Take the jump to catch up on the weekend results from around the world.
Heineken Cup
As mentioned in our opener it was a huge weekend in the Heineken Cup and none was bigger than Northampton's 10-9 upset win over Ulster at Ravenhill. Ulster came into the match riding a 13 match winning streak in all competitions and a four year unbeaten streak at home in European competition. But it was Northampton's day. The visitors came out attacking early with a penalty from Stephen Myler and then a try from GJ van Velze. The Saints took a 10-0 lead only twenty minutes in. However, Ulster came back with three penalties from Paddy Jackson to get back within one. They also looked extremely threatening in the second half as they had most of the possession, but Northampton weren't to be denied and after some great play by Man of the Match and American Samu Manoa, the Saints were able to kill off the game and end Ulster's streak. Despite the loss Ulster still remain at the top of the Pool 4 with fifteen points. Castres, who beat Glasgow 10-8 are in second with twelve. Northampton are in third with ten. Glasgow are last with two.
The other big match of the weekend saw Saracens come back from last week's loss to Munster to reverse the result at home 19-13. It was a back and forth affair throughout the match as both teams traded penalties and tries. It was tied 10-10 at half. After the break Munster took the lead through a Ronan O'Gara penalty, but three subsequent penalties Owen Farrell saw Saracens take the lead. Munster dominated most of the possession in the second half, especially after Will Fraser was sent to the bin. But the Saracens defense came up huge by not allowing Munster more than a drop goal attempt during that time. Saracens now lead Pool 1 with fourteen points. Racing Metro, who beat Edinburgh 15-3 are second with twelve points. Munster are in third with eleven, while Edinburgh are dead last with no points.
In Pool 2, Ospreys kept their faint hopes alive with a 17-6 win over Toulouse while Leicester had a difficult time with Benetton Treviso but still managed a 14-13 win. Leicester is in first with fourteen followed by Toulouse with thirteen. Ospreys have nine points and Benetton Treviso one. In Pool 3 Harlequins have a ten point lead over Biarrtiz after a 53-5 beat down of Zebre. Biarritz defeated Connacht 17-0. In Pool 5 Clermont lead the pool with eighteen points. They defeated Leinster 21-28. Leinster are second in the pool with ten points. Exeter defeated Scarlets 30-20. They're third in the pool with nine points. Scarlets have two. In Pool 6, Toulon have eighteen points. Their nearest competition is Montpellier with thirteen points. Toulon put the hurt on Sale 62-0. Montpellier beat Cardiff 34-21. Sale have four points, while Cardiff have one point.
Click here to see the full Heineken Cup standings.
Amlin Challenge Cup
The Amlin Challenge Cup is playing out roughly as expected with the teams from England and France dominating the competition. Gloucester are tops in Pool 1 with a 47-3 win over London Irish. Also in the pool, Mont-de-Marsan beat Bordeaux 18-7. Worcester and Perpignan are tied for the top of Pool 2 thanks to a 13-6 Perpignan win over Worcester. Spanish-side Bizkaia Bernika RT are third with a 16-10 win over Rovigo.
In Pool 3 London Wasps are on top after a 30-16 win over Bayonne. The Dragons are tied with Bayonne for second due to their 53-3 win over Mogliano. In Pool 4 Bath are eight points over Agen for the top spot. They defeated Calvisano 39-5 while Agen beat Bucuresti 39-9. Lastly, in Pool 5 Stade Francais kept control of the pool with a 29-6 win over Cavalieri Prato. Grenoble are second after a 27-13 win over London Welsh.
Click here to see the full Heineken Cup standings.
Top League
Suntory Sungoliath continued their dominance of the league and opened up a seven point lead at the top of the Top League thanks to a 38-7 win over the NTT Shining Arcs. The Kobelco Steelers remained in second place despite losing 29-27 to the Toshiba Fuchu Brave Lupus. Kobe got tries from Ryota Yasui, Pasuka Mapakaitolo, and Yuta Imamura, but Toshiba picked up tries from Takehisa Usuzuki, Mike Leitch, Tomoaki Nakai, as well as a penalty try to win the match. The Panasonic Sanyo Wildknights are in third after a huge 76-35 win over Kyuden Voltex. Other winners over the weekend include Kintetsu Liners 44-39 over the Canon Eagles, Ricoh Black Rams 44-14 over the NTT-Docomo Red Hurricanes, Yamaha Jubilo 49-35 over the NEC Green Rockets, and Toyota Verblitz 35-25 over Fukuoka Sanix Blues.
Pro D2
Oyonnax continue to roll in the Pro D2 and seem destined for promotion after a 26-21 lead over Pau. La Rochelle have crawled back into the picture after beating Albi 15-13 in a close affair. Aurillac are in third thanks to a 33-24 win over Beziers. Other weekend winners include Massy 13-9 over Colomiers, Tarbes 21-14 over Narbonne, Dax 19-12 winners over Auch, Brive 24-8 over Aix-en-Provence, and Carcassonne 15-13 in an upset over Lyon.
British & Irish Cup
The cross-league fun continued in the British & Irish Cup. Here are the scores from the weekend as well as the standings.
Pool 1: Cardiff 7-34 Ulster; Bristol 41-3 Bridgend
Pool 2: Bedwas 25-26 Stirling County; Bedford 69-23 Neath
Pool 3: Swansea 10-30 Cornish Pirates; Dundee High 25-23 Carmarthen Quins
Pool 4: Connacht 31-16 Cross Keys; Newcastle 93-0 Newport
Pool 5: Leinster 44-12 Jersey; Pontypridd 25-8 Leeds Carnegie
Pool 6: Moseley 16-13 Gala; Llanelli 32-23 London Scottish
Pool 7: Munster 9-9 Rotherham; Plymouth Albion 59-0 Aberavon
Pool 8: Melrose 20-32 Nottingham; Doncaster 29-30 Llandovery
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