Internationals
With questions growing regarding Wales heading into the weekend the team answered their critics in a big way with a 12-6 win over South Africa at Millennium Stadium. It was the first time Wales have beaten South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand since 2008, a run of 22 matches. Neither side had clearcut opportunities as Leigh Halfpenny kicked four penalties to only two from Pat Lambie. The match wasn't without controversy as Cornal Hendricks was shown a very soft yellow card in the 62nd minute. Wales didn't score during the advantage but it took a chance away from South Africa.
The other international from the weekend saw England beat Australia 26-17. In what was a preview of next year's World Cup pool play Australia got on the board first through a Bernard Foley penalty in the third minute. However, a penalty from George Ford and a try from Ben Morgan gave England a 13-3 lead at halftime. Foley would score a try before Morgan would score his second for England. Ford would also add three more penalties in the match while Will Skelton scored for Australia.
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Aviva Premiership
Northampton have a two point edge at the top of the standings through nine matches thanks to their 43-14 romp over London Welsh. Seven different players scored tries for the Saints. Not only did Bath see the debut of Sam Burgess but they also picked up a 25-6 win over the Harlequins to go second in the table. Exeter have moved to third after they beat Saracens 27-19. Gareth Steenson did all the scoring for the Chiefs with nine penalties. Saracens are now tied for fourth with Leicester. The Tigers beat Wasps 18-16. Both Saracens and Leicester are a full 10 points behind Northampton. In other scores, Gloucester beat London Irish 21-9 and Sale beat Newcastle 18-13.
Top 14
There was no bigger match in the Top 14 last weekend that Toulon vs. Clermont. It was tight but two tries from David Smith and another from Maxime Mermoz were enough to overcome tries from Fritz Lee and Aurelien Rougerie to give Toulon a 27-19. The win moves Toulon to the top of the table. Stade Francais are still in the thick of the chase only two points back after beating Brive 20-17. Stade had to overcome two yellow cards but did enough of their scoring early to hold on for the win. Racing Metro and Grenoble are next in the table. Racing beat Castres 14-9 while Grenoble beat Toulouse 25-22. Elsewhere, La Rochelle and Bayonne drew 19-19, Lyon topped Montpellier 23-20, and Oyonnax beat Bordeaux 28-23.
Guinness Pro12
A big move from Munster and a two game slide from the Ospreys have the Irish side at the top of the table. It almost didn't happen for Munster as they narrowly escaped with a 21-20 win over Ulster. A try from Ulster's Nick Williams in the 79th nearly did Munster in had the conversion gone through. For their part, the Ospreys seemed to miss the play of Jeff Hassler on the wing as they fell to Leinster 18-12. Ian Madigan and Jimmy Gopperth each had three penalties. The Ospreys, Glasgow, and Ulster are all only one point behind Munster. Glasgow beat the Dragons 19-15. Zebre earned a rare win as they embarrassingly beat Edinburgh 18-10. Lastly, Cardiff beat Benetton Treviso 36-25 and Connacht beat the Scarlets 14-8.
British & Irish Cup
In Group 1, Bristol helped solidify their lead with a 31-26 win over Pontypridd. London Scottish also beat the Connacht Eagles 17-7. Rotherham lead in Group 2 after they beat the Ulster Ravens 52-17 and Yorkshire Carnegie beat Aberavon 43-32. Worcester and Doncaster continued the English domination with leads in Group 3 and Group 4 respectively. Worcester beat Moseley 31-12 and Munster A beat Nottingham 23-16. Doncaster beat Bedford 17-15 and the Cornish Pirates beat Cross Keys 30-21. Leinster A are the only team to be winning their group. In Group 5 they beat Carmarthen Quins 67-12 while Plymouth Albion beat Jersey 23-14.
Pro D2
Pau still have a decided edge in the Pro D2 after a 24-22 win over Montauban. Mont-de-Marsan, Albi, and Colomiers are the next closest teams over ten points away. Mont-de-Marsan beat Albi 26-17 and Colomiers beat Bourgoin 24-17. In other scores, Agen beat Dax 22-17, Beziers topped Carcassonne 16-12, Perpignan drew with Aurillac 15-15, and Tarbes beat Massy 26-7. Narbonne vs. Biarritz was postponed.
Eccellenza
Things went according to expectations over the weekend in the Eccellenza. Leaders Calvisano beat Petrarca while second place Rovigo beat Viadana 16-11. Winless Cavalieri stayed that way with a 36-0 loss to Lazio while L'Aquila did the same with a 38-9 loss to Mogliano. Finally, Fiamme Oro Roma beat San Dora 23-16.
Top League
The Top League got the second part of it's season underway over the weekend. The Panasonic Wildknights are the early leaders in Group 1 (the best teams from the first part of the season) after beating Toyota Verblitz 30-10. Other Group 1 winners include the Canon Eagles 35-11 over the NTT Shining Arcs, Suntory 16-12 over Yamaha Jubilo, and Toshiba Fuchu Brave Lupus 30-20 over the Kobelco Steelers. In Group 2, the Kubota Spears beat the Coca-Cola West Red Sparks, NTT-Docomo Red Hurricanes beat Toyota Shokki Shuttle 38-17, Kintetsu Liners beat the NEC Green Rockets 12-8, and the Ricoh Black Rams beat the Fukuoka Sanix Blues 21-16.