We take a look back at all of the talking points from this past weekend’s European Rugby action.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports.
Covid continues to wreak havoc in European leagues
The Covid pandemic continues to upset sports fixtures up north, with the Top 14’s La Rochelle/ Racing 92 and Montpellier/ Castres matches postponed this past weekend. This follows the incident in September that saw Castres forfeit their Challenge Cup quarterfinal against Leicester after three of the French side’s players tested positive for coronavirus.
It now seems as though Sale’s crucial Premiership encounter with Worcester is also on the verge of being cancelled following an outbreak within the club. The recently crowned Premiership Rugby Cup winners are three-points behind Bath in fifth on the standings and will qualify for the semi-finals with a win. As things stand, though, they could well have played their final game of the season.
Premiership semi places nearly confirmed
The results of the final round of regular Premiership action all but settled the upcoming semi-final clashes. While the fate of Sale’s clash with the Warriors remains to be seen and may yet have a massive bearing on the final standings, the score-lines from the rest of Round 22 were, as expected, massively influential.
Wasps’ 46-5 thrashing of the Chiefs sealed second spot for them, while Bristol’s 36-7 win at London Irish guaranteed them a place in the knockouts. Meanwhile, Bath’s 17-all draw with Saracens may prove costly if the Sharks do face Worcester on Wednesday. Bath led 17-3 with less than a quarter to go, but a late Sarries fightback may have brought their campaign to an end.
Pro14 gets back underway
While much of the past round of French Top 14 action was disrupted by Covid, the Pro14 got off the ground on the weekend relatively unabated. It still seems odd to think that last season’s finale took place just under a month ago, but such are the times.
Last season’s top two Leinster and Ulster got their campaigns off to great starts with wins over the Dragons and Benetton respectively, while Cardiff picked up an away win at Zebre. Saturday saw Munster claim a win at Scarlets, while Edinburgh were upset by Ospreys and Connacht beat Glasgow.
Written by Shaun Goosen for Hollywoodbets.
