The News Review:
- Connacht bid to keep Heineken Cup hopes alive
- Dragons 32-18 Glasgow
- GP: Bristol vs Northampton Saints Match Preview
- Blues bank on Millennium magic
- Preview: Sale v Bath
Connacht bid to keep Heineken Cup hopes alive
Ireland nline – Apr 28, 2006
substring (2 11); document. Connacht will be looking for their third consecutive win in their bid to overtake The Borders and The Warriors and qualify for a Heineken Cup play-off against the third strongest Italian club. CNNACHT (v Cardiff): Paul Warwick; Matt Mostyn John Hearty Gavin Williams Conor McPhillips; Mark McHugh Chris Keane; Dan McFarland John Fogarty Stephen Knoop Christian Short Andrew Farley Michael Swift John Muldoon Colm Rigney. Replacement: Joe Merrigan Adrian Clarke David Gannon Matt Lacey Tom Tierney David Slemen Ted Robinson.
Dragons 32-18 Glasgow
BBC News – Apr 28, 2006
Dragons coach Paul Turner:”It was a five-point win for us with the bonus point and that’s what we set out to do. “But there’s a sense of disappointment as we nearly let them off the hook – after half-time we went brain-dead as Glasgow were just on the ropes and we lacked the killer punch. “But it brings us nearer to European (Heineken Cup) rugby next season and I’m quite happy with that end result. Dragons: Gareth Wyatt; Gareth Chapman Hal Luscombe Ceri Sweeney Nathan Brew; Craig Warlow Gareth Baber; Adam Black Steve Jones Rhys Thomas Ian Gough Luke Charteris Jamie Ringer Jason Forster (capt) Michael wen. Replacements: Andrew Hall (for Ringer 72) Rhys akley (for wen 60) Jon Bryant (for Sweeney 80). Not used: Andrew Brown David Maddocks Gethin Robinson Aled Thomas James Ireland. Glasgow: Graydon Staniforth; Colin Shaw Hefin ‘Hare Andrew Henderson Rory Lamont; Dan Parks Sam Pinder; Kevin Tkachuk Scott Lawson Euan Murray Tim Barker Dan Turner John Beattie John Barclay Jon Petrie (capt).
GP: Bristol vs Northampton Saints Match Preview
sportnetwork.net – Apr 28, 2006
Bristol will be looking to consolidate and progress towards Heineken Cup qualification while the Saints probably have slightly loftier ambitions. Jason Strange has done the job for them this season but he has his limitations (an inability to kick drop goals amongst them) and I don’t know whether he has the ability to take them that much further.
Blues bank on Millennium magic
Walesnline – Apr 28, 2006
This could well see the game attracting a new record crowd for a Celtic League match surpassing the 15183 fans who watched the spreys beat the Scarlets at the Liberty Stadium earlier this month. It also means league leaders Leinster will be running out at the Millennium after all having missed out on a Heineken Cup final appearance at the ground the following week. And it means stadium bosses will need to perform a quick turnaround from soccer to rugby with the FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham being staged on May 13. Blues chief executive Bob Norster said “We are temporarily to move from our Arms Park home for the Leinster fixture because due to a long-standing agreement our pitch will be covered with a marquee that will host corporate guests for the FA Cup final. “Despite the many logistical challenges we gave Pontypridd RFC first option on hosting the fixture at Sardis Road. “But they wrote back to us to explain they were already committed to staging the Silver Ball final and sadly were not able to accommodate us on this occasion.
Preview: Sale v Bath
Manchester nline – Apr 28, 2006
England wing Mark Cueto who returns to the starting line-up along with Charlie Hodgson and Chris Jones admitted: “We are still hurting from defeat at Newcastle and intend to put things right tonight. “We have done really well to be top of the pile at this point in the season and we can’t afford to let things slip now. “Bath will be disappointed to have lost out in the Heineken Cup in San Sebastian last week but they can still qualify for next season’s competition if they win their two remaining games” he said. Head coach Kingsley Jones knows this will be a massive game. “Victory will help in our efforts to finish top of the table in the regular season and to secure that important home semi-final” he said. “Bath are however a very good team and have been playing some great rugby since Brian Ashton returned to the club. You don’t reach the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup unless you are a good side… “Victory will help in our efforts to finish top of the table in the regular season and to secure that important home semi-final” he said. “Bath are however a very good team and have been playing some great rugby since Brian Ashton returned to the club. You don’t reach the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup unless you are a good side. Their league position doesn’t reflect the ability of the team. “And the return of lly Barkley has given them a big boost. He is a fantastic player and takes the pressure off Chris Malone in midfield. “Fortunately we will have a full house at Edgeley Park cheering us on and all the players are ready for the challenge.