Hibbard stars in Gloucester win
Gloucester will host Bayonne in Round Six with a place in the last eight in their own hands as they top the group a point ahead of La Rochelle after running in six tries in a fine 41-0 victory.
Hibbard went over for a try in each half of a contest played on the 4 G surface at the Ghirada Sports Centre after it was called into emergency use when French referee Thomas Charabas deemed parts of Stadio Comunale de Monigo unplayable.
The two-hour delay in kick-off meant things finished in arctic conditions but Gloucester fans were able to warm their hands with half a dozen tries to savour and a defensive display that denied the home side any reward on the board despite a spell early in the second half when they had Gloucester under the hammer.
The first of the 41 points came when Treviso were caught offside and Greig Laidlaw made no mistake with his kick directly in front of the posts for an eighth minute advantage and thensome strong running from Jonny May had the Treviso alarm bells ringing.
A line-out steal by flank Ross Moriarty initiated a storming break by No.8 Ben Morgan that stretched the home defence and May and Charlie Sharples made sure the pressure stayed fully on.
Wales star James Hook went over for the first try, superbly converted by Laidlaw, as the fog began descending and then flank Jacob Rowan went close with a barnstorming break.
Treviso reminded Gloucester that they had an attacking threat of their own and they were indebted to Hook for a magnificent clearance as Treviso came again.
But Gloucester forwards Hibbard and Tom Savage carried strongly and Gloucester twice opted for line-outs from kickable penalties.
And it was second time lucky as the forwards drove determinedly and Wales hooker Hibbard was credited with a score that Laidlaw converted for a 17-points advantage with half-time looming, Andrea Buondonno short with a long range penalty chance.
Referee Charabas lectured both teams after a flare-up and then John Afoa needed lengthy treatment as the temperature plummeted, Treviso enjoying far more possession than they achieved in the opening 40 minutes and putting genuine pressure on the visitors.
A powerful Gloucester scrum enabled Morgan and the Savage to test the home defence and Matt Scott powered over for their third try, replacement Billy Burns adding the extra points.
And within minutes the bonus point was in the bank when Hibbard was driven over from a line-out for his second and Gloucester's fourth that effectively said match done.
But there was still time for wing David Halaifonua first to provide the icing on the cake with their fifth try following a delightful cross field kick from Burns and then Billy Twelvetrees sealing it at the death with try No.6.
Challenge Cup Round Five Saturday scorers and scorers!
Treviso 0-41 Gloucester
The scorers:
For Treviso: None
For Gloucester:
Tries: Hook, Hibbard 2, Scott, Halaifonua, Twelvetrees
Cons: Laidlaw 2, Burns 2
Pen: Laidlaw
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Buondonno, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luca Sperandio, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Giorgio Bronzini, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Marco Lazzaroni, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Federico Zani.
Replacements: 16 Roberto Santamaria, 17 Alberto de Marchi, 18 Matteo Zanusso, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Braam Steyn, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Tommaso Iannone.
Gloucester: 15 James Hook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jacob Rowan, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Josh Hohneck.
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawiduik, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Joe Latta, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Andy Symons, 23 David Halaifonua.
Referee: Thomas Charabas (France)
Harlequins 18-23 Edinburgh
The scorers:
For Harlequins:
Tries: Luamanu, Gray
Con: Jackson
Pens: Swiel 2
For Edinburgh:
Tries: McKenzie, Dell
Cons: Weir 2
Pens: Weir 3
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Alofa Alofa, 12 Joe Marchant, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Danny Care, 8 Jack Clifford, 7 Dave Ward, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Adam Jones, 18 Matt Shields, 19 Mat Luamanu, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Matt Hopper.
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Dell.
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Jack Cosgrove, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Michael Allen.
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Pau 21-22 Cardiff Blues
The scorers:
For Pau:
Tries: Dupichot, Tomas, Dupouy
Cons: Fajardo 3
For Cardiff Blues:
Try: Halaholo
Con: Shingler
Pens: Shingler 5
Teams:
Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Louis Dupichot, 13 Pierre Dupouy, 12 Watisoni Votu, 11 Mosese Ratuvou, 10 Brandon Fajardo, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Paddy Butler, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Masalosalo Tutaia, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, 1 Julien Jacquot.
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Jérémy Hurou, 18 Sylvain Charlet, 19 Baptiste Pesenti, 20 Giovanni Habel Kuffner, 21 Taniela Moa Teutau, 22 Marvin Lestremeau, 23 Romain Buros.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Cory Allen, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Steven Shingler, 11 Rhun Williams, 10 Nicky Robinson, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Macauley Cook, 5 James Down, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Tau Filise, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Corey Domachowski.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Anton Peikrishvili, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Cam Dolan, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Garyn Smith, 23 Alex Cuthbert.
Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)
Brive 17-14 Worcester Warriors
The scorers:
For Brive:
Tries: Luafatu, Ribes
Cons: Lapeyre, Germain
Pen: Germain
For Worcester:
Tries: Mama, Ruskin
Cons: Braid, Mills
Teams:
Brive: 15 Benjamin Lapeyre, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 13 Romain Cabannes, 12 Sevanaia Galala, 11 Benito Masilevu, 10 Matthieu Ugalde, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Fabien Sanconnie 7 Dominiko Waqaniborutu, 6 Poutasi Luafutu, 5 Arnaud Mela, 4 Johan Snyman, 3 Soso Bekoshvili, 2 Thomas Acquier, 1 Damien Lavergne.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Ribes, 17 Kevin Buys, 18 Damien Jourdain, 19 Jan Uys, 20 Said Hireche, 21 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 22 Christopher Tuatara, 23 Gaetan Germain.
Worcester Warriors: 15 Ben Howard, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Max Stelling, 12 Connor Braid, 11 Dean Hammond, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Luke Baldwin, 8 Matt Cox, 7 Marco Mama, 6 Huw Taylor, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Andrew Kitchener, 3 Bi Alo, 2 Joe Taufete'e, 1 Ryan Bower.
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Mike Daniels, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Sam Betty, 21 George DeCothi, 22 Jonny Arr, 23 Ryan Mills.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Source: @ERChallengeCup
