Wednesday, 3 February 2010

Heineken Cup. Rounds 5 & 6

Harlequins 20-45 Blues. 24 Jan. 2010

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8466424.stm

Ospreys 17-12 Leicester. 23 Jan. 2010

The Welsh team produced an all around solid game to beat the Tigers. James Hook, playing at inside centre was especially creative, and his centre partner Andrew Bishop had a fine game in defence. The match will be remembered not for the great win but for the fiasco surrounding the Lee Byrne substitution. He left the field as a blood replacement and on his arrival back it appeared the correct protocol was not observed. This resulted in the Ospreys playing with 16 men for about 1 minute, before referree Alan Lewis was notified. A few days after the game an independent tribunal handed the Ospreys 22,000 Euros fine and suspended Byrne for 2 weeks, meaning he would miss the England v Wales game. Byrne and the WRU appealed, and rather amazingly, had the ban lifted, and the fine dropped to 5000 Euros. This is the first major appeal I can remember being succesful. It's a huge boost to the Welsh team and a big surprise.

Munster 12-9 Northamton. 22 Jan. 2010

Northampton 34-0 Perpignan. 17 Jan. 2010

The Saints secured a bonus point win with the last move of the game in dramatic fashion. Perpignan were already out of the cup so the result is not as impressive as it may seem.

Clermont Auvergne 27-7 Ospreys. 16 Jan. 2010

Ulster 21-13 Edinburgh. 15 Jan. 2010

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