The News Review:
- Guniness Premiership Reviews
- Leinster bounce back with convincing win
- Andy Robinson: Hung out to dry?
- Cardiff Blues 30-12 Connacht
- Worcester 35-27 Newcastle
- Unerring Hodgson ensures home advantage for Sale
Guniness Premiership Reviews
Times nline – Apr 29, 2006
Leeds have an all-Scottish half-back pairing with Mark McMillan and Gordon Ross starting. Gloucester make several changes in the pack with Luke Narraway the flanker making his second Premiership start of the season. A win for Gloucester would ensure them of Heineken Cup rugby next season and would give them a chance of a top-four play-off place. Bristol v Northampton Memorial Stadium 3pmBristol’s survival has been built on a horny-handed pack. The second rows are rested this weekend but David Hilton Mark Regan and Darren Crompton form the front row for the eighteenth time in 21 Premiership games. Northampton always expect a tough time up front and if Dan Richmond comes through it will be to his credit. As at the beginning of the season Richmond is selected ahead of Steve Thompson the club captain and England hooker… Leeds have an all-Scottish half-back pairing with Mark McMillan and Gordon Ross starting. Gloucester make several changes in the pack with Luke Narraway the flanker making his second Premiership start of the season. A win for Gloucester would ensure them of Heineken Cup rugby next season and would give them a chance of a top-four play-off place. Bristol v Northampton Memorial Stadium 3pmBristol’s survival has been built on a horny-handed pack. The second rows are rested this weekend but David Hilton Mark Regan and Darren Crompton form the front row for the eighteenth time in 21 Premiership games. Northampton always expect a tough time up front and if Dan Richmond comes through it will be to his credit. As at the beginning of the season Richmond is selected ahead of Steve Thompson the club captain and England hooker.
Leinster bounce back with convincing win
Ireland nline – Apr 29, 2006
substring (2 11); document. The Argentinian outside-half returned to Lansdowne Road the scene of last Sunday?s Heineken Cup semi-final defeat by Munster to score 18 points and help Leinster back to the top of the table. Contepomi and half-back partner Guy Easterby (2) crossed while back rows Jamie Heaslip and Niall Ronan also got off the mark in Leinster?s final home game of the season. The spreys who lived off scraps bagged two late consolation tries through replacement winger Jonny Vaughton and centre Gavin Henson who also kicked three penalties and a conversion. It took a while for Leinster to settle as Henson kicked the visitors into an early 6-3 lead. The 2005 Lion who came in for some notable treatment from the home crowd missed his opening kick at goal but landed efforts in the 11th and 13th minutes in reply to Contepomi?s initial success.
Andy Robinson: Hung out to dry?
Independent – Apr 29, 2006
The runes do not make pleasant reading. Even if the union negotiators pull together their optimum coaching team – Brian Ashton of Bath Mike Ford of Saracens andWells – before the end of next week the remodelled panel will have precious little time to prepare a side capable of beating Australia on their own track. “I will be fun to see those games unfold” said Eddie Jones sacked as Wallaby coach last winter after a calamitous run of results but still good enough to reinvent Saracens – relegation certainties one minute Heineken Cup candidates the next – in the space of six weeks. “These June and November games are never particularly good guides as to where teams are heading because one side is always playing at the end of a season with tired people everywhere. But I’ll be very interested to see where England go with their selection because some crucial decisions have to be made. “Back home we have a history of picking young players for the Test side even though they’re far from the finished product. Matt Giteau first played for the Wallabies when he was nowhere near the player he is now.
Cardiff Blues 30-12 Connacht
BBC News – Apr 29, 2006
But the lacklustre handling that had already marred this game denied the Blues the fourth try that would have earned a bonus point. Whether that lost point will come back to haunt the Cardiff side in the final standings remains to be seen. But one consolation is that the Blues have now secured a spot in the Heineken Cup for next season. Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young:”We’ve got to be pleased with the win but I suppose it’s a measure of how far we’ve come that we’re disappointed we didn’t get a bonus point. “We were messy on occasions we weren’t as accurate as we’ve been in the past but we’ve got the win and we’re still in with a shout of the title. “We’ve got a huge game next week and we’ll have to pick our performance up quite a bit to go to Ulster and win. Blues: Rhys Williams (capt); Chris Czekaj Marc Stcherbina Tristan Davies Craig Morgan; Nick Macleod Mike Phillips; John Yapp Rhys Thomas Gethin Jenkins Deiniol Jones Rob Sidoli Kort Schubert Robin Sowden-Taylor Xavier Rush.
Worcester 35-27 Newcastle
BBC News – Apr 29, 2006
Tries from Kai Horstmann and Gary Trueman put the Warriors 15-0 up and Pat Sanderson’s score after a Toby Flood try for Newcastle made it 25-7. The Falcons rallied in the second half with Matt Burke (two) Mike McCarthy and Tom May all scoring tries. But Nick Runciman’s try for Worcester saw both sides earn a bonus point. Newcastle might have grabbed a second for finishing within seven points of their hosts but could not convert any of their final four tries.
Unerring Hodgson ensures home advantage for Sale
Times nline – Apr 29, 2006
Three tries in the last five minutes after surviving a 20-minute siege by the visitors carried Sale home and they are now certain to finish the regular season on top of the pile. Whereas Sale were near to full strength Bath included only six of the side beaten by Biarritz in the Heineken Cup semi-final last weekend. Not that any handicap was immediately evident. Bath’s ambitions fuelled by their coach Brian Ashton was reflected in a period of intense pressure and the home side scarcely deserved their thirteenth-minute lead when after a rare attack Charlie Hodgson kicked a penalty. Hodgson was on target again from an identical position soon afterwards but Bath continued to play with uninhibited zeal — though not always with sufficient caution. Self-imposed pressure duly led to Hodgson adding a third goal on the half-hour.