FOLLOWING EACH BRUISING weekend of rugby we cast an eye over our pro players earning a crust beyond these shores. Mr Kidney, you’re welcome….
Aviva Premiership
Young Leicester out-half George Ford and centre Matt Smith combined for the 16 points necessary to deliver a four-point victory over Northampton Saints.
Geordan Murphy started at fullback for the Tigers and former Leinster player Niall Morris was on the left wing.
Saints out-half Ryan Lamb made it 16-12 with six minutes to play before earning a foolish yellow card for barding Anthony Allen. The win moves Leicester up to third place.
The top spot belongs to the Harlequins side of Conor O’Shea after they eeked out a 28-25 win over Gloucester.
Shane Monahan was sent to the sin-bin for Gloucester but his side held on without conceding but Nick Evans edged Quins in front with a penalty almost as soon as the winger re-entered the fray.
Saracens, coached by Mark McCall, remain second after defeating London Welsh 29-24. Charlie Hodgson kicked seven penalties for Sarries in the Vicarage Road win.
Ian Humphreys kicked nine points for London Irish in their 21-9 loss to the league’s bottom side, Sale Sharks.
Sharks, featuring Tony Buckley and Cillian Willis, registered their first win of the season thanks to early tries from Johnny Leota and Nick Macleod, and late penalties from Danny Cipriani.
Gareth Steenson, who spoke to TheScore.ie before the match, kicked four penalties and two conversions in Exeter Chief’s excellent 33-9 win over Worcester Warriors.
Tom Hayes and Ian Whitten also contributed to the Chiefs win at Sandy Park while John Andress featured at tighthead prop for Warriors.
Pro12
Robin Copeland put in an 80-minute shift at the rear of the Cardiff Blues pack on Friday night. The forward was left gutted by former Blues centre Casey Laulala, who dashed through for a winning try with a minute left on the clock.
France
The home form of Grenoble, with Bernard Jackman overseeing the forwards, continued as they beat Biarritz 34-21 at Stade Lesdiguieres to move up to sixth place in the Top 14.
Captain Andrew Farley came off the bench in the second-half in the victory that was delivered thanks to a 21-point outing from Jonathan Pélissié.
Stade Aurillicois, under head coach Jeremy Davidson, defeated second-placed Lyon 19-16 yesterday. The result pleased forward Denis Fogarty:
English Championship
Kevin Maggs‘ Moseley drew 9-9 with Cornish Pirates while London Scottish and Kieran Hallet lost 37-14 to Leeds Carnegie and Bedford Blues centre Brendan Burke was on the losing side of a 29-20 scoreline against Newcastle Falcons.
Jersey had James Gethings and Brendan O’Brien in their line-up for their 16-14 win over Plymouth Albion, who left scrum-half Ruairi Cushion on the bench.
James Kilbane was the sole Irish representative on the Rotherham Titans team that defeated Doncaster Knights 38-20.
David McIlwaine and Matt Williams will be thankful that they missed Bristol’s 63-7 pasting by Nottingham because some folks are due for a good, old-fashioned dropping.
