Harry Potter steers Leicester into semis
CHALLENGE CUP WRAP: Harry Potter scored two tries as Leicester reached the European Challenge Cup semi-finals for a second successive season with a 39-15 win over Newcastle.
Wing Potter’s brace was boosted by a score also for Argentine centre Matias Moroni while Newcastle’s indiscipline cost them two penalty tries.
Newcastle’s tries came from fullback George Wacokecoke and wing Tom Penny.
Northampton’s bid to reach their first European semi-final since 2014 ended in a 27-35 defeat by Ulster.
Saints overcame the loss of three forwards to yellow cards in the first half to lead by eight points at half-time but Ulster’s dominance of territory and possession eventually told.
Tommy Freeman scored two tries for Northampton. Alex Mitchell and Ollie Sleightholme scored the others, with Piers Francis kicking a penalty and two conversions.
Rob Herring, Jacob Stockdale, John Cooney and Marty Moore scored tries for Ulster.
There was also a penalty try award, with Cooney adding four conversions.
Montpellier, the champions in 2016, made the last-four with a 31-25 win over Treviso.
Scrum-half Benoit Paillaugue claimed 22 of Montpellier’s points, a haul that included two tries.
On Friday, Bath reached the semi-finals for the seventh time with a four-try 26-13 win over London Irish.
Leicester Tigers 39 Newcastle Falcons 15
The scorers:
For Leicester
Tries: Potter 2, Moroni, 2 penalty tries
Cons: McPhillips, Ford
Pens: McPhillips, Ford
For Newcastle:
Tries: Wacokecoke, Penny
Con: Connon
Pen: Connon
Teams
Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Kini Murimurivalu, 10 Johnny McPhillips, 9 Richard Wigglesworth (captain), 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 George Martin, 5 Cameron Henderson, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 Luan de Bruin.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tomas Lavanini, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 George Ford, 23 Dan Kelly.
Newcastle: 15 Tom Penny, 14 George Wacokecoke, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Peter Lucock, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Micky Young, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Mark Wilson (captain), 6 Will Welch, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Trevor Davison.
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Kyle Cooper, 18 Mark Tampin, 19 Rob Farrar, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Joel Matavesi, 23 Cooper Vuna.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Craig Maxwell-Keys (England)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Northampton Saints 27 Ulster 35
The scorers:
For Northampton
Tries: Mitchell, Freeman 2, Sleightholme
Cons: Francis 2
Pen: Francis
For Ulster
Tries: Penalty, Herring, Moore, Cooney, Stockdale
Cons: Cooney 4
Teams
Northampton: 15 Tommy Freeman, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Alex Coles, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Alex Waller (captain).
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Tom James, 22 Ahsee Tuala, 23 Fraser Dingwall.
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Jordi Murphy (captain), 6 Sean Reidy, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Matt Rea, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Ethan McIlroy.
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace (England), Jonathan Healy (England)
TMO: Patrick Dellac (France)
Montpellier 31 Benetton 25
The scorers:
For Montpellier:
Tries: Paillaugue, Willemse
Cons: Paillaugue
Pens: Paillaugue 3
Drop Goal: Bouthier
For Benetton
Try: Garbisi
Con: Garbisi
Pens: Garbisi 5, Allan
Teams
Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Julien Tisseron, 13 Paul Vallée, 12 Yvan Reilhac, 11 Gabriel N’gandebe, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Caleb Timu, 7 Samuel Maximin, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo (captain), 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Bastien Chalureau, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Youri Delhommel, 1 Enzo Forletta.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Robert Rodgers, 18 Antoine Guillamon, 19 Tyler Duguid, 20 Yacouba Camara, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Vincent Martin, 23 Martin Devergie.
Benetton: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (captain), 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Ira Herbst, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Corniel Els, 1 Nicola Quaglio.
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Ivan Nemer, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Luca Petrozzi, 23 Tommaso Allan.
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon (France), Laurent Cardona (France)
TMO: Trevor Fisher (England)
