Amlin Challenge Cup Round 2 Recap

Pool 1: Mont-de-Marsan have endured a horrid campaign in the Top 14 so far and looked to Europe to gain some positives on the season. However, a 69-26 thrashing at the hands of London Irish aren't going to do any favors for their confidence. Jamie Gibson got things started for the Exiles with a try less than a minute into the game. From then on the tries came often, 11 in total, to send London Irish to the top of Pool 1.

The other match of the pool saw Gloucester stay close to London Irish by defeating Bordeaux 25-13 at home. Will James scored a try in the 5th minute (he was also sin binned in 51st minute), while Billy Twelvetrees and Charlie Sharples added one a piece. Gloucester scored all the points they needed by halftime while Bordeaux picked up their only try in the 80th minute.

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Pool 2: Worcester had an easy time with Italian-side Rovigo, defeating them 90-3. David Lemi had four tries while Andy Short had three. In total, the Warriors scored 14 tries. Joe Carlisle hit 10 penalties.

Perpignan similarly had an easy time with Bizakaia Gernika RT and came away with a 90-12 win. Adrien Plante had five tries, including one less than a minute into the match. Gilles Bosch had 10 penalties. Delan Cusack hit four penalties for Spanish-side. Perpignan and Worcester are on top of the pool with 10 points each.

Pool 3: One of the few closely contested matches of the weekend took place in Newport over the weekend as Bayonne paid a visit to the Dragons. The home team got off to a bright start as Tom Brown opened the scoring with a try in the 5th minute. Tom Prydie and Benjamin Boyet then traded penalties before Bayonne's Mark Chishold scored a try in the 36th minute. In the second half, the 16-16 scoreline was changed by more penalties. Boyet's penalty in the 68th minute was the eventual winner.

In the other match in the pool, London Wasps ran out to a big 59-12 win over Mogliano. The Wasps scored 9 tries while the Italian leaders managed only two. The match interestingly featured no penalties. Wasps now lead the pool with ten points, one better than Bayonne.

Pool 5: Another close match over the weekend was Bath's 27-22 win over Agen. The French-side got things started early with a Benjamin Petre try in the 3rd minutes, but tries from Michael Claasens, Kyle Eastmond, Stephen Donald, and Francois Louw were enough to give Bath the win. Agen's Raphael Lagarde scored five penalties to keep it close.

Romanian-side Bucuresti scored six tries to beat Italian-side Calvisano 42-27. The win means that Bucuresti are now only one point behind Agen for second place in the pool. Bath lead the pool with 10 points.

Pool 6: It was an all-French encounter as Stade Francais beat Grenoble 28-25 in Le Harve. Stade got the scored started with a Remy Bonfils try in the second minute. Grenoble picked up their only try of the match int eh 72nd minutes. The difference in the match was kicking, as Stade hit five penalties and two drop kicks to Grenoble's six penalties.

London Welsh rebounded from last week's loss to Stade Francais, but only barely as they squeaked past Cavalieri Prato 31-32. Hooker Dan George got the scored started for the Exiles while Joe Ajuwa added two tries of his own. The Italians scored four tries in the match, but three penalties by Gordon Ross and two by Alex Davies, including a crucial kick in the 78th minute, gave the Exiles the much needed win. Still, even with the win they sit in third place. Stade are in first, followed by Grenoble.