Taking a look at the recent Champions Cup matches. The Stormers were unfortunate when Libbok’s 79th-minute conversion attempt missed its mark after a try by Suleiman Hartzenberg. Despite the South African outhalf’s impressive performance, including 11 successful points to put the Stormers in the lead and the additional points following Herschel Jantjies’ initial try, the game didn’t end as they might have wished. Ten minutes into the second half, Libbok extended their lead with a further penalty, putting them 15 points ahead.
However, Ronan O’Gara’s team made a swift comeback, courtesy of a Louis Penverne try, neatly converted by Antoine Hastoy, who also managed to secure another penalty. The French team pushed into the lead with a try from Gregory Alldritt, later successfully converted and an additional try from Joel Sclavi. This resulted in a thrilling finale where the reigning champions, La Rochelle, just managed to edge through. Overall, it was a game where the determination to win was clearly displayed. On the other hand, in another match, the Bulls soundly beat Lyon 59-19.
We’re also setting our sights on the upcoming last 16 Champions Cup match between Leinster and Leicester hosted at the Aviva. The apparent similarities in their names may be misleading, since in terms of performance, they differentiate significantly. Leinster, leading the URC league and the second seeds for the Champions Cup, boast an impressive 15 wins in 17 games across all competitions. In contrast, Leicester, sitting at the seventh position in the Premiership table, struggled to reach this stage. Thus, expectations are high for an Irish province win. However, as always, surprises are a part of knockout rugby. Kick off is scheduled for 8pm.
Intriguingly, the victors of this game will face La Rochelle, the current Champions Cup champions, led by Ronan O’Gara. They’ve recently demonstrated their mettle by overturning a 16 point deficit to barely defeat the Stormers 22-21 in Cape Town. Consequently, this saw them securing a quarter-final position. However, the game had a nail-biting finish as Manie Libbok, the Stormers’ outhalf, narrowly missed securing a victory with his conversion attempt during the game’s final moments.
The Leinster team comprised of H Keenan, J Larmour, R Henshaw, J Osborne, J Lowe; R Byrne, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong; R Molony, J McCarthy; R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris. The team’s replacements were R Kelleher, C Healy, M Ala’alatoa, J Jenkins, J Conan, B Murphy, H Byrne, C Frawley. On the other hand, Leicester Tigers’ team had J Shillock, F Steward, D Kelly, S Kata, O Hassell-Collins; H Pollard, J van Poortvliet; J Cronin, J Montoya (capt), D Cole; H Wells, K Hatherell; H Liebenberg, O Cracknell, J Wiese. Their substitutes included C Clare, F van Wyk, W Hurd, F Carnduff, E Ilione, T Whiteley