Treviso 15-38 Northampton
WITH EACH GAME in the tournament, Treviso are making a case for scrapping the automatic qualification spot for each country in the Pro12 and making it purely merit-based as they were once again bonus point fodder for their opponents.
The Saints started strongly and scored the first try after ten minutes, with Samu Manoa driving over from close range after some impressive pick-and-drive work from the pack.
Joe Carlisle kicked a penalty for Treviso before they had Francesco Minto sent to the bin. The numerical advantage told moments later as Northampton used their overlap to send Alex Waller over to give the visitors a 12-3 lead at half time.
Northampton increased their lead seven minutes into the second half after slick handling from the Saints backline released Ben Foden who touched down in the left corner.
And the visitors had the bonus point in the bag straight from the resulting kick-off, with Luther Burrell getting on the end of another sweeping backline move.
Ludovica Nitoglia scored a consolation try for the home side before Northampton were awarded a penalty try on the back of a dominant score.
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Carlisle then picked off an errant Tom Stephenson pass to score an intercept try before George Pisi had the final say for Northampton, exploiting a mismatch in the Treviso defence to score his team’s sixth and final try.
Northampton now lead pool five with ten points with Racing in second on eight and the Ospreys in third on five but the French side travel to Wales later this afternoon.
– Originally published at 15.31
Saracens pile pressure on Munster with crucial away win at SaleLike the postman, the provinces’ European Cup back-to-back games always deliver
THE ISSUE OF doping in rugby has been widely discussed in the last few weeks since Paul Kimmage’s interview with former French international Laurent Benezech touched on the subject.
Brian O’Driscoll was on Off The Ball tonight and was asked whether it was something he saw during his career and if it worried him that rival teams were doing it.
Like most of the other players who have been asked about the issue, O’Driscoll feels that the authorities have a handle on the problem.
“I just didn’t think it was happening,” O’Driscoll said.
Last week, Ronan O’Gara acknowledged that there were ‘whispers‘ throughout his career that certain players were taking banned substances but O’Driscoll didn’t put much credence into the heresy.
“You do hear rumours but they are just rumours,” O’Driscoll said.
“They aren’t really my concern.”
The increasing size of rugby players means each collision is causing a greater physical damage. O’Driscoll says that isn’t something players think about when they are putting their body on the line out on the pitch.
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“You don’t look on it like you are risking yourself,” O’Driscoll said.
“You live in the moment definitely. You aren’t thinking 15 years down the line.”
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ALL IN 2 May Coming Sooner Then Later
Jim Ross discussed rumors about Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks putting on a second “#ALLIN” event during the recent installment of The Ross Report. Ross mentioned that he heard through the grapevine that ALL IN 2 would happen and could happen as early as May 2019.
“I’ve heard through the grapevine that All In 2 will happen, perhaps as early as May 2019. All on the rumor mill. I can’t imagine, as successful as it seems that All In was there in Chicago, why wouldn’t you want to have another one?”
“I think that one a year is plenty. You don’t want to wear out the theme. The challenging part of this is for the booker types, like Cody and The Young Bucks, who like to be creative and like to book.”
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But what about [insert your county here]? Don’t worry, we’ll be producing a series of articles that will cover every county in Ireland – even yours – over the next few weeks. See the ones we’ve already covered here.
1. Benny Coulter’s GAA career was celebrated after he announced his retirement
Any excuse to watch this goal again really …
Source: AllSaintsGAA/YouTube
2. Ballynahinch survived a playoff to remain the only Ulster club in Division 1A of the AIL
David McIlwaine celebrates after scoring in the playoff against Buccaneers. Source: Presseye/Tony Hendron/INPHO
3. Gary Wilson was named Surrey captain, and went on to score an unbeaten 160 against Leicestershire at the Oval
Source: Nigel French
4. Kevin McKernan lined out for Ireland in the International Rules Test against Australia
Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO
5. September was a phenomenal month for the ladies who clinched the All-Ireland premier junior camogie title …
Niamh Mallon lifts the Kay Mills Cup. Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO
6. … and the All-Ireland intermediate football title with a 21-point demolition of Fermanagh
Source: Tommy Grealy/INPHO
7. There was no shortage of individual honours either: Camogie captain Niamh Mallon was one of seven players to win a Soaring Star
Karen Tinnelly, Ciara McGovern, Lisa McAliskey, Fionnuala Carr, Karen McMullan and Catherin McGourty were also recognised for their performances
Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO
8. Aileen Pyers won a football Allstar — her first and only the county’s second ever — and was also named Junior Players’ Player of the Year
Source: Brendan Moran/SPORTSFILE
9. Hollywood kid Rory McIlroy dominated the golf world, winning his third Major with a brilliant performance at the Open …
Source: Peter Morrison
10. … and then following it up a few weeks later with his fourth at the PGA Championship in Valhalla
Source: Jeff Roberson
11. The 25-year-old finished the year as world number one, dominated the end-of-season awards, topped the PGA Tour money list, won the Race to Dubai … oh, and he won another Ryder Cup with Europe at Gleneagles
Not bad, Rory, not bad at all.
