Super Rugby
Super Rugby got underway this last weekend with four of the five South African teams seeing action. Up first was the Cheetahs and the Lions in what was the first match back in Super Rugby for the Lions. It was a tight match throughout with both teams exchanging penalties early on. The Cheetahs seemed to take the lead with tries from Raymond Rhule and Cornall Hendricks but penalties from Marnitz Boshoff kept the Lions in the match. Boshoff would then play hero as a 79th minute drop goal gave the Lions a surprise 21-20 win. In the other match the Sharks scored four tries as they dominated the Bulls in a 31-16 win.
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Aviva Premiership
It was a red card filled weekend in the Aviva Premiership with a couple of matches being blighted by offenses. None was more prominent than in Northampton's 30-14 win over Worcester where Warriors captain Jonathan Thomas was sent off for punching Sam Dickinson. At that point the Saints only led 16-11 but were able to stretch their lead the rest of the way for a win. The Saints remain at the top of the table. Saracens are still just a point behind after they beat Sale 15-10. Charlie Hodgson scored all of the Sarries points. Bath will be hoping that new recruit Sam Burgess will be enough to push them in the second half of the season. Even without him they beat Exeter 27-23. In other scores, Leicester beat Gloucester 11-8, Harlequins topped Newcastle 18-14, and London Irish beat London Wasps 23-20.
Top 14
The roller coaster ride that is Clermont continued over the week with a 16-13 loss to Grenoble. Each team scored a try a piece but and extra penalty from Julien Caminati was the difference. Grenoble also had to overcome two yellow cards. Clermont's loss was good for Stade Francais who also stumbled. They lost to Brive 28-12. Taking advantage of the situation was Montpellier who destroyed Perpignan 50-19. They now have 53 points, two behind Clermont and one ahead of Stade. Toulon are back in the top four with their 19-13 win over Castres (the teams are tied on 51 points). Other winners include Racing Metro over Bayonne 18-8 and Toulouse 16-6 over Biarritz. Oyonnax and Bordeaux had their match postponed.
RaboDirect Pro12
Nothing has changed in the RaboDirect Pro12 as Munster still hold the top spot followed by Leinster. Munster had an easy time with Zebre 36-8 while Leinster beat the Dragons 31-19. The biggest surprise of the weekend was the Ospreys 75-7 demolition of Benetton Treviso. The Ospreys scored 11 tries as Benetton Treviso seemed to have given up on the season. The Ospreys sit third in the table. Glasgow have two games in hand even after they beat Cardiff 27-20. Elsewhere, Connacht were victorious over Edinburgh 11-7 and Ulster and Scarlets had their match postponed.
RFU Championship
Postponements were the theme of the RFU Championship over the weekend. Ealing-Beford, Plymouth-Jersey, and Cornish Pirates-London Welsh were all postponed. Of the matches that did take place Leeds beat Moseley 62-5 to temporarily a top the table. Rotherham beat London Scottish 15-12 to push the Exiles further back. Finally, Bristol beat Nottingham 25-24.
Pro D2
Lyon have opened up a strong lead in the Pro D2 with their 52-5 victory over Beziers on Sunday. La Rochelle is the closest team to them nine points back. They beat Pau 28-23. After that only Agen is within touching distance and they lost to Narbonne 33-24. Around the league Colomiers and Albi played to a 6-6 draw, Tarbes defeated Bourgoin 18-16, Aurillac beat Carcassonne 18-12, Mont-de-Marsan beat Auch 19-0, and Dax defeated Bressance 23-20.
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza had the weekend off.