CHALLENGE CUP: Warriors eye Gloucester 'deciders'

Their back-to-back Challenge Cup showdowns next month will be both that and vital to the knock-out stages qualification hopes from Pool Four.

The Warriors went down 8-27 to a fired up Zebre at a rain-swept Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi that has left 2005 and 2008 tournament finalists with it all to do.

"Matches against Gloucester are always special fixtures in whatever competition we are playing them, be it the premiership or the European Challenge Cup," said Worcester head coach Carl Hogg.

"And, while we look forward to those matches next month, we now have to reflect on how to improve on this first-half performance."

Hogg was quick to admit "we were poor" and that there is plenty of room for improvement ahead of the Gloucester double header.

"We lost out on the base level of the set piece and collision area and that effectively lost us the game in the first 40 minutes," Hogg added

"We lost it in that first half and although we managed the game far better in the second half and we were far more competitive, it was too little too late."

"Ben Howard looked assured in the back three but collectively we lost the game through our base level of the game."

European Challenge Cup scores and scorers from Saturday:

Sale Sharks 29-20 Pau

Sale Sharks left it late, but No.8 Viliami Fihakiank came up with the 77th minute goods for a priceless try bonus point as they won a Pool Two thriller against Pau at the AJ Bell Stadium to keep their knock-out stages qualification hopes alive.

The scorers:

For Sale Sharks:

Tries: Mujati, Jennings, James, Mills

Cons: Ford 3

Pen: Ford

For Pau:

Tries: Ramsay, Lespiaucq

Cons: Daubagna 2

Pens: Daubagna 2

Teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Michael Haley, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Sam James, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Will Addison, 10 Joe Ford, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Vili Fihaki, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Magnus Lund (captain), 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison.

Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 James Flynn, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Jon Mills, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 James Mitchell, 22 Tim Jeffers, 23 Neville Edwards.

Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14, Sireli Bobo, 13 Jale Vatubua, 12 Watisoni Votu, 11 Elijah Niko, 10 Santiago Fernandez, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Jean Bouilhou (captain), 6 Loic Bernad, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Claude Dry, 3 Giorgi Natsarashvili, 2 Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, 1 Chris King.

Replacements: 16 Vincent Campo, 17. Jérémy Hurou, 18 Geoffrey Moise, 19 Josefa Ulago Domolailai, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Samuel Marques, 22 Mosese Ratuvou, 23 Pierre Dupouy.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Assistant Referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)

Zebre 27-8 Worcester Warriors

Zebre won only their third tournament match as they beat Worcester Warriors 27-8 at a rain-swept Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

The scorers:

For Zebre:

Tries: Violi, Boni

Con: Canna

Pens: Canna 4

DG: Canna

For Worcester Warriors:

Try: Hammond

Pen: Lamb

Yellow card: Sam Betty (Worcester Warriors)

Teams:

Zebre: 15 Guglielmo Palazzani, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Dries van Schalkwyk, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Jacopo Sarto, 5 George Biagi (captain), 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Andrea Lovotti.

Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Tommaso Boni, 23 Edoardo Padovani.

Worcester Warriors: 15 Ben Howard, 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Max Stelling, 12 Alex Grove, 11 Dean Hammond, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 JB Bruzulier (captain), 8 Marco Mama, 7 Sam Betty, 6 Carl Kirwan, 5 Darren O'Shea, 4 Dan Sanderson, 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Ryan Bower.

Replacements: 16 Ben Sowrey, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Joe Rees, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Ryan Mills, 23 Tom Biggs.

Referee: Tual Trainini (France)

Assistant referees: Salem Attalah (France), Vincent Blasco Baque (France)

Connacht 21-17 Brive

Connacht made it two from two and took early control of Pool One with a hard earned 21-17 victory over a battling Brive team at The Sportsground – the Irish team the ones on the defensive in a tense and tight finish as they narrowly missed out on a try bonus point.

