SARugbymag.co.za looks back at the English Premiership, French Top 14 and Celtic Pro12 matches played so far this weekend.
A dominant display in round 15 of the Premiership saw the Leicester Tigers crush Bristol 50-17 at Welford Road. Bristol, already chained to the foot of the standings, started brightly and led 3-0 early on, but the momentum swung in Leicester’s favour soon after the deadlock was broken.
The hosts scored five first-half tries, including one from prop Pat Cilliers (who incidentally opened the scoring) and a six minute double from JP Pietersen, to lead 31-10 at the interval. Leicester continued their stranglehold on proceedings in the second stanza, adding three further tries as they reached the 50-point mark to cap off a perfect performance.
In other Premiership results, hooker Schalk Brits’ try was in vain as Saracens slumped to a shock 31-23 defeat at the hands of Gloucester. Bath won a scrappy affair against Harlequins 22-12, and the Exeter Chiefs outlasted the Worcester Warriors 48-32 in an entertaining clash.
In the French Top 14, the competition’s surprise package – La Rochelle – hammered Stade Francais 37-18 to extend their lead at the top of the standings. Lock Gerbrandt Grobler scored a try in Racing's 33-25 win over Brive, Pau defeated Grenoble 39-22, Clermont lashed Bayonne 46-27 in a nine-try thriller, and Toulon returned to winning ways after beating Lyon 31-17 with both Juan Smith and Bryan Habana scoring for the winners.
In the Celtic Pro12, Ruan Pienaar inspired Ulster to a comprehensive 37-17 bonus-point win over the Glasgow Warriors. The former Bok scrumhalf contributed 17 of his team’s points via a try, three conversions and two penalties. Elsewhere, a rampaging Cardiff Blues side ran in eight tries to trounce Treviso 57-20, the Scarlets smashed Zebre 42-7, Leinster eased to a 39-10 victory over Edinburgh at RDS Arena, and Munster overcame an 11-point deficit to snatch a 25-23 victory over Ospreys in the dying minutes of the match.
WEEKEND RESULTS
English Premiership (Round 15):
Saracens 23 Gloucester 31
Leicester Tigers 50 Bristol 17
Bath 22 Harlequins 12
Exeter Chiefs 48 Worcester Warriors 32
Wasps vs Sale Sharks (Sunday)
Newcastle Falcons vs Northampton Saints (Sunday)
French Top 14 (Round 18):
La Rochelle 37 Stade Francais 18
Racing 33 Brive 25
Pau 39 Grenoble 22
Clermont 46 Bayonne 27
Toulon 31 Lyon 17
Bordeaux vs Castres (Sunday)
Montpellier vs Toulouse (Sunday)
Celtic Pro12 (Round 15):
Ulster 37 Glasgow Warriors 17
Cardiff Blues 57 Treviso 20
Scarlets 42 Zebre 7
Leinster 39 Edinburgh 10
Ospreys 23 Munster 25
Connacht vs Newport Gwent Dragons (Sunday)
Photo: English Premiership
