Weekend Round-Up: Return Of Connacht

Catch up on the best of the weekend’s games on Rugby Pass, including a riveting first round of Champions Cup fixtures and the frenzied final round of Mitre 10 Cup action in New Zealand.

Champions Cup: Connacht vs Toulouse

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Underdog champions of the Pro12 Connacht have been a little slow off the mark this season, and playing in their first Champions Cup match since 2013-14 they struggled with the size and skill of the Toulouse forward pack early on. The pressure led to two Toulouse tries late in the first half, and the home side trailed by 10 at halftime. But Pat Lam’s side grew into the game and a Tiernan O’Halloran try midway through the second brought them back within a single scoring play, setting up an exciting final 20 minutes at the Sportsgrounds.

Champions Cup: Toulon vs Saracens

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Saracens don’t go into many games as underdogs, but the bookies had good reason for inserting Toulon as favourites for this match – the three-time Champions Cup winners have never lost a home game in the history of the tournament. With Owen Farrell returning from injury the defending champions Saracens set about making a mockery of those predictions, running in three tries to lead at the break. It was the best half of rugby the club have played this season – enough to hang on and claim a rare win at Stade Mayol?

Champions Cup: Wasps vs Zebre

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With respect to Italian battlers Zebre the question going into this game wasn’t who would win but rather how much would Wasps win by. They are, after all, the best attacking side in the Aviva Premiership, if not all European club rugby. Would they crack a century? Or at least break the Champion’s Cup record winning margin of 66, which they set against Benetton Treviso back in 06/07? With three tries in the first 15 minutes both looked a distinct possibility.

Mitre 10 Cup: Counties Manukau vs Canterbury

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Canterbury have won seven of the last eight New Zealand provincial titles, and have been strong favourites to make that eight of the last nine since they thumped Auckland by 50 points in the first round. Counties couldn’t have asked for a tougher final pool match. They needed points here to secure their first playoffs berth since 2013. They led at halftime by a solitary point, the 7-6 scoreline an anomaly in the usually high-scoring Mitre 10 Cup. Normal transmission resumed, however, as Counties threw the kitchen sink at Canterbury in a highly entertaining second half of rugby in Pukekohe.