Bath’s Ciaran Donoghue the round’s top scorer, Dewi Lake makes more carries than anyone else for Ospreys and Connacht’s Oisin Dowling and Sean Jansen make more tackles than any other player in Round of 16.
Edinburgh Rugby and Emirates Lions kicked off the weekend’s action at Hive Stadium, with Wes Goosen scoring a try for the Scots just one minute into the game. A dominant first-half performance saw Edinburgh lead 17-0 at the break.
Although the Emirates Lions fought back in the second half, including a try from Francke Horn just after the restart and another from Jaco Visagie in the closing minutes, Edinburgh held firm to win 24-12 and secure a home quarter-final against Vodacom Bulls next Saturday.
Also on Friday night, Section Paloise hosted Premiership leaders Bath Rugby in another thrilling encounter. Bath struck early with Will Muir’s try just one minute in. The visitors dominated the first half, scoring four tries to Section Paloise’s one. Despite Fabien Brau-Boirie’s two second half scores for the French side, Bath’s seven-try performance sealed a convincing 24-49 victory, securing their place in the quarter finals where they will face Premiership rivals Gloucester Rugby.
Saturday’s action began with the Vodacom Bulls travelling to Aviron Bayonnais with the hosts taking an early lead thanks to a penalty from Baptiste Germain. The teams exchanged tries throughout the match, but the Vodacom Bulls were ahead at halftime, 8-15. The South Africans came out strong in the second half with a try from David Kriel, and although Aviron Bayonnais quickly responded, this only served to fire up the visitors and it was the Vodacom Bulls who ultimately sealed their place in the quarter finals with a 22-32 victory.
Gloucester travelled to GGL Stadium for their clash with Montpellier Hérault Rugby. It was a less-than-ideal start for the visitors, who conceded two tries in the opening nine minutes. However, they responded by scoring two tries of their own, and by halftime, Montpellier held a narrow three-point lead. Despite being down a player, Gloucester took the lead for the first time in the 57th minute. Santiago Carreras made a crucial penalty in the final moments of the match, securing a 22-25 victory and sending Gloucester into the quarter finals to meet Bath next Sunday.
USAP welcomed former Investec Champions Cup side Racing 92 to Perpignan, with the visitors the first to flex their might as Owen Farrell slotted a penalty to open the scoring. Both teams exchanged tries, leading to a halftime score of 11-10. However, Racing 92 came out strong in the second half, with Jordan Joseph scoring a try just one minute after the restart, followed by a conversion from Farrell. Racing 92 held on to secure a hard-fought 18-24 victory, earning them a quarter final spot against Connacht Rugby.
Connacht played host to Cardiff Rugby in Galway on Saturday night, taking the initiative early with Matthew Devine scoring a try within the first three minutes. Cardiff responded briefly, claiming the lead after Rey Lee-Lo’s try in the 37th minute, but Connacht went into the break with a 14-8 advantage. At the 60-minute mark, Welsh fans were hopeful after Josh Adam’s try narrowed the gap to just one point, but Connacht held firm to see off the Welsh. Still undefeated in the EPCR Challenge Cup this season, Connacht Rugby will now enjoy home advantage in their upcoming quarter final clash with Racing 92 next weekend.
2022 Champions Lyon Olympique Universitaire (LOU) hosted last season’s winners Hollywoodbets Sharks, and it was an electric start for the South African club, who put the first points on the board after five minutes. It wasn’t long however before LOU found their way back into it through Alexandre Tchaptchet which, together with a Theo William cross just three minutes later, secured the hosts an eight-point lead which just kept on growing. Despite a late surge by the defending champions, nothing could be done to reduce the deficit, with a final score of 34-21 to the hosts, who march on to a quarter final clash with Ospreys.
The Ospreys welcomed Scarlets for a Welsh derby at Swansea.com Stadium, with the hosts taking an early lead thanks to Adam Beard’s try after one minute, followed by Captain Jac Morgan. The tries kept coming for Ospreys, with four in the first half to Scarlets’ one. The Ospreys continued their strong performance in the second half with Jack Walsh and Daniel Kasende adding tries. Scarlets’ Eddie James scored late, but it wasn’t enough, with the Ospreys winning 36-14. The victory secured them a home EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final against LOU next Saturday.
>>>Story courtesy of https://www.epcrugby.com/champions-cup/news<<<