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Source: PA Archive/Press Association Images
– First published 07.30
See more of our county-by-county highlights series here >
ENGLAND HOOKER DYLAN Hartley has been cleared to play in next year’s Six Nations after receiving just a three-week ban for elbowing Leicester’s Matt Smith at the weekend.
Hartley pleaded guilty to the charge of striking Smith while playing for Northampton in their Premiership win over Leicester on Saturday.
The Saints captain faced the prospect of being handed a long suspension given his poor disciplinary record, but a Rugby Football Union hearing, held via conference call on Tuesday, opted for a more lenient approach.
A ban of six weeks or more would have jeopardised Hartley’s chances of appearing in the Six Nations, which gets underway with England’s clash against Wales in early February.
Ireland welcome England to Dublin on 1 March 2015.
Regardless, his international future remains uncertain in light of a previous disciplinary rap sheet including eye-gouging, biting, punching and swearing.
Here’s his roll of shame:
April 2007: Banned for 26 weeks after gouging Wasps’ duo James Haskell and Jonny O’Connor.March 2012: Banned for eight weeks for biting Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris during Six Nations match.June 2012: Yellow-carded in first game as England captain against South Africa.December 2012: Given a two-week ban for striking Ulster’s Rory Best.May 2013: Eleven-week ban after being sent off for swearing at the referee, which cost him a place in the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia — his place went to Best.
– © AFP, 2014
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TOMÁS O’LEARY, UGO Monye and Ben Kay all appeared alongside Matt Dawson on last night’s edition of Rugby Tonight on BT Sport.
Irish scrum-half O’Leary, who has a background in hurling as he played for the Cork minors while his father Seanie won four All-Ireland senior titles with the Rebels, gave a masterclass in box-kicking before the other guests were invited to show off their small ball skills.
And ex-England and Leicester Tigers second row Kay shocked not just the audience but himself by pucking a tennis ball through a hanging tyre with tremendous accuracy.
Source: BT Sport Rugby
Leinster coaches put onus on players to start delivering the goodsHenshaw set for Connacht return in sold-out New Year’s Day Munster tie
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WASPS HAVE CONFIRMED the signing of Leinster out-half Jimmy Gopperth ahead of next season.
The New Zealand native joined the Irish province from Newcastle at the start of the 2013/14 season and helped Matt O’Connor’s side to a Pro12 title in that first campaign.
However, with Johnny Sexton set to return to Leinster next season from Racing Métro, it was likely that Gopperth’s opportunities in the 10 shirt would have been more limited, while the homegrown Ian Madigan would have continued to provide competition.
The once-capped Junior All Black will instead move back to England, where he won Premiership Golden Boot awards in 2010 and 2011.
“I have had a great time at Leinster and it has been a brilliant experience and I haven’t taken the decision lightly,” said Gopperth of his departure.
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“This season is very much still on the line and we are in contention for two trophies and I am looking forward to fighting on both fronts over the coming months.
Gopperth also spoke of his pride at representing Leinster’s supporters and admitted to having made “a very tough decision” in opting to join Dai Young’s Wasps set-up.
Meanwhile, Leinster head coach Matt O’Connor thanked Gopperth for his services to the province:
“Jimmy has been an integral part of this environment for the last 18 months or so and will be missed,” said the Australian, before underlining how much Madigan, Cathal Marsh, Steve Crosbie and Ross Byrne have learned from Gopperth.
Gopperth and Madigan are in competition for Leinster’s 10 shirt. Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO
“We are disappointed to lose a player of his calibre and experience but we understand his reasoning. At this stage in his career, he wants to be playing consistently and regularly and the opportunity to go to a club like Wasps was too good an opportunity for him to turn down.
