbie Stupple 21 Junior Poluleuligaga 22 Jason Shoemark 23 Drew Locke
15 Jack Wallace 14 Tom Varndell 13 Elliot Daly 12 Steve Kefu 11 David Lemi 10 Mark Van Gisbergen 9 Nic Berry 8 Andy Powell 7 Serge Betsen 6 Will Matthews 5 James Cannon 4 Marty Veale 3 Ben Broster 2 Rob Webber (C) 1 Zak Taulafo BENCH: 16 Tom Lindsay 17 Tim Payne 18 Jason Hobson 19 Joe Burton 20 Tom Rees 21 Joe Simpson 22 Seb Jewell 23 Dominic Waldouck
Newcastle Falcons 18 - 17 Ospreys
KINSTON PARK - Saturday 6th November 2010
HT: 13-6 Att: 3,307
THE first half hour went entirely Newcastle’s way with an opening try from Luke Fielden, converted by Jimmy Gopperth who popped over two penalties of his own for a 13-0 lead. But then Matthew Morgan slotted over two consecutive penalties in four minutes and half time there was nothing more than a converted try in it.
The Falcons returned to the pitch with conviction, and Fielden struck again with an unconverted try in the corner, but that was the last of their scoring. Morgan almost equalised with two more penalties, and was inches from taking the lead from another Newcastle gifted penalty but the ball bounced off the crossbar and the Ospreys were denied.
Newcastle
T: Fielden 2
C: Gopperth
P: Gopperth 2
Ospreys
T: Jarvis
P: Morgan 4
15 Jeremy Manning 14 Luke Fielden 13 James Fitzpatrick 12 Luke Eves 11 Charlie Amesbury 10 Jimmy Gopperth (C) 9 Chris Pilgrim 8 Mark Wilson 7 Ed Williamson 6 Brent Wilson 5 Glen Townson 4 Filipo Levi 3 Kieran Brookes 2 Joe Graham 1 Grant Shiells BENCH: 16 Sean Crombie 17 Micky Ward 18 James Hall 19 Tim Swinson 20 Redford Pennycook 21 Will Welch 22 Micky Young 23 Andy Henderson
15 Barry Davies 14 Kristian Phillips 13 Ben John 12 Ashley Beck 11 Richard Fussell 10 Matthew Morgan 9 Rhys Webb 8 Tom Smith 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 Ian Evans 4 Conor McInerney 3 Craig Mitchell 2 Mefin Davies (C) 1 Duncan Jones BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Joe Rees 18 Cai Griffiths 19 James Goode 20 Andy Lloyd 21 Tom Isaacs 22 Matthew Jarvis 23 Gareth Owen
Saracens 22 - 22 Northampton Saints
VICARAGE ROAD - Sunday 7th November 2010
HT: 12-17 Att: 6,015
WITH both sides featuring debutantes, the Saints had the upper hand in the first half of this close fought match. Richard Wigglesworth kicked over four good penalties for the hosts, and both teams played an expansive style of rugby to entertain the crowd. Following Shane Geraghty’s first penalty, Regardt Dreyer and Paul Diggin both crossed the line for the Saints, and with the fly half finding the conversions no problem, the visitors had a 12-17 lead at the half time whistle.
Andy Saull and Brett Sharman ensured each side was down to 14 men with their yellow cards, and the second half continued with excitement. Wigglesworth missed a quick opportunity to catch up with his penalty kick falling wide, and Geraghty’s drop goal attempt flew way off target. Justin Melck found his try-scoring chance ten minutes in, and with Wigglesworth back on target, Sarries took the lead 19-17. Another penalty looked as if the hosts could have it in the bag since the Saints could not manage to convert any of their opportunities into points, but with one minute to go, Geraghty pulled away from the scrum and slid over the line to equalise the score. Saints could have walked away with the win but Geraghty’s went wide so both sides had to be content with a draw.
Saracens:
T: Melck
C: Wigglesworth
P: Wigglesworth 5
Northampton:
T: Dreyer, Diggin, Geraghty
C: Geraghty
P: Geraghty 2
15 Alex Goode 14 David Strettle 13 Kameli Ratuvou 12 Adam Powell 11 Michael Tagicakibau 10 Nils Mordt 9 Richard Wigglesworth 8 Jackson Wray 7 Andy Saull 6 Jacques Burger 5 Hayden Smith 4 Hugh Vyvyan (C) 3 Richard Skuse 2 Jamie George 1 Matt Parr BENCH: 16 Ethienne Reynecke 17 Deon Carstens 18 Carlos Nieto 19 George Kruis 20 Justin Melck 21 Kevin Barrett 22 Owen Farrell 23 James Short
15 Greig Tonks 14 Paul Diggin 13 Joe Ansbro 12 Matt Cornwell 11 Jamie Elliott 10 Shane Geraghty 9 Ryan Powell 8 Mark Easter 7 Ben Nutley 6 Calum Clark (C) 5 Dan Sanderson 4 Mark Sorenson 3 Tom Mercey 2 Brett Sharman 1 Regardt Dreyer BENCH: 16 Andy Long 17 Alex Waller 18 Adam Parkins 19 Tom Hicks 20 James Ingle 21 Stuart Commins 22 Joe Ford 23 Charlie Sadler
