A new year resulted in the same sparkling form from Guinness Six Nations stars in their domestic leagues with a whole host of internationals featuring in Exeter Chiefs’ win over Bristol Bears in the Premiership.
In the Top 14, Clermont got the better of second place Toulouse in a tight affair, while Gareth Davies was on the scoresheet for Scarlets in their win over Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship.
Five games were called off around the leagues as Covid-19 continues to disrupt winter rugby but that didn’t stop plenty of surprises, including Connacht’s narrow win over Munster.
HOGG SCORES WINNER FOR CHIEFS
Players from England and Scotland combined for a sublime try as Exeter opened the scoring in their Premiership tussle with last year’s table toppers Bristol Bears.
A look at the 2022 Guinness Six Nations fixtures
England’s Jack Nowell sent a perfect grubber kick to Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg who set up Tom O’Flaherty for Exeter’s first, while Hogg got the Chiefs’ final score as Wales fly-half Callum Sheedy secured a late losing bonus point for Bristol as they lost 19-13 in front of a record crowd at Sandy Park.
On Sunday, Scotland squared off against England with Marcus Smith’s two conversions and two penalties edging Harlequins past Gloucester Rugby despite Scotland’s Adam Hastings contributing with the boot for the hosts.
Smith’s rival for the England No.10 jersey George Ford was also on target for Leicester Tigers as they continued their unbeaten run with a 31-0 win over Newcastle Falcons.
Elsewhere in England, Sale overcame Wasps to go above them in the table a 26-18 win, while Saracens overcame Northampton Saints 30-6 as Maro Itoje scored a late try.
MORI AT THE DOUBLE FOR LEADERS
Over the pond in France, Damian Penaud got the better of his Les Bleus teammate Romain Ntamack as Clermont trumped Toulouse 16-13, with World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year Antoine Dupont absent from Toulouse’s line-up.
Italy’s Federico Mori scored twice as leaders Bordeaux Bègles withstood a late fightback from Biarritz Olympique, with the top side clinging on 30-27.
The story of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations
Also in France, Stade Francais earned a commanding 27-17 victory over strugglers Perpignan to move up to eighth, before Pau moved back ahead of them with a 43-20 win over Brive.
Castres also leapfrogged La Rochelle in the standings with a narrow 31-30 win over Ronan O’Gara’s side, with the visitors missing two last-gasp penalties that proved costly.
La Rochelle had been 24-3 up after 24 minutes before slipping to defeat, much to the frustration of Gregory Alldritt, who said: “We thought we were going to get a try-scoring bonus. It’s a big disappointment.”
Lyon also got the better of Racing 92 in another high-scoring contest on Sunday, with France scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud among the scorers in the home side’s 37-35 win.
AKI TRY THE DIFFERENCE IN GALWAY
In the URC, only two games survived with Connacht taking on Munster and the home side came away with the spoils, their 10-8 win only the second time in 10 meetings that Connacht triumphed over last season’s runners-up.
Tempers flared in Galway as Grand Slam winner Bundee Aki’s try was enough to give the home side victory, despite a score from Ireland teammate Andrew Conway for Munster.
The other URC came took place in Llanelli as Scarlets welcomed Ospreys with Gareth Davies one of three scorers for Scarlets as they stole a late 22-19 win.
Rhys Webb had crossed twice for the visitors as they looked close to claiming a first away victory over Scarlets since 2015 before Wales full-back Johnny McNicholl went for a brace of his own in the final quarter to earn the hosts their third win of the season.
