Wasps thumped Leinster 51-10 in their European Champions Cup match at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday, while there were also wins for Toulon, Ulster, Saracens, Northampton and Glasgow.
The bonus-point victory, coupled with Toulon’s failure to secure maximum log points against Bath, meant Wasps finish as the top-ranked side in the Pool of Death, granting them a home quarter-final.
Flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth played an instrumental role in the result, scoring a try, four conversions and a penalty. Elliot Daly, Joe Launchbury, Frank Halai, Charles Piutau and Ashley Johnson all crossed for five-pointers, while the referee awarded a penalty try to rub salt in the wounds of Leinster.
Toulon beat Bath 19-14 to keep alive their hopes of clinching a fourth successive European Cup title. The result saw Toulon advance to the quarter-finals as runners-up of Pool 5, meaning the reigning champions will have to play the knockout match on the road.
Leading 11-6 at the halfway mark, an unconverted intercept try by Bryan Habana and a penalty by fullback James O’Connor secured a hard-fought win for the visitors.
Meanwhile, Ulster racked up eight tries to demolish Oyonnax 56-3 at the Kingspan Stadium. Hooker and stand-in captain Rob Herring opened the scoring in the first minute of the match with a converted try. Oyonnax reduced the deficit with a ninth-minute penalty, but that would prove their only effort of the day.
Three further tries by Darren Cave, Rory Scholes and Sean Reidy, all converted by flyhalf Paddy Jackson, secured the bonus point for Ulster before the players trudged off for half-time.
Ulster tightened the screws in the second period with another four scores to complete Oyonnax’s humiliation.
Having already secured a home quarter-final, Saracens would have been excused had they fielded a second-string match 23 against Toulouse. But the English champions put out a strong team and beat Toulouse 28-17 to complete the group stage with a 100% winning record.
After leading 9-7 at the break, Saracens added a quick-fire 10 points via an Owen Farrell penalty and a converted try by Ben Spencer with a move that started in their own half. That advantage would have increased had Farrell dotted down moments later, but the England flyhalf spilled the ball forward in the in-goal area.
Toulouse scored two tries in the final quarter to narrow the gap, but three penalties from Farrell got Sarries over the line.
Elsewhere, the Northampton Saints inflicted a 22-10 defeat on hosts the Scarlets. The Saints ran in four tries, including one from former Scarlets man George North, to register a sought after bonus-point triumph that took them into the quarters as pool runners-up behind Racing.
At Rugby Park, the Glasgow Warriors stunned favourites Racing 19-5, but the result wasn't enough to allow them passage through to the knockout stage. Flyhalf Finn Russell's penalty put the hosts 3-0 up at the break, before adding two more penalties either side of Stuart Hogg's converted try.
Racing bounced back with a well-worked try, but Glasgow's replacement kicker, Duncan Weir, popped over two more penalties to wrap up the win.
Round 5 results:
Wasps 51 Leinster 10
Bath 14 Toulon 19
Ulster 56 Oyonnax 3
Toulouse 17 Saracens 28
Scarlets 10 Northampton Saints 22
Glasgow Warriors 22 Racing 5
Photo: Tony Marshall/Getty Images
