Exiles cruise to the top

Ian Humphreys helped to cement London Irish's position at the top of the Europe Challenge Cup Pool One with a bonus-point victory over French side Mont de Marsan at the Madejski Stadium in Reading.

The flyhalf, who signed from Ulster in the off-season, grabbed a personal tally of 13 points, including a try, as the Exiles built on their bonus point win at Bordeaux Begles last weekend.

Irish crossed for 11 tries and jumped ahead of Gloucester in Pool One by a point as the two English Premiership sides continue to fight it out for a place in the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup.

Irish quickly took a 12-0 lead with tries by backrower Jamie Gibson and lock Bryn Evans before the visitors replied with two penalties from Thibault Duvallet.

Humphreys grabbed a try of his own to extend the home side's lead and then prop Halani Aulika crossed for the bonus-point try to make it 24-12 at half time.

Wing Topsy Ojo and full back Anthony Watson both claimed a brace of tries after the break, with centre Jonathan Joseph, wing Sailosi Tagicakibau and replacement Jack Winter-Moates also crossing for tries in a convincing display.

*  Cavalieri Prato came within four minutes of notching only their second European win after hitting back from a 12 point deficit in the final quarter.

Two tries in the space of six minutes from Nicolo Tempestini and lock Giacomo Bemini, both converted by Marco Frati, threatened to end their run of 12 straight defeats in the Amlin Challenge Cup, but it was not to be their day in the end.

Having led from the 11th to the 75th minute, London Welsh managed to work their way downfield and earn a long-range penalty with two minutes left on the clock.

Up stepped full back Alex Davies and over went his second penalty from 45 metres to regain the lead. That made it 32-31 and the Exiles hung on from there.

But the Italians at least ended with two points from the game having outscored their Pool 5 rivals by four tries to three, but they couldn't quite manage to emulate their famous 23-21 home win over Connacht two years ago on their first European outing.

Having been thumped 68-19 by Stade Francais Paris on their first foray into the Amlin Challenge cup last weekend, London Welsh were delighted to have picked up their first win in the tournament.

Hooker Dan George starter the scoring with a try after 11 minutes and wing Joe Ajuwa grabbed a try in each half for the visitors. There were five penalties split between Gordon Ross and Davies and Ross also converted one try.

 * David Lemi was the four-try star turn as Worcester Warriors enjoyed another try fest in romping to a 90-3 Amlin Challenge Cup Pool 2 victory against an outgunned Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo team.

A week after running in a then club tournament record 13 tries against Spanish champions Bizkaia Gernika they went one better this time and banked the try bonus point after just 25 minutes.

Samoan international wing Lemi has now scored 21 tries in 25 European matches for three clubs – Bristol, Wasps and now Warriors – and fellow wing Andy Short also collected a hat-trick for the wide pair to share half the record tries.

Short had the honour of securing the maximum points with Lemi completing his hat-trick soon after the break and getting his fourth before being replaced after an hour – although that did little to save the Italians further punishment.

Flanker Sam Betty had started the try avalanche after just five minutes, full back Errie Claassens got the next two minutes later and it was strictly one-way traffic from there on in with outside-half Joe Carlisle finishing with 30 points from a brace of tries and 10 conversions.

* Wing Adrian Plante gave a five-star display as he scored a handful of tries in front of the Stade Aime Giral faithful to help Perpignan to a 90-12 victory over Bizkaia Gernika.

The comprehensive win sends the Catalan giants soaring clear at the top of Pool 2 with their second maximum points haul following a similar rout on the road against Rovigo.

Perpignan, who finished with 14 tries, had the try bonus point safely banked after just 18 whirlwind minutes, Plante getting a brace and centre Gavin Hume and flanker Bertrand Guiry the others as the Spaniards were sent spinning.

But they restricted the former Heineken Cup finalists to one more first-half try, wing Farid Sid crossing, with outside-half Declan Cusack on target with four penalty goals to punish Perpignan indiscipline.

But two tries from full back Joffrey Michel in just four minutes saw Perpignan racing away and they comfortably sailed past the half century of points with further tries from Maxime Delonca, Hume, Guillaume Vilaceca and Plante as they rattled up 57 second-half points without reply.

* Felipe Contepomi kicked Stade Francais Paris to a last-gasp win over Grenoble in a thrilling encounter on Saturday night.

The Argentine centre struck with less than three minutes remaining to ensure Stade triumphed 28-25 in the all-French affair in the nation's capital.

Saturday's scorers and scorers!

