Manuel Loffreda may have swapped Pumas for Tigers but he still came back to haunt former England coach Andy Robinson on Saturday as the Argentinian coach saw his Leicester Tigers wallop Edinburgh 39-0 in their European Cup clash.
Just over a year ago, Loffreda and Argentina's first ever victory at Twickenham over England heralded the end of Robinson's turbulent term as coach of the then World champions. While Robinson's current job is probably safe, this defeat in all likelihood ends Edinburgh's hopes of further progress in the competition.
With Irish giants Leinster and three-time champions Toulouse -- who were to tackle each other yesterday -- also in their pool, the Scottish side can expect little mercy.
Chief destroyer for the Tigers was former England flyhalf Andy Goode. Bearing a mutton chop moustache of Victorian proportions, Goode contributed 19 points -- including a try -- to become the Tigers' all-time leading scorer in all competitions.
The Scottish side hardly did themselves any favors as they had two players sinbinned within minutes of each other. Lock Craig Hamilton went off first, only to be followed by experienced prop Allan Jacobsen. It was hardly the way Jacobsen would have wanted to mark his club-record 43rd appearance in the competition.
There was a more positive landmark for inspirational Irish fullback Geordan Murphy, who cast aside his bizarre World Cup -- in which he was treated like a yo-yo by Eddie O'Sullivan, being considered not good enough to make the 22 for the France match but then thrown into the starting line-up for the final clash with Argentina.
Murphy was at his wizardlike best for the Tigers and scored one of their tries to equal Leon Lloyd's club-record 19 tries in the European Cup.
Elsewhere there were narrow wins for two French sides as Perpignan labored to a 29-17 win over Italian outfit Treviso in Italy and Biarritz squeaked past Saracens 22-21 in France.
Despite Perpignan's unimpresssive display they still secured what could be an invaluable bonus point as replacement hooker Mickael Ladhuie touched down in the third minute of time added on. But they will have to perform much better when they travel to take on London Irish -- who trounced Newport-Gwent 45-17 with veteran Mike Catt grabbing one of their six tries -- on Dec. 9.
Biarritz were outscored three tries to one but 17 points from the boot of Dmitri Yachvili, including the winning penalty two minutes into stoppage time, decided the match.
Saracens' fellow English side Harlequins looked to be cruising to victory over Cardiff with England flanker Nick Easter scoring a try late in the first half to give them a 10-3 lead at the break.
However, Cardiff came back superbly to force a 13-13 draw and even led briefly thanks to Jason Spice's try early in the second half.
It was a rare moment of joy for the Welsh, which ended when title-holders Wasps beat Llanelli 33-17 in Wales with Daniel Cipriani contributing 13 points, including a try.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS