Challenge Cup: Van der Merwe saves Edinburgh's blushes
SATURDAY WRAP: Scotland star Duhan van der Merwe scored an all-important fourth try for Edinburgh’s bonus-point win over Vannes on Saturday.
The Challange Cup Round Three victory is only Sean Everitt’s team’s second away win in 11 months.
The result gives them a huge chance to qualify for the play-offs.
Edinburgh pilled on the first pressure and after some pick-and-go at RC Vannes five metres out, Ali Price whipped it wide for Wes Goosen to cross after just seven minutes.
Ten minutes later some fluid play from the visitors put Price away to extend their lead to 12-3 following a penalty for Vannes knocked over by Jules Lebail.
Joe Edwards got a try back for Vannes from close range before a coast-to-coast cracker was finished by Price again to put them 19-10 up.
However, Vannes hit back again through Robin Taccola to make it 17-19 at half time.
After Jules Lebail knocked over his second penalty of the day to put RC Vannes 20-19 ahead in the second half, Duhan van der Merwe raced to the line out wide.
Tani Vili responded for the French side again with a super solo score showing incredible power to break through from near the halfway line and reduce the gap to just a point with 15 minutes to play.
However, a Ross Thompson penalty sealed the win for Edinburgh.
*Cardiff salvaged a losing bonus point as Perpignan hung on for a hard-fought 23-20 victory in the other European Challenge Cup fixture.
The Blue & Blacks trailed 3-10 at half-time, following a powerful performance from the hosts, who scored all their points through Tomasso Allen.
A tight start in Perpignan meant just three points separated the two after 20 minutes, thanks to the boot of Tommaso Allan from the tee.
Tinus de Beer hit back with a penalty for Cardiff, but USAP scored the first try of the match through Allan on the stroke of halftime, which he converted for the hosts to head into the sheds 10-3 up.
On the end of a cracking crash ball, Rey Lee-Lo powered over a few minutes into the second 40.
De Beer added the extras to draw Cardiff level at 10-10, before another penalty from Tommaso Allan nudged USAP ahead once more.
Minutes later, Tavite Veredamu was on the end of a fast break for Perpignan as they extended their lead to 18-10.
Lucas Velarte added another for the French side, before Johan Mulder hit back for Cardiff to make it 23-20 with 10 minutes to play.
*In the other match, Aviron Bayonnais sealed a bonus-point win over Black Lion in Georgia.
Flyhalf Luka Matkava knocked two penalties over early on to put Black Lion ahead, before tries from Baptiste Heguy and Cheikh Tiberghien put Aviron Bayonnais in a strong position.
Black Lion hit back though with a try from Luka Ivanishvili to make it 16-17 at the break.
Victor Hannoun capitalised on a loose ball for Aviron Bayonnais to score early in the second half, before touching down a kick chase minutes later to put them 29-16 up.
Lucas Martin and Guillaume Martocq then added two more for the French side as they cemented a 41-16 win in Georgia.
*Jack Walsh bags a brace for Ospreys as they take down Falcons.
Ospreys started strong against Newcastle Falcons with Louis Brown opened the scoring for Newcastle Falcons, before Jack Walsh hit back for Ospreys.
The hosts extended their lead through Daniel Kasende to go into the break 21-10 up.
In the second stanza, Walsh finished a flowing move for the hosts, before Kieran Hardy added another.
Max Pepper hit back for Newcastle Falcons but it wasn’t enough to stage a comeback as Ospreys ran out 35-15 winners.
*Connacht beat Lyon Olympique Universitaire with a bonus point to qualify for the knockouts
Racing through the middle after 90 seconds, Ben Murphy scored Connacht’s opening try.
Sean Jansen broke away from a driving-maul line-out to burst over for their second, before Finlay Bealham barrelled over for a third.
Sam Matavesi muscled over to get Lyon on the board, but Murphy bagged a brace to put Connacht 27-10 up at the break and secure their bonus point.
They continued the momentum in the second 40, with Josh Murphy muscling over from close range, before Ben Murphy completed his trio of tries a few minutes later.
Jack Aungier added another, with Thibaut Regard and Guillaume Marchand crossing in response for Lyon.
Dylan Tierney-Martin and Shamus Hurley-Langton added two final flourishes as Connacht qualified for the Round of 16.
