Super Rugby
There were only six matches in Super Rugby as several teams had the weekend off but among those matches there were some important showdowns. The biggest took place between the Stormers and the Brumbies. It was tight throughout but the Stormers used a try from Schalk Burger and five penalties and a drop goal from Demetri Catrakilis to win 25-24. The Stormers are now tied with the Bulls, who lost to the Rebels 42-22, at the top of the South African Conference. The Brumbies keep their lead in Australia but only by a point and having played one more match than the Waratahs. Speaking of the Waratahs, they lost to the Western Force 18-11.
Back in South Africa, the Lions put pressure on the Bulls and the Stormers with a 28-23 win over the Highlanders. They now sit three points back in a three horse race. The Sharks are ten points back after they lost to the Hurricanes 32-24. The Wellington side are tops in New Zealand, ten points ahead of the Chiefs. The Crusaders have struggled this year but not as much as the Reds, who they beat 58-17.
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Aviva Premiership
Northampton are going to finish as the top team in the regular season after beating London Welsh 46-0. Bath are the closest team to them but at six points behind and with one match to go they can't be caught. Bath are guaranteed a playoff spot thanks to their tight 27-26 win over Harlequins. A late penalty from George Ford was enough for the win. Saracens have surprisingly dropped out of the playoff chase after losing to Exeter 24-20. Thomas Waldrom led the way with two tries for the Chiefs. Exeter are in fourth place and are level of points with Saracens. Both are just one point behind Leicester. The Tigers are on a roll as they beat Wasps 26-21. Saracens have the easiest road next week as they play London Welsh. Exeter will play Sale and Leicester will face Northampton. In other scores, Gloucester beat London Irish 35-13 and Sale beat Newcastle 34-28.
Top 14
There was controversy in the Paris derby as Sergio Parisse was shown an early red card on Sunday for hitting a Racing Metro player in the air. Despite that, and a later yellow card to Julien Dupuy, Stade Francais rode the kicking of Morne Steyn to seven penalties and a 28-19 win. Stade sit fourth in the table behind a surging Toulouse side who beat Brive 67-19. Toulon are still the leaders after beating Castres 37-21 and Clermont are still second after beating Grenoble 37-17. It's not looking good for Lyon who drew with La Rochelle 16-16. They and Bayonne, who lost to Montpellier 33-16, are in danger of relegation. Finally, Bordeaux beat Oyonnax 26-23.
Guinness Pro12
The playoff spots in the Guinness Pro12 are settled. Munster, Ospreys, and Glasgow are all tied on 70 points with Ulster right behind them at 69 points. With only one round to play Leinster, the next closest team, can't catch Ulster. All four top teams also played each other on the weekend. Munster used six penalties from Ian Keatley to draw with Ulster 23-23. Chris Fusaro scored a try for Glasgow while Ben John and Rhys Webb did the same for the Ospreys to give the Welsh side a 21-10 victory. Leinster tried their best but only managed a 10-0 lead over Benetton Treviso. Fellow Italians Zebre lost to Connacht 40-10 to cement their places at the bottom of the table. In an all Welsh battle Scarlets beat Cardiff 16-6. Lastly, the Dragons beat Edinburgh 19-5.
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship final is set and no surprise it will be Worcester and Bristol for a spot in the Premiership. Bristol had a 12 point lead heading into the second leg of their series against Rotherham and only added to that with a 24-16 win in leg two. Worcester held a five point lead over London Scottish and won the second leg 38-15.
Pro D2
The Pro D2 wrapped up it's regular season over the weekend. Throughout the year, aside from top team Pau, the race was very tight to see who would make the playoffs. In the end it's Mont-de-Marsan, Perpignan, Agen, and Albi that will fight for promotion with Aurillac and Biarritz just missing out. Mont-de-Marsan lost to Bezeirs 22-21, Perpignan beat Agen 26-23, Albi beat Pau 34-27, Aurillac beat Bourgoin 54-21, and Biarritz lost to Dax 29-28. Dax and Massy, who lost to Montauban 59-36 will both be relegated. Lastly, Carcassonne beat Colomiers 40-25 and Tarbes beat Narbonne 44-30.
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza also finished it's regular season. Rovigo, Calvisano, Mogliano, and Fiamme Oro Roma will make the playoffs. Rovigo beat Cavalieri 50-0, Calvisano drew with Viadana 25-25, Mogliano lost to Fiamme Oro Roma 38-21. In other scores, San Dona beat Lazio 33-20 and Petrarca beat L'Aquila 28-14.
Romania
In Romania the Timisoara Saracens hold a three point lead over Steaua Bucuresti thanks to their 33-14 win over Baia Mare, Steaua did their part to stay close with a 30-22 win over Dinamo Bucuresti. It was a Bucharest sweep as CSM Bucuresti beat U Cluj 41-20.
Shute Shield
Eastwood picked up a big victory as they beat Sydney University 34-29. They now lead Manly by six points. Manly beat Randwick 34-3. Souths beat Norths 32-31 in a tight match, Warringah kept pace with an 86-3 win over Penrith, West Harbor beat Easts 21-15, and Gordon beat Parramatta 28-25.
Vodacom Cup
The last round of the Vodacom Cup took place over the weekend with the Lions beat the Griffons 36-20 to finish first. Also, the Leopards beat Namibia 33-25 and the Falcons beat Limpopo 38-27.