Ollie Chessum was a high-profile casualty of Leicester’s Champions Cup defeat by Leinster, handing England an injury scare before they head to Girona for a Six Nations training camp on Tuesday. The England second row trudged off in the 43rd minute of the Tigers’ defeat – which leaves them uncertain of a place in the last 16 – and failed his head injury assessment, meaning at the very least he will be unable to take a full part in England training next week.
It is a blow for Steve Borthwick, who has already lost Leicester’s George Martin for a “number of weeks” to a knee injury and all of a sudden looks light at second row with Chessum set to be assessed before England depart for Spain. How Leicester could have done with both for the full 80 minutes against star-studded Leinster who, thanks to the inspired James Lowe, secured a dogged victory that underlined their title credentials.
Lowe was the standout performer for Leinster who on paper were packed with star quality and on the pitch showed enough of it to deny Leicester the losing bonus point they needed. The Tigers can still make the last 16 but will have to wait on the outcome of Sale’s match against La Rochelle to be sure. They can hardly argue, for all their industry, the Tigers were considerably short on imagination and Leinster had only to occasionally move through the gears to claim victory over Leicester for the third season in succession.
It was an absorbing spectacle nonetheless, witnessed by a sell-out crowd at Welford Road, but if this is a harbinger for the Six Nations, as matches at this stage of the competition can be, Ireland are shaping up well considering all 15 of their starters have been named in Andy Farrell’s squad for the championship. They scored four tries – the consistently impressive Joe McCarthy scoring the first with Jordan Larmour, Dan Sheehan and Caelan Doris adding the rest – ensuring another bonus point in a 100% pool stage record. They finish with 19 points and with a home last-16 match guaranteed – no mean feat given the strength of the pool they were drawn in.
A 14-man Northampton side defied the odds to win 26-23 at Munster. The Saints took an early lead through Alex Mitchell’s converted try but had George Furbank dispatched to the sin-bin for a tip tackle and then Curtis Langdon was sent off for reckless use of a knee in a ruck. Munster led 15-7 and 20-10, then 23-16 going into the last 10 minutes. But after a Fin Smith penalty he then converted after Sam Graham went over from a lineout. The Saints are five points clear in Pool 3 of Exeter, who visit Bayonne today.
Maro Itoje inspired a second‑half fightback as Saracens secured a place in the last 16 by beating Lyon 39-24. The England lock scored two tries in 11 minutes to help the three-time European champions progress from Pool 1. The scrum-half Ivan van Zyl, the flanker Juan Martín González and wing Lucio Cinti also claimed touchdowns at the StoneX Stadium, with Owen Farrell kicking four conversions and two penalties.
Lyon, without an away win in all competitions for almost a year, led by 12 points at half-time. The centre Josiah Maraku collected a try double and the wing Davit Niniashvili also scored, while the Lyon captain, Leo Berdeu, booted a penalty and three conversions, but Saracens ultimately avoided a first pool-stage exit since 2011.
In a Pool 1 match between two sides that had already qualified, the Bulls ended Bordeaux‑Bègles’ 100% record by posting a thrilling 46-40 success in Pretoria.
Racing 92 qualified for the knockout phase with a 48-26 victory over Cardiff. Stuart Lancaster’s team leapfrogged Ulster into fourth spot, clinching the final last-16 place from Pool 2. The result dropped Ulster into the Challenge Cup. PA Media
Leicester did, however, have their illustrious opponents rattled in the opening stages. The returning Hanro Liebenberg scored the first try after taking a smart pass from Dan Kelly and running in on the left and Handrè Pollard converted before adding a penalty for a 10-0 lead. That was as good as it got for Tigers who failed to score a point thereafter. “I’m frustrated for [the players], I spoke about it being a Test match,” said Leicester’s head coach Dan McKellar. “The reality is we didn’t take opportunities at key moments and they did.”
A Harry Byrne penalty in front of the posts got Leinster up and running but it was the excellence of Lowe that dragged last year’s losing finalists back into the match. Using his booming left boot to impressive effect and repeatedly cropping up in midfield, the winger was a galvanising force for the visitors.
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It was also his powerful break down the left and offload to Garry Ringrose that began the move which ultimately resulted in Larmour stepping his way over for Leinster’s second try after McCarthy had powered over for their first.
Byrne had converted the first try but failed to do so with the second and when Leicester held Doris up under the posts just before the half-time interval, Tigers were at least in touching distance, trailing by five points. They had, however, lost the wing Harry Simmons to a painful looking facial injury.
Three minutes into the second half they also lost scrum-half Tom Whiteley to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on after another move sparked by Lowe and from the resulting penalty, Dan Sheehan was soon going over at the back of a lineout drive for Leinster’s third try.
The introductions from the bench of Kyle Hatherell and Ben Youngs made a difference and suddenly the Tigers found themselves camped in the Leinster 22.
Their chances of scoring improved when Jack Conan was sent to the sin-bin but Doris’ crucial turnover on his own line continued to keep Leicester at bay.
The Tigers kept huffing and puffing but a wobbling lineout and an attack shorn of the necessary quality ensured they came up short as Doris had the final word from close range.