“We wish him and [Sarah] and the kids the very best of luck with the move but would re-iterate that there is still plenty of rugby to play between now and then.”
Andy Good is the current incumbent in Wasps’ number 10 shirt, but his playing contract expires at the end of the season. Director of Rugby Young did, however, confirm that Goode has been offered a coaching role at the club.
21-year-old prospect Alex Lozowski will compete with Gopperth at out-half for Wasps next season.
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WHEN FORMER IRELAND flanker Neil Best explains how he selects his targets, he almost sounds like a military sniper. And back in the autumn of 2006 there was probably no harder hitter in world rugby than the bulldozer from Belfast.
The fiery flanker is famous for levelling opponents with either bone-liquefying hits or huge haymakers and when he shares his tackling technique, you quickly understand how he put a hurt on so many opponents.
‘Ideally you want the opposition to be coming off the touchline,” Best says.
Source: colzo666/YouTube
Never has a journey between process and result looked so seamless. His destructive peak may have been in the previous decade but at 35, Best still makes a living in the game playing for London Scottish in the English second-tier.
Now, his shuddering smashes are enjoyed in Youtube compilations rather than on the pitch.
“I don’t do much of that now,” Best says.
“I try to stay out of trouble. It’s not the same now that I have three kids. I don’t really have time to work on my physique so it is harder to make those big tackles.”
He might not crunch opponents as much as he used to but Best is enjoying life at the Championship club, who are currently in fourth place pushing for promotion to the Aviva Premiership.
He says their head coach, James Buckland, is the best he has ever played under and at 33, thinks he has a huge future in the game as he gains experience.
Tackling was one thing that Best never really needed to be coached and it was his calling card during his rise from Ulster novice to international flanker. He was so enthusiastic for physicality that he thought nothing of levelling a team-mate or two at Ulster training.
Best found it hard not to smash his own team-mates in training. Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO
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He even earned a unique nickname for how he conducted himself in the first six years of his career, which began with Ulster in 2002.
“They used to call me ‘friendly fire’ because I would be hitting one of our own players or accidentally stepping on them or purposefully doing something,” Best said.
By his own admission, Best was a wild player as a young man. After leaving Ulster, he picked up a lengthy ban for gouging at Northampton and he was also involved in a fair few punch-ups during his career.
By his estimation, he was involved in one incident at Ulster, two or three at Northampton, two or three at Worcester and none so far at London Scottish.
And that is just with his own team-mates, by the way.
He says witnessing Paul O’Connell ‘almost kill’ Ryan Caldwell with a punch in training before the ’07 World Cup – as well as having three sons – changed his outlook on violence in the game.
“I’ve mellowed a lot with age and also since the Paul O’Connell/ Ryan Caldwell incident,” he says.
“That was pretty terrifying. After that I said I would never punch someone in the face again – unless a red mist completely descends on me.”
Of course, as Best says above, exceptions have to be made in the throes of combat. Like this incident with Cobus Visagie from Ireland vs the Barbarians in 2008 (go to 55 seconds).
Source: OlsonMorris/YouTube
“I didn’t do anything there, Visagie hit me first,” Best says.
“It was a Barbarians game, I’m not going to go out to try and f**king punch people.”
One potentially mouth-watering training ground tussle would have been between Best in his prime and a young Stephen Ferris, but even someone as tough as Best knew that it would be hard to overpower that particular colleague.
“Stevie was just starting his career then but you knew early on how powerful he was,” Best says.
“I really liked him and we were usually on the same team in training. You have to pick your battles too though, he was about 18 stone and could run like the wind.”
Best’s 18-cap international career was brief but highly memorable. He was involved in Eddie O’Sullivan’s Ireland team when they were playing some of the best rugby in our nation’s history and most fans will remember his dominant all-round display against Australia in 2006.
Best put on a tackling clinic and also bulldozed some Wallabies in attack too, but he doesn’t remember the game as fondly as most fans.
Source: billybobjoli/YouTube
“I remember it was raining beforehand and I was just thinking, ‘I couldn’t be arsed for this’,” Best says.
One great perk about interviewing Neil Best is being able to pull out a question like, ‘Who is the most well-known rugby player that you have punched in the face?’
Andy Ward was one name discussed, but ultimately he settled on a two-time Scottish Lion.
“Back in 2007 we were playing Edinburgh and I punched Simon Taylor,” he says.
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