Saturday Round-Up

Wolfhounds slienced: A strong Irish Wolfhounds side were seen off last night at Musgrave Park, courtesy of a powerful performance from the England Saxons, in what was a somewhat comfortable 18-9 win for the visitors. Fielding a side with no less than 14 internationals, including the likes of Sean O’Brien, Ian Madigan and Keith Earls to mention but a few, the home side struggled to get any form of momentum going, due in large part to a stop start performance from Welsh referee Neil Hennessey. However, the Irish will know they can’t place all the blame on the man in the middle, having shown a real lack of attacking potency throughout and allowing English forwards to break the tackle on regular occasion. For the visitors, tries from the impressive Henry Slade at flyhalf and a late score from replacement winger Christian Wade sealed the much deserved win for John Callard’s men, with Stuart Lancaster in attendance in the stands. Despite an all round lacklustre performance from Dan McFarland’s Irish outfit, with a quarter of an hour left on the clock they remained within two points of their rivals from across the Irish Sea. However, that late Wade try confirmed the win for the visitors, with very few men putting their hand up for selection next weekend, besides the likes of Chris Pennell, Henry Thomas and Thomas Waldrom in an English jersey.

Toulon go top: Toulon have moved their way to the summit of the French Top 14 this weekend, after battling to a 24-17 victory over visitors to Stade Felix Mayol, Bayonne. Despite not playing at their best and being shorn of a host of frontline players courtesy of international duty, Bernard Laporte’s men managed to get the job done courtesy of tries from Bryan Habana and prop forward Levan Chilachava. While a multitude of internationals may have been absent, Laporte was still capable of fielding a side containing the likes of Juan Martin Hernandez, Juan Smith, Drew Mitchell and Habana amongst others, once again reminding the world of the strength in depth the club currently possess. Despite a valiant performance from the visitors to the Mayol, Bayonne were left wondering what might have been having caught the reigning European and domestic champions on an off night.

Ryan Sheady