Saturday’s scores and scorers:
Perpignan 23-20 Cardiff
The scorers:
For Perpignan:
Tries: Allan, Veredamu, Velarte
Con: Allan
Pens: Allan 2
For Cardiff:
Tries: Lee-Lo, Mulder
Cons: De Beer 2
Pens: De Beer 2
Yellow card: Jake McIntyre (Perpignan, 64)
Teams
Perpignan: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Tavite Veredamu, 13 Job Poulet, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (captain), 11 Seta Toganiyadrava, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Lucas Velarte, 7 Alessandro Ortombina, 6 Noe Della Schiava, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Victor Montgaillard,1 Giorgi Beria
Replacements: 16 Seilala Lam, 17 Bruce Devaux, 18 Akato Fakatika, 19 Tristan Labouteley, 20 Patrick Sobela, 21 Tom Ecochard, 22 Antoine Aucagne, 23 Apisai Naqalevu
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Regan Grace, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams (captain), 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Rhys Barratt
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Johan Mulder, 22 Ben Thomas, 23 Jacob Beetham
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Italy), Lorenzo Pedezzi (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Vannes 25-29 Edinburgh
The scorers:
For Vannes:
Tries: Edwards, Taccola, Vili
Cons: Lebail 2
Pens: Labail 2
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Goosen, Price 2, Van der Merwe
Cons: Healy 3
Pen: Thompson
Teams
Vannes: 15 Gwenael Duplenne, 14 Salesi Rayasi, 13 Robin Taccola, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Filipo Nakosi, 10 Jean Cotarmanac’h, 9 Jules Lebail, 8 Joe Edwards (captain), 7 Matthieu Uhila, 6 Leon Boulier, 5 Timothe Mezou, 4 Christie van der Merwe, 3 Paga Tafili, 2 Theo Beziat, 1 Thomas Moukoro
Replacements: 16 Pat Leafa, 17 Hugo Djehi, 18 Simon Bourgeois, 19 Matteo Desjeux, 20 Jesse Parete, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Tani Vili, 23 Inaki Ayarza
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Boan Venter, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Glen Young, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22.l Ross Thompson, 23 Mosese Tuipulotu
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant referees: Manuel Botto (Italy), Alberto Favaro (Italy)
TMO: Guiseppe Vivarini (Italy)
Black Lion 16-41 Aviron Bayonnais
The scorers:
For Black Lions:
Try: Ivanishvili
Con: Matkava
Pens: Matkava 3
For Aviron Bayonnais:
Tries: Heguy, Tiberghien, Hannoun 2, Martin, Martocq
Cons: Germain 4
Pen: Germain
Yellow card: Giorgi Sinauridze (Black Lion, 59)
Teams
Black Lion: 15 Luka Tsirekidze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Demi Tapladze, 12 Tornike Kakhoidze, 11 Amiran Shvangiradze, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Tengiz Peranidze, 8 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 6 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 5 Guram Ganiashvili, 4 Mikheil Babunashvili, 3 Giorgi Chkhartishvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1. Dato Abdushelishvili
Replacements:16 Irakli Kvatadze, 17 Nika Khatiashvili, 18 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 19 Lado Chachanidze, 20 Giorgi Sinauridze, 21 Davit Khuroshvili, 22 Ioane Metreveli, 23 Sandro Todua
Bayonne: 15 Xan Mousques, 14 Victor Hannoun, 13 Arnaud Erbinartegaray, 12 Guillaume Martocq, 11 Nadir Megdoud, 10 Tom Spring, 9 Baptiste Germain, 8 Manex Ariceta, 7 Baptiste Heguy (captain), 6 Rodrigo Bruni, 5 Veikoso Poloniati, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Martin Villar
Replacements: 16 Lucas Martin, 17 Swan Cormenier, 18 Pascal Cotet, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Noa Traversier, 21 Baptiste Tilloles, 22. Gabriel Lapegue-lafaye, 23 Cheikh Tiberghien
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistant referees: Sara Cox (England), James Clarke (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)
Ospreys 35-15 Newcastle Falcons
The scorers:
For Ospreys:
Tries: Walsh 2, Parry, Kasende, Hardy
Cons: Edwards 5
For Newcastle Falcons:
Tries: Brown, Pepper
Con: Wilkinson
Pen: Wilkinson
Yellow card: Will Spencer (Ospreys, 37)
Teams
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Jac Morgan (captain), 5 Will Griffiths, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Rhys Henry, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Tom Botha, 19 James Ratti, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Evardi Boshoff, 23 Harri Houston
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Louis Brown, 14 Max Pepper, 13 Oli Spencer, 12 Connor Doherty, 11 Nathan Greenwood, 10 Kieran Wilkinson, 9 James Elliott, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow, 7 Josh Bainbridge, 6 Philip van der Walt (captain), 5 Adam Scott, 4 John Hawkins, 3 Callum Hancock, 2 Ollie Fletcher, 1 Mike Rewcastle
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Reuben Parsons, 21 Hugh O’Sullivan, 22 Jack Metcalf, 23 Rhys Beeckmans
Referee: Kevin Bralley (France)
Assistant referees: Flavien Hourquet (France), Benoit Albert (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Connacht 52-24 Lyon
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Tries: B. Murphy 3, Jansen, Bealham, J. Murphy, Aungier, Tierney-Martin, Hurley-Langton
Cons: Ioane 2
Pen: Ioane
For Lyon:
Tries: Matavesi, Regard, Marchand
Cons: Page-Relo 3
Pen: Page-Relo
Yellow cards: Oisin Dowling (Connacht, 22), Semi Radradra (Lyon, 39), Lyan Pakihivatau (Lyon, 79)
Teams
Connacht: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Chay Mullins, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (captain), 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Oisin Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Peter Dooley,
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Josh Murphy, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Cathal Forde, 23 David Hawkshaw
Lyon: 15 Alexandre Tchaptchet, 14 Semi Radradra, 13 Josiah Maraku, 12 Thibaut Regard, 11 Vincent Rattez, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9.l Martin Page-Relo, 8 Maxime Gouzou, 7 Marvin Okuya, 6 Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Félix Lambey (captain), 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Hamza Kaabeche
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Marchand, 17 Lyan Pakihivatau, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Killian Geraci, 20 Pierre-Samuel Pacheco, 21 Charlie Cassang, 22 Alfred Parisien, 23 Martin Meliande
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Scotland), Jonny Perriam (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Source: Challenge Cup
