Leinster, Sarries roll on
Defending champions Leinster made it two from two with a victory over Scarlets in European Cup action on Saturday, as four-time title-winners Toulouse survived a scare at Italian outsiders Treviso.
Leinster, seeking an unprecedented third consecutive Cup triumph, backed up their narrow 9-6 victory over Exeter last week with a hard-fought 20-13 win over the Welsh region – who were 16-49 losers at Clermont in their opening match – to top Pool Five.
Saracens, who beat Edinburgh 45-0 last week, made it two wins out of two in Pool One with a 30-13 win over Racing Metro in a match played at Brussels' King Baudouin stadium.
Toulouse went into the break of their Pool Two match 9-18 down and then fell 12-21 behind, before a late three-converted try revival saw them emerge 33-21 winners over Treviso, with neither side claiming a bonus point.
"It's a shame because we didn't score enough tries," said Toulouse captain Thierry Dusautoir.
"That's because of our first half performance.
"It's tough to play Treviso, and we're not disappointed [not to take the bonus point]. The essential thing was to win. After the break, we were the better side in the basics."
In west Wales, Jonathan Sexton got Leinster off to a perfect start, nailing a penalty after a ruck infringement straight from the kick-off in their Pool Five tie.
The Irish province's sole try came from Fijian wing Isa Nacewa, who latched on to a precision-perfect kick from Sexton, riding George North's tackle to touch down.
Sexton pushed the conversion wide, as did Priestland with his first penalty attempt after 15 minutes.
But the Ireland flyhalf made no mistake with his second penalty to hand Leinster a 11-0 lead after the first 40 minutes.
Priestland fluffed another penalty effort early in the second half as Sexton bagged another three points with a monster drop-goal.
The Wales number 10 finally got the Llanelli-based team's first points on the board in the 48th minute with a penalty.
Centre Gareth Maule then dragged Scarlets back into the game, beating vaunted Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll with a step on the outside to cross in the corner, Priestland claiming the extras.
Sexton and Priestland each notched up a further penalty each, but the Irishmen held firm with a series of strength-sapping scrums that saw a flagging home side suffer.
In Italy, Australian-born Treviso flyhalf Kristopher Burton hit four penalties in the first quarter of an hour to build up a 12-3 lead over Toulouse, before trading penalties with opposite number Luke McAlister, the former All Black.
Toulouse's teenage hooker Christopher Tolofua was sin-binned and Treviso went into the break 18-9 up.
With more penalty trading early in the second half, Toulouse upped the ante and a penalty try and a five-pointer from marauding No 8 Louis Picamoles, both converted by McAlister, saw the French club suddenly move 26-21 ahead.
Veteran wing Vincent Clerc then claimed Toulouse's third try of the afternoon, which ended with Tolofua seeing red with five minutes to play after the referee adjudged him to have used a spear tackle in clearing out a ruck.
Saracens, who beat Edinburgh 45-0 last week, made it two wins out of two in Pool One with a 30-13 win over Racing Metro in a match played at Brussels' King Baudouin stadium.
The English side scored three tries through Chris Wyles, Steve Borthwick and Will Fraser with flyhalf Charlie Hodgson kicking 15 points.
All Saturday's scorers and scorers!
Scarlets 13-20 Leinster
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Try: Maule
Con: Priestland
Pens: Priestland 2
For Leinster:
Try: Nacewa
Pens: Sexton 4
DG: Sexton
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Andrew Fenby, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 George Earle, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Shaun Hopkins, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Jon Edwards, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Morgan Stoddart.
Leinster: 15 Ian Madigan, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Damian Browne, 4 Leo Cullen (captain), 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Andrew Conway, 23 Fionn Carr.