The scorers:

For Connacht:

Tries: Parata, Marshall, Marmion

Pens: Carty 2

For Brive:

Tries: Acquier, Masilevu, Galala

Con: Iribaren

Teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran (captain), 14 Rory Parata, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Danie Poolman, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Nepia Fox Matamua, 6 Eoghan Masterson, 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Ben Marshall, 3 Nathan White, 2 Jason Harris Wright, 1 Ronan Loughney.

Replacements: 16 David Heffernan, 17 Conan O'Donnell, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Danny Qualter, 20 George Naoupu, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Niyi Adeolokun.

Brive: 15 Romain Sola, 14 Elia Radikedike, 13 Benjamin Petre, 12 Christopher Tuatara, 11 Benito Masilevu, 10 Matthieu Ugalde, 9 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine (captain), 8 William Whetton. 7 Poutasi Luafutu, 6 Hugues Briatte, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Johan Snyman, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Thomas Acquier, 1 Damien Lavergne.

Replacements: 16 Guillaume Ribes, 17 Goderzi Shvelidze, 18 Giorgi Jgenti, 19 Victor Lebas, 20 Said Hireche, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Alfifeleti Mafi, 23 Sevanaia Galala.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England)

Assistant referees: Andrew Small (England), Nigel Carrick (England)

Castres Olympique 32-29 Newport Gwent Dragons

Castres Olympique just edged out Newport Gwent Dragons in a thrilling European Challenge Cup tie that ended 32-29 in favour of the home side.

The scorers:

For Castres Olympique:

Tries: Kirkpatrick, Palis, Combezou, Tulou

Cons: Palis 3

Pens: Palis 2

For Newport Gwent Dragons:

Tries: Meyer, Dee

Cons: Jones 2

Pens: Jones 4, Meyer

Yellow cards: Alexandre Bias (Castres Olympique), Dorian Jones (Newport Gwent Dragons)

Teams:

Castres Olympique: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Romain Martial, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Romain Cabannes (captain), 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Julien Seron, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Alexandre Bias, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Victor Moreaux, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau.

Replacements: 16 Mathieu Bonello, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Lucas Martinez, 19 Alex Tulou, 20 Theo Hannoyer, 21 Julien Dumora, 22 Remi Lamerat, 23 Antoine Dupont.

Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Ed Jackson, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Rynard Landman (captain), 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Phil Price.

Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Nic Cudd, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Ross Wardle.

Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Kieran Barry (Ireland), Barrie O'Connell (Ireland)

Grenoble 27-20 London Irish

Clement Gelin scored a last-gasp try as Grenoble snatched a 27-20 victory over London Irish in Pool Five of the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

The scorers:

For Grenoble:

Tries: Heguy, Alexandre, Gelin

Cons: Bosch 3

Pens: Bosch 2

For Irish:

Tries: Williams, Sinclair

Cons: Noakes, Brophy-Clews

Pens: Brophy-Clews 2

Teams:

Grenoble: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Lucas Dupont, 13 Fabrice Estebanez, 12 Nigel Hunt, 11 Daniel Kilioni, 10 Gilles Bosch, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Rory Grice, 7 Fabien Alexandre, 6 Peter Kimlin, 5 Hendrik Roodt, 4 Ben Hand (captain), 3 Dayna Edwards, 2 Arnaud Heguy, 1 Fabien Barcella.

Replacements: 16 Loick Jammes, 17 Sona Taumalolo, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Mathias Marie, 20 Steven Setephano, 21 Christophe Loustalot, 22 Clement Gelin, 23 Xavier Mignot.

London Irish: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Alex Lexington, 13 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Topsy Ojo, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Darren Allison, 8 Luke Narraway, 7 Joe Trayfoot, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Matt Symons (captain), 4 Eoin Sheriff, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Gerard Ellis, 1 Tom Court.

Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Tom Smallbone, 18 Ben Franks, 19 David Sisi, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Conor Gilsenan, 22 Scott Steele, 23 Theo Brophy-Clews.

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)

Assistant referees: Neil Hennessy (Wales), Simon Rees (Wales)

TMO: Jonathan Mason (Wales)

@ERChallengeCup