SARugbymag.co.za looks back at the past weekend's English Premiership, Celtic Pro12 and French Top 14 matches, which involved South African players.
ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP
– Scrumhalf Neil de Kock, lock Alistair Hargreaves, tighthead prop Petrus du Plessis and hooker Schalk Brits all featured for Saracens, who thrashed London Welsh 68-17 to book their place in the semi-finals.
– The Leicester Tigers upset the Northampton Saints 22-14 at Welford Road to secure third place on the Premiership table. Lock Sebastian de Chaves played a 22-minute cameo for the winners.
– Bok flank Francois Louw starred for Bath in their 50-30 thrashing of Gloucester. Bath, who finished the regular season second on the log behind Northampton, will host Leicester at the Rec.
– London Irish, with tighthead prop Richard Palframan in their ranks, scored a late try to draw 40-40 with Wasps at the Madejski Stadium. Flank Ashley Johnson turned out for Wasps.
– In an ill-disciplined contest, which produced three yellow cards and a red, flank Don Armand's Exeter Chiefs thumped the Sale Sharks 44-16 to end the season in fifth position on the table.
CELTIC PRO12
– The Glasgow Warriors recorded a 32-10 bonus-point victory over Ulster to claim top spot on the Pro12 table. Prop Rossouw de Klerk and flank Josh Strauss featured for the winners. Fullback Louis Ludik, No 8 Robbie Diack, lock Franco van der Merwe and Rob Herring represented Ulster, while Ruan Pienaar was an unused substitute. With Ulster finishing fourth on the log, the sides will clash again this week in the first semi-final.
– Eighthman CJ Stander scored one of eight tries as Munster defeated the Newport Gwent Dragons 50-27 to move to second on the standings, securing a home semi-final. Prop BJ Botha also started for Munster. His opposite on the day Brok Harris and lock Ligtoring Landman earned starting berths for the Dragons, who ended the season in ninth place.
– Wing Hanno Dirksen's Neath-Swansea Ospreys blew their chances of a home play-off despite a 24-20 win over Connacht. Ospreys entered the final round of matches at the summit of the table, but failure to score a bonus-point try saw them finish third. They will now travel to Munster for the second semi-final.
– A late try handed the Llanelli Scarlets a 17-13 win against Benetton Treviso in Italy. Lock Corniel van Zyl and flank Meyer Swanepoel featured for Treviso. Lock George Earle came off the Scarlets bench in the 77th minute. The winners ended sixth on the log, thus securing their place in next season's European Champions Cup.
– Lock Quintin Geldenhuys and flank Dries van Schalkwyk were named in the starting XV for Zebre, who went down 29-5 to the Cardiff Blues. Zebre ended last on the log, while the Blues finished two places above them in 10th.
– Edinburgh's hopes of securing a European play-off spot were squashed with a 36-23 loss to Leinster. Zane Kirchner and Richardt Strauss played for Leinster, with the former scoring one of five tries. Centre Andries Strauss, No 8 Cornell du Preez and lock Anton Bresler started for Edinburgh.
FRENCH TOP 14
– Oyonnax cruised past the soon-to-be-relegated Lyon 28-10. Hooker Jody Jenneker and prop Ruaan du Preez turned out for Oyonnax. Lock Coenie Basson and scrumhalf Ricky Januarie were named in Lyon's run-on team with Basson sin-binned in the 23rd minute for repeated infringements. Ex-Stormers hooker Deon Fourie came on for Lyon in the 41st minute and scored their only try, while No 8 Frans Viljoen joined in the 66th minute.
– Wing Gio Aplon, scrumhalf Charl McLeod, lock Hendrik Roodt and prop Albertus Buckle helped Grenoble upset title-contenders Toulouse 32-11. Lock Ross Skeate was benched, while former Bok prop Gurthrö Steenkamp started for Toulouse.
– Rory Kockott marked his return to the Castres starting XV with a 12-point haul in their 32-12 victory over Brive. Kockott, who played alongside eighthman Jannie Bornman, kicked three conversions and two penalties. Prop Kevin Buys, lock Peet Marais and flank Paul Hauman turned out for Brive, while replacements Johannes Coetzee and Riaan Swanepoel played from the 54th and 63rd minutes.
– Flyhalf Peter Grant kicked five penalties to help La Rochelle snatch an 18-18 draw with Racing Métro. Lock Jacobus Grobler played alongside him. Racing used prop Brian Mujati, eighthman Antonie Claassen and lock Juandré Kruger as impact players from the 46th, 73rd and 78th minutes.
– Fullback Scott Spedding's Bayonne suffered a 38-20 defeat to Bordeaux Bègles, who had Ulrich Beyers, Heini Adams and Jandré Marais in their team. Lock Berend Botha sat on Bordeaux's bench, while prop Gert Muller completed Bayonne's match 23.
– Stade Français beat Montpellier 35-21 in Paris. Flyhalf Morné Steyn, No 8 Jono Ross, lock Gerhard Mostert and prop Heinke van der Merwe were on duty for Stade, with Ross scoring a try and Steyn adding a conversion and two penalties. Centre Meyer Bosman played in the last seven minutes. Robert Ebersohn started in midfield for Montpellier. Pat Cilliers scrummed down from the 56th minute and Wynand Olivier came on as a replacement flyhalf in the 67th.
– Clermont avenged their European Champions Cup final defeat with a 22-19 home victory over Toulon. Bryan Habana played fullback for Toulon, Gerhard Vosloo started on the side of the scrum and Craig Burden at hooker. Despite the loss, Toulon remain top of the log after picking up a losing bonus point.
Photo: ClareHerald.com
