Saturday Round-Up

Hook wins it for Gloucester late on

Gloucester made it two wins from two defeating Saracens 24-23 at Kingsholm last night with James Hook splitting the posts with a penalty from halfway to secure the win for the Cherry and Reds. In what was a highly entertaining game of Rugby it did not look like Gloucester were going to get the better of this Sarries side but with the clock at 80 minutes Hook was able to fire his side to victory and condemn Saracens to their 4th defeat of the season. In a game that swung both ways Saracens looked to have secured a win after Mako Vunipola had gone over for his side's third try of the game to give them a 23-21 lead. Goode missed the extras which proved to to be costly for Mark McCall’s side. With a minute on the clock Saracens had possession of the ball and after De Kock kicked a ball towards the line Ashton was there first to go over and that looked to be the match for Saracens. However referee JP Doyle went upstairs to the TMO and spotted that Ashton was in an offside position when De Kock had kicked the ball. So instead of Saracens kicking a conversion to seal the win they were facing a potential match winning kick from Hook. It was no easy kick for the Welshman and after a less than convincing display from the boot not many were expecting him to split the posts. However he proved his doubters wrong with the ball sailing over the bar to secure the win for the Cherry and Reds. A huge win for Ian Humphreys side but a win that comes at a cost with forwards Nick Wood and Ben Morgan facing a long time on the sidelines after both suffered serious injuries. The injury to Morgan will comes as a blow to Stuart Lancaster and the English side with the number 8 now certain to miss the upcoming Six Nations campaign and depending on the results of further scans and X-rays could be a doubt for the World Cup in September.

Connacht suffer first home defeat of the season

Connacht’s eight-match unbeaten record at the Sportsground was ended as they were beaten 16-13 by Edinburgh. On a wet and windy night in the West of Ireland it was tough for both players to deal with the conditions but it was Edinburgh who were able to pick up the win and secure their second win on the bounce after defeating Glasgow Warriors last weekend. After the opening 40 minutes it looked like Connacht were on their way to another home win and led 13-7 thanks to the boot of Nikora and a penalty try. However it was their lack of discipline at the breakdown which cost Connacht in the second half as they continued to give away penalties in kickable positions and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne punished them to make it 13-13 as we entered into the final 10 minutes. The comeback was then complete when Finlay Bealham was penalised and Hidalgo-Clyne was able to splits the posts despite the  wet and windy conditions. Connacht did their best to push for a late score but it never came with Edinburgh holding on for the win. Both these sides now turn their attention to the European Challenge Cup next week with both sides looking to secure quarter-final places.