Champions Cup Final: La Rochelle get the better of Leinster yet again
La Rochelle defended their Champions Cup title thanks to a riveting 27-26 win over Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday. The hosts stormed into a 17-0 lead inside the opening quarter but the French club rallied back to ultimately clinch a dramatic one-point victory and underline their status as one of European club rugby’s best ever teams.
For Leinster, despite the result being just their third loss in all competitions this season, they finish another campaign with zero titles to show for all their domestic and European dominance. Serious questions need to be asked of Leo Cullen’s management team and some of their decisions in the post-mortem.
Challenge Cup Final: Toulon too strong for Glasgow
Cheslin Kolbe was named man of the match as star-studded Toulon eased to a 43-19 win over Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva on Dublin to claim their first Challenge Cup title in five attempts. The three-time champions of Europe led 21-0 at the break and despite a mini fightback by Franco Smith’s boys, the Top 14 team were too good in the end.
With stalwarts Sergio Parisse and Mathieu Bastareaud set to retire from the game at the end of the season, it was a fitting farewell.
Currie Cup: Sharks go level on points with leaders Cheetahs
The Sharks’ 35-23 win over the Free State Cheetahs at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Friday saw them go second, level on points (38) with the men from Bloemfontein albeit with an inferior points difference. They were helped in part by Western Province, who defeated the Pumas 22-14 at Athlone Stadium which in turn saw the defending champs drop to third on 35-points with Province now just four-points behind them.
In the other two results of the weekend, Griquas won 47-21 over Griffons in Welkom and the Blue Bulls claimed a 33-32 win over the Golden Lions in Joburg.
SR Pacific: Chiefs cement No 1 spot
The Chiefs’ 23-13 win over the Hurricanes at the FMG sealed them top spot this season with two rounds still to play. Elsewhere, the Crusaders thumped Moana Pasifika 41-7 at the Mt Smart, the Blues beat the Reds 45-26 at the Suncorp, the Highlanders saw off the Rebels 20-17 in Dunedin, the Waratahs beat Drua 32-18 in Sydney and Western Force claimed a 34-19 win over the Brumbies in Perth.
London Sevens: Argentina rule in London, Olympic places finalised
Argentina defeated six-man Fiji 35-14 at Twickenham in the final leg of this season’s Sevens World Series to pick up their third gold medal of the campaign. The Blitzboks finished ninth with series champions New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia joining hosts France as the sides to have automatically qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The remaining teams, including South Africa, will need to go through a qualifying process.