Cavalieri Prato 31-32 London Welsh

Scorers:

Cavalieri Prato:

Tries: Majstorovic, Bernini, Ngwaini, Tempestini

Cons: Della Rossa, Patelli, Frati 2

Pen: Della Rossa

London Welsh:

Tries: Ajuwa 2, George

Con: Ross

Pens: Ross 3, Davies 2

Teams:

I Cavalieri Prato: 15 Dion Berryman, 14 Filippo Vezzosi, 13 Denis Majstorovic, 12 Ross Mccann, 11 Michele Sepe, 10 Riccardo Della Rossa, 9 Pino Patelli, 8 Marco Pelizzari, 7 Luca Petillo, 6 Alberto Saccardo, 5 Giacomo Bernini, 4 Agustin Cavalieri, 3 Guillermo Roan, 2 Lorenzo Giovanchelli, 1 Alessandro Borsi.

Replacements: 16 Niccolò Cannone, 17 Renzo Balboni, 18 Alessandro Boscolo, 19 Edoardo Ruffolo, 20 Marco Frati, 21 Billy Ngwaini, 22 Niccolò Tempestini, 23 Cosma Garfagnoli.

London Welsh: 15 Alex Davies, 14 Joe Ajuwa, 13 Seb Jewell, 12 Simon Whatling, 11 Ashley Smith, 10 Gordon Ross, 9 Nick Runciman, 8 Alfie Vaeluaga Toala, 7 Mike Hills, 6 Ed Williamson, 5 Martin Purdy, 4 Kirill Kulemin, 3 Greg Bateman, 2 Daniel George, 1 Tom Bristow.

Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Billy Moss, 18 Paulica Ion, 19 Adam Brown, 20 Mike Denbee, 21 Matt Keyte, 22 Nick Scott, 23 Lee Beach.

London Irish 69-26 Mont de Marsan

Scorers:

London Irish:

TrIes: Gibson, Evans, Humphreys, Aulika, Joseph, Tagicakibau, Watson 2, Ojo 2, Winter-Moates

Cons: Humphreys 4, Shingler 3

Mont de Marsan:

Tries: Giudicelli, Liebenberg

Cons: Duvallet 2

Pens: Duvallet  4

Teams:

London Irish: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Guy Armitage, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Chris Hala'ufia, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Declan Danaher, 5 Matthew Garvey, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 David Paice, 1 Max Lahiff.

Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Leo Halavatau, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Conor Gaston, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Jack Winter-Moates.

Mont de Marsan:  15 Jean Baptiste Claverie, 14 Jordan Beaulavon, 13 Yohann Durquet, 12 Christofer Baegert, 11 William Ryder, 10 Thibault Duvallet, 9 Arnaud Pic, 8 Aldric Lescure, 7 Vincent Farre, 6 Yann Brethous, 5 Wame Lewaravu, , 4 Sebastian De Chaves, 3 Mathieu Giudicelli, 2 Thomas Bordes, 1 Julian Fiorini.

Replacements: 16 Victor Paquet, 17 Morgan Phelipponneau, 18 Eric Dos Santos, 19 Wickus Liebenberg, 20 Laurent Magnaval, 21 Alexandre Douvesy, 22 Jean Baptiste Dubié, 23 Pierre Correia.

Worcester Warriors 90-3 Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo

Scorers:

Worcester Warriors:

Tries: Claassens, Short 3, Lemi 4, Carlisle 2, Gillies, Betty, Kvesic 2

Cons: Carlisle 10

Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo:

Pen: Basson

Teams:

Worcester Warriors: 15 Errie Claassens, 14 Andy Short, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 Ravai Fatiaki, 11 David Lemi, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Semisi Taulava, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sam Betty, 5 Craig Gillies, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 James Currie, 2 Edward Shervington, 1 Ceri Jones.

Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 John Andress, 19 James Percival, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Andy Goode, 23 Josh Matavesi.

Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo: 15 Stefan Basson, 14 Lorenzo Lubian, 13 Roberto Pedrazzi, 12 Rhys Lenarduzzi, 11 Andrea Bacchetti, 10 Mickey Wilson, 9 Guido Calabrese, 8 Matteo Ferro, 7 Jack Jones, 6 Aaron Persico, 5 Jean-François Montauriol, 4 Daniele Tumiati, 3 Alessio Ceglie, 2 Nicola Gatto, 1 Otis Lombardi.

Replacements: 16 Younes Anouer, 17 Corrado Gaeta, 18 Nicola Quaglio, 19 Gabriele Pierini, 20 Alberto Zorzi, 21 Davide Duca, 22 Francesco Menon, 23 Matteo Maran.

