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The Off Load: Rupert Cox's best and worst from the last week in the world of rugby

Fritz Lee of Clermont Auvergne is held by Ian Keatley during the European Rugby Champions Cup pool one match betwe
Image: Fritz Lee on the attack for Clermont

Rupert Cox shares his highlights from the week's rugby action in his round-up blog...

French bare their teeth in Champions Cup Round 4

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Highlights of the Round 4 European Champions Cup clash between Clermont Auvergne and Munster.

I’ve never been to the Stade Marcel Michelin – I think it’s time I had a word with the boss.  With a capacity of just over 18,000 it’s not the biggest ground in European rugby, but those mad Clermont Auvergne fans – decked out in yellow and blue, beating on drums and waving banners – make the noise and create the atmosphere of a 50,000-seater.

And some of the rugby Les Jaunards played against Munster this weekend was grandstand stuff – they ran the Irishmen ragged at moments, and the scintillating solo effort scored by the rangy Fijian-born Noa Nakaitaci was the highlight. Munster, being Munster, somehow salvaged a losing bonus at the death, but the men of the Massif Central look dead certs for the Champions Cup quarter-finals - at least.

There was more good news for the French contingent, with Toulon shaking off their Round 3 loss to Leicester (and Martin Castrogiovanni’s post match-meltdown!) with a regulation home win over the Tigers in the return fixture. The defending champions reasserted their control over Pool 3 with a strong performance at the Felix Mayol – they led 16-0 after just 24 minutes, and, despite a brave response from the Tigers, the defending champs won it 23-8 without breaking a sweat. Bernard Laporte’s All Stars are now five points clear in the pool, and barring something unexpected and calamitous, the Top 14 champions will be right in the mix at the business end of this tournament.

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Highlights of the European Champions Cup round 4 clash between Racing Metro and Ospreys.

Racing Metro followed up their 19-19 draw in Swansea last week with a ‘home’ win over the Ospreys. They took this fixture away from their regular home in the western suburbs of Paris to a much bigger stadium in Le Mans – but it was far from high-octane stuff from the bow tie boys.

There was speculation in the build up that one Daniel Carter might be joining Racing after the World Cup, to scoop up the millions left behind by Johnny Sexton’s departure, but on this evidence DC might look elsewhere – Racing won this one despite themselves. They’re like a petrol tanker driving through the mountains – freewheeling when the going is good downhill, but sluggish on the up slopes. Still, they got the win with tries to Teddy Thomas and Juan Imhoff, and Pool 5 looks to be settled with a Round 6 shoot-out against Northampton at the Gardens.

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Highlights of the pool 4 clash between Glasgow Warriors and Toulouse.

Toulouse remain the only team to have won all their games in the Champions Cup, but were helped in no small part by a strangely quiet Glasgow at Scotstoun Stadium. To call it a flat performance from the Warriors is an understatement – nothing but blanks fired by Gregor Townsend’s boys, including a couple of frustrating fluffed penalties by the usually reliable Finn Russell. Four penalties from the boot of Sebastien Bezy was enough for the Rouge et Noir; the away win in the bag, and Pool 4 is theirs to lose. 

Back-to-back Blitzbokke

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South Africa clinched the third leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series by beating New Zealand 26-17 in Port Elizabeth.

The Blitzbokke have stormed to the top of the HSBC Sevens World Series. Backing up their Dubai triumph last week with another incredible display of short-form rugby at the South Africa Sevens, they were almost perfect at their home event. Unbeaten all weekend, they conceded just two tries en route to the final, which they went on to win in electrifying style against the 12-time Series champions New Zealand.

There’s been some talk that Cape Town might take over as the host of the South African leg of the Series, but on finals day the Port Elizabeth public gave the prawn sandwich brigade in the corporate suites at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium very good reason to keep this event on the Eastern Cape. In Kwagga Smith, coach Neil Powell has unearthed a world-class talent, and in Seabelo Senatla South Africa have the most exciting player on the circuit. The Sevens roadshow moves on to Wellington early next year, and on this form the Boks look on for a three-peat.

Brickbat

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Watch highlights from the fourth round of the Champions Cup as Northampton went head to head with Treviso.

Leinster have scored just four tries in the opening four rounds of the Champions Cup. By contrast, Northampton have racked up 22. Sure, the Saints enjoy the luxury of having Treviso in their pool as whipping boys, but if the Dubliners are to go further in this competition and add to their three European titles, Matt O’Connor is going to have find a way to get them across the whitewash on a more regular basis.

Bouquet

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Sam Egerton scored as Oxford created Varsity Match history by beating Cambridge 46-6 at Twickenham. The score is the biggest winning margin since 1872.

The redemption of Samson Egerton. The Oxford scrum-half walked off Twickenham in disgrace last year. Shortly after scoring a try that helped Oxford to another big win over Cambridge in the 2013 Varsity Match, he was sent off for an ugly act of foul play – and was barely visible in the post-match celebrations. Roll on 2014 and the story was the same – minus the bad bit. Setting the tone for Oxford’s record fifth straight win over the Light Blues – Egerton become the first player in over 90 years to score a try in three straight Varsity matches. Reputation restored. 

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