European Round-Up

Yet again the four Irish provinces experienced mixed fortunes in the latest round of European fixtures. Pride of place must go to Connacht who achieved back-to-back triumphs against Bayonne of France. The scrum half, Blade, was the hero of the encounter, as he touched down twice. His team were certainly helped by seventeen points from the boot of Nikora. Connacht are now battling with Exeter for first place in their Challenge Cup group.

Meanwhile in the Champions Cup, Munster once more succumbed to the mighty Clermont Auvergne, but at least consoled themselves with another bonus point, which may prove crucial in a hotly-contested pool. The men in red can take some comfort from the fact that the two English teams still have to play the formidable French club in the final fixtures in January, so all is not lost for Munster. However, with two defeats, they now have no margin for error in the new year.

As for Ulster, their European Champions Cup ambitions are well and truly over. Conceding a twelve points to nil advantage to their hosts at the interval was Ulster's undoing. After an insipid showing in the first forty minutes, the visitors raised their game in the second half and threatened to pull off an escape to victory when they were mugged in the dying seconds by an interception try which resulted in a flattering scoreline for the hosts. Ulster may yet contest the European Challenge Cup, but it is a humbling experience for the northerners to find their interest in Europe's premier competition ended before Christmas. A catalogue of injuries is certainly a mitigating factor, although the retired Stephen Ferris insists that the northern province need to invest in more quality players.

Finally the giants of Leinster are clinging on to the tournament by their fingertips. Having opened up a decent eleven points to nil lead against Harlequins [courtesy of a try from Isaac Boss], the east coast province made their supporters sweat as they scraped home against the Londoners by a mere point. This win leaves their pool up in the air. It's anyone's guess who will qualify between Harlequins, Leinster, and Wasps.

The current pool standings can be located at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/european-cup/table

The results were as follows:

European Rugby Champions Cup

Clermont Auvergne 26 MUNSTER 19

MUNSTER try-scorer: Casey 

MUNSTER earn one losing bonus point.

LEINSTER 14 Harlequins 13

LEINSTER try-scorer: Boss

LEINSTER earn four points.

Scarlets 22 ULSTER 13

ULSTER try-scorer: Cave

ULSTER receive no points.

European Rugby Challenge Cup

Bayonne 25 CONNACHT 27

CONNACHT try-scorer: Blade (2)

CONNACHT earn four points.