Bucharest Wolves 42-27 Cammi

The scorers:

Bucharest Wolves:

Tries: Lemnaru, Botezatu, Filip, Turashvili, Rus, Wiringi

Cons: Filip, Wiringi 2

Pens: Filip 2

Cammi:

Tries: Vilk, Griffen, Lovotti

Cons: Griffen 3

Pens: Griffen 2

Perpignan 90-12 Bizkaia Gernika

The scorers:

Perpignan:

Tries: Michel 2, Sid, Hume 2, Plante 5, Delonca, Vilaceca, Guiry, Piukala

Cons: Bosch 10

Bizkaia Gernika:

Pens: Cusack

Teams:

Perpignan: 15 Joffrey Michel, 14 Farid Sid, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Gavin Hume, 11 Adrien Plante, 10 Gilles Bosch, 9 David Mele, 8 Henry Tuilagi, 7 Bertrand Guiry, 6 Yoann Vivalda, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Guillaume Vilaceca, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Maxime Delonca, 1 Jérôme Schuster.

Replacements: 16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Pascal Cotet, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Luke Narraway, 21 Florian Cazenave, 22 Armand Batlle, 23 Sione Piukala.

Bizkaia Gernika: 15 Santi Salas, 14 Kapu Olaeta, 13 Ale Torres Suar, 12 Wins Wilson, 11 Toto Mazzochi, 10 Deccie Cusack, 9 Igor Mirones, 8 Afa Amosa, 7 David Hernandez, 6 Jon Magunazelaia, 5 Goyo Zabaloy, 4 Oscar Astarloa, 3 Fer Iraizoz, 2 Unai Lasa, 1 Mike Dias.

Replacements: 16 Pingui Monje, 17 Urru Urrutia, 18 Borja Mandaluniz, 19 Tato Duran, 20 Lopa Lopategi, 21 Patricio Long, 22 Parrish Garcia Parrado, 23 Aitor Etxebarria.

Newport Gwent Dragons 19-22 Bayonne

The scorers:

Newport Gwent Dragons:

Try: Brown

Con: Prydie

Pens: Prydie 5

Bayonne:

Try: Chisholm

Con: Boyet

Pens: Boyet 5

Teams:

Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Tom Prydie, 14 Will Harries, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Andy Tuilagi, 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Lewis Robling, 9 Jonathan Evans, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Lewis Evans (captain), 6 Tom Brown, 5 Robert Sidoli, 4 Ian Nimmo, 3 Nathan Buck, 2 Steve Jones, 1 Owen Evans.

Replacements: 16 Hugh Gustafson, 17 Nathan Williams, 18 Dan Way, 19 Adam Jones, 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Liam Davies, 22 Steffan Jones, 23 Patrick Leach.

Bayonne: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Sam Gerber, 13 Thibault Lacroix, 12 Gabi Lovobalavu, 11 Marvin O'Connor, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Julien Puricelli, 7 Dwayne Haare, 6 Jean-Jo Marmouyet, 5 Mark Chisholm (captain), 4 Abdellatif Boutaty, 3 Nemiah Tialata, 2 David Roumieu, 1 Aretz Iguiniz.

Replacements: 16 Francois Da Ros, 17 Pierre Philippe Lafond, 18 Vitolio Manukula, 19 Robin Linde, 20 Cedric Garcia, 21 Marc Baget, 22 Matthieu Ugalde, 23 Cedric Heymans.

Stade Francais Paris 28-25 Grenoble

The scorers:

Stade Francais:

Try: Bonfils

Con: Dupuy

Pens: Dupuy 3, Contepomi 2

DGs: Bezy, Plisson

Grenoble:

Try: Nicolas

Con: Darbo

Pens: Darbo, Laharrague 5

Teams:

Stade Francais Paris: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Jonathan Danty, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Nicolas Bezy, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Pierre Rabadan (captain), 7 Scott Lavalla, 6 Lei Tomiki, 5 Nicolas Garrault, 4 Juan Cruz Guillemain, , 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Remi Bonfils, , 1 Zurabi Zhvania.

Replacements: 16 Laurent Sempere, 17 Jérémy Becasseau, 18 David Attoub, 19 Sergio Parisse, 20 Arthur Chollon, 21 Lucas Rubio, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Waisea Vuidarvuwalu.

Grenoble: 15 Joaquim Tuculet, 14 Matthieu Nicolas, 13 Ronald Cooke, 12 Aloisio Butonidualevu, 11 Florian Ninard, 10 Nicolas Laharrague, 9 Jonathan Pelissie, 8 Flavein Nouhaillaguet, 7 Fabien Alexandre, 6 Florent Fourcade, 5 Andrew Farley (captain), 4 Thibault Rey, 3 Karim Kouider, 2 Anthony Hegarty, 1 Albertus Buckle.

Replacements:  16 Laurent Bouchet, 17 Romain David, 18 Gregory Fabro, 19 Jonathan Best, 20 Rida Jaouher, 21 Viliame Waqaseduadua, 22 Clement Darbo, 23 Florian Faure.