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees: Llyr Apgeraint-Roberts (England), Robin Goodliffe (England)
TMO: Trevor Fisher (England)
Treviso 21-33 Toulouse
The scorers:
For Treviso:
Pens: Burton 7
For Toulouse:
Tries: Penalty, Picamoles, Clerc
Cons: McAlister 3
Pens: McAlister 4
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Tobie Botes, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Manoa Vosawai, 5 Francesco Minto, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Enrico Ceccato, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Marco Filippucci, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.
Toulouse: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Timoci Matanavou, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Jean Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Romain Millo Chlusky, 3 Yohan Montès, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Jean Batiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 Gary Botha, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Gregory Lamboley, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Yannick Jauzion, 23 Clement Poitrenaud.
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
TMO: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Saracens 30-13 Racing Metro
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Borthwick, Fraser, Wyles
Cons: Hodgson 3
Pens: Hodgson 3
For Racing Metro:
Try: Imhoff
Con: Estebanez
Pens: Barkley, Germain
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Owen Farrell, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 Alistair Hargreaves, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Joel Tomkins, 23 David Strettle.
Racing Metro: 15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Benjamin Fall, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Bernard le Roux, 7 Jacques Cronje (captain), 6 Antoine Battut, 5 Francois Van Der Merwe, 4 Karim Ghezal, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements: 16 Benkjamin Noirot, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Fabrice Metz, 20 Julien Jané, 21 Masinivanua Matadigo, 22 Sebastien Descons, 23 Gaetan Germain.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Connacht 22-30 Harlequins
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Try: McSharry
Con: Parks
Pens: Parks 5
For Harlequins:
Tries: Care 2
Con: Botica
Pens: Botica 6
Teams:
Connacht: 15 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Tiernan O'Halloran, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Nathan White, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Dennis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris Wright, 17 Brett Wilkinson, 18 Ronan Loughney, 19 Dave Gannon, 20 Johnny O'Connor, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Miah Nikora, 23 Mata Fifita.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Seb Stegmann.
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)
Assistant referees: Sébastien Cloute (France), Salem Attalah (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Exeter Chiefs 12-46 Clermont Auvergne
The scorers:
For Exeter:
Pens: Steenson 4
For Clermont Auvergne:
Tries: Nalaga 2, Fofana 2, Bonnaire, Sivivatu
Con: Parra 3, Skrela 2
Pens: Parra 2
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Phil Dollman, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 Tom Hayes, 3 Carl Rimmer, 2 Simon Alcott, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Chris Budgen, 18 Ben Moon, 19 James Hanks, 20 Ally Muldowney, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Ignacio Mieres, 23 Sireli Naqelevuki.
Clermont Auvergne: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Brock James, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Loic Jacquet, 20 Elvis Vermeulen, 21 Ludovic Radoslavjevic , 22 David Skrela, 23 Benson Stanley.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Paul Haycock (Ireland), Brian Macneice (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Biarritz 38-17 Zebre
The scorers:
For Biarritz:
Tries: Barcella, Lesgourgues 2, Ngwenya, Taele, Heguy
Con: Barraque 3, Peyrelongue
For Zebre:
Try: Van Schalkwyk
Pens: Halangahu 3, Garcia
Teams:
Biarritz: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 13 Seremaïa Burotu, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Magnus Lund, 5 Pelu Taele, 4 Erik Lund, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Benoit August , 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements: 16 Arnaud Heguy, 17 Thomas Synaeghel, 18 Eugene van Staden, 19 Thibault Dubarry, 20 Benoit Guyot, 21 Julien Peyrelongue, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Benoît Baby.
Zebre: 15 Ruggero Trevisan, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Gonzalo Garcia, 12 Daniel Halangahu, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Luca Martinelli, 8 Dries van Schalkwyk, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Filippo Ferrarini, 5 Mike Van Vuren, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Luca Redolfini, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Andrea Manici, 17 David Ryan, 18 Carlo Fazzari, 19 Emiliano Caffini, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Alberto Benettin, 23 David Odiete.
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Peter Ferguson (Ireland)
