Amlin Challenge Cup 2011 weekly reports – Rugby News
Amlin Challenge Cup 2011 kicked off with the opening clash of the Worcester Warriors and Stade Francais on November 10 at Sixways, Worcester. Stade Francais toppled the home side Warriors by a comfortable margin of 23-14 after a thrilling contest. The visitors
were trailing by eight point’s difference at the break but they bounced back into the match quite nicely in the second half and forced their rivals to bite the dust.
Warriors dominated the Stade Francais right from the start of the game but lost their grip in the second part of the match as their defence crumbled and they slumped into a greater state of helplessness. They enjoyed an unanswered lead of 14 points over
opponents as they scored quickly in the first 12 minutes of the match.
Chris Pennell scored the opening try of the encounter for Warriors in the fifth minute which proved helpful for his team. Wing Marcel Garvey boosted his side with yet another try and expanded the lead to 12-0 in 11th minute. Their fly-half Joe
Carlisle converted both opportunities successfully.
During the second half, Stade Francais paid back the Warriors in the same fashion while adopting an aggressive gameplan. They managed to restrict the Warriors to their previous total of 14 points as they displayed a flawless defence. Meanwhile, their fly-half
Felipe Contepomi played a key role in his teams’ victory as he kicked five penalty goals until the 57th minute of the match. The only try of Stade Francais was scored by Paul Sackey in the 61st minute of clash.
Stade Francais, after securing the lead, never looked back and gave a final touch to their victory with the help of Contepomi’s penalty goal, he scored during the 75th minute. It was a hard fought victory for Stade Francais after perceiving an
early trail. Their fly-half Philip Contepomi was declared man of the match.
The second clash of tournament was played between Toulon and Petrarca Padova on the same day. The encounter was won by Toulon by a handsome margin of 53-22. The Toulon side grabbed an important victory at the start of the tournament as they were able to
secure a bonus point with the victory as well.
Petraraca was a little ahead of Toulon at the start and played reasonably well until the end of first half. They were just five points behind at the break but the second half proved even destructive for them. They conceded too many points in the second half
as their defence was not working at all for them. Their passes were slipping, hand-eye coordination was rare to see and the team work was almost nil. Toulon scored eight tries in the match to secure a bonus point victory.
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