Champions Cup

Richard Wigglesworth tasted European success for the first time as Leicester head coach as his side defeated Clermont Auvergne 44-29 to guarantee a place in ...

The ball then came off the head of Charlie Atkinson and the knee of Reffell and into in-goal. the ball, but referee Murphy blew up for a knock-on. A Clermont raid up the left touchline seemed to have broken down when an inside pass to Alexandre Fischer went to ground. The tries kept on flowing with Scott bagging his second in a training ground move off a lineout on the home 22 and then giant lock Jedrasiak threw an outrageous dummy to cross to the delight of the home fans. Clermont, down in 10th place in the Top 14, hit back immediately with a try from replacement hooker Fourcade and Belleau's conversion was followed by a Pollard penalty from 46 metres to end the half on a high for the Premiership side, who led 27-14. Leicester Tigers were the first side to secure their place in the last 16 with a 44-29 victory over Clermont; It is the first European win for head coach Richard Wigglesworth

All four Irish provinces are in action on Saturday, starting at 1pm when Leinster travel to Gloucester, whom they hammered at the RDS in Round 2, before Munster ...

However they've also scored the least, with just 18 points across their opening two games. There's less favourable weather in Limerick for Munster v Northampton, with plenty of rain forecast throughout the day, temperatures of around 5C, and winds of 25-30km/hr. Gloucester sent a shadow squad over to Dublin in December, prioritising their Christmas Eve Premiership meeting with Leicester Tigers. While it will be a mild 14C, there's a lot of rain forecast, with winds hitting 40km/hr. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Connacht v Brive (Saturday, 5.30pm) in the Challenge Cup will be streamed live on epcrugby.tv. The win in Northampton puts Munster in a solid position heading into the second half of the pool stage, and with their Ireland internationals returning they'll be favourites to take the spoils once again against a side that have nothing to show from their opening two games. While Connacht's form has been hit or miss in the URC, Andy Friend's side have put themselves into a promising position in the Challenge Cup, with two wins from two games leaving them all but certain to be in the last 16 of the tournament. There's a strong connection between the two sides, with three ex-Connacht players in the Brive squad; Abraham Papali'i, Tietie Tuimauga and Sammy Arnold all leaving the Sportsground at the end of last season, although Arnold won't be involved this weekend. There will be similar temperatures in Galway for Connacht v Brive in the Challenge Cup, with the possibility of rain the second half. Round 3 is a mirror image of Round 2, with Munster at home, and Ulster and Leinster on the road, while Connacht welcome Brive to the Sportsground in the Challenge Cup, looking to maintain their 100% record. The paths to the final won't be clear until Round 4 however, with plenty of potential movement in the seedings across the second half of the pool stage.

Following a 44-29 victory for Leicester over Clermont in their Champions Cup fixture, here's our five takeaways from the match at the Stade Marcel-Michelin.

Heyes, Chessum, Youngs Steward and Dan Kelly are absolute shoo-ins, but Harry Wells was a rock in the close exchanges and Charlie Atkinson’s versatility may well pay dividends in a limited squad. Jono Gibbes was brought to Clermont as a competitor to put steel in their team, but in this game the steel at set-piece and in the breakdown simply wasn’t there. Jauneau went well, as did Alivereti Raka and Cheikh Tiberghien, but winning in Europe is all about a platform to play off and Clermont are really struggling to put together that forward effort and teamwork that has historically defined their play for many years. However, when you rewatch the tape, once again the man who created the chance was Youngs, with a brilliantly timed delay pass into the breadbasket of Simmons, who finished with a flourish. His opposite number Baptiste Jauneau was spirited for Clermont, but considering the schooling Youngs gave him all evening (and the performances of Ollie Chessum and Heyes up front), to see the ‘Star of the Match’ go to the home player on the end of a 44-29 beating was beyond bizarre and made a complete farce of the award. For Leicester, Harry Simmons in and out step and dummy to fly over in the left corner on 29 minutes was beyond outrageous.

Leinster travel to Gloucester on Saturday afternoon, and we have all the info on how to watch Leinster plus team news for the game,

💪 Here is your Gloucester Rugby team to take on Leinster Rugby. Garry Ringrose captains a very strong looking Leinster side, and Hugo Keenan is set to win his 50th cap for the team. Gloucester are in the midst of decent season.

The Champions Cup returns this weekend with the third round of the 2022/23 season once again seeing 12 matches scheduled, including Sale Sharks v Toulouse.

Assistant Referees: Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy (France), Stéphane Crapoix (France) Assistant Referees: Alex Thomas (England), Charlie Gayther (England) Assistant Referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Jonathan Gasnier (France) Assistant Referees: Adrien Descottes (France), Christophe Bultet (France) The teams: Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Jamie Leahy (England)

Planet Rugby has selected five players to watch in Round Three, which includes a match-up between the Bulls and Exeter Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld.

This season the veteran has forced penalties on the opposition try-line and also on his own when the Stormers desperately needed to release pressure. The loose forward is tenacious and commands the game with ball in hand. So expect the 24-year-old to be at his robust best this weekend. It is time for Simelane to stand up and be the star he could be, and a strong performance in a game like this will certainly turn heads. Tshituka is a physical specimen, one who can carry extremely well, get over the ball if needed and play with teammates around him. His try against the Sharks last month epitomised the player Moodie is fast becoming. [Moodie](https://www.planetrugby.com/tag/canan-moodie/) continues to grow and shine almost with every touch of the ball. There are not many players better over the ball than Fourie right. [Bulls](https://www.planetrugby.com/team/bulls/) and has played most of his rugby at full-back. His timing and strength over the ball is outstanding. He will have a head-to-head with the experienced Henry Slade from Exeter Chiefs and will need to be on his game to match up to the England centre. The star is filled with flair, vision and the skill set to match.

Owen Farrell's suspension won't do England much damage as things stand, but Saracens might rue their skipper's high tackle against Gloucester as they look ...

. . Josh moved there as a one-year-old and, like his brother Dan, is a French U-20 international. lose some weight . A hair transplant . “I’m the past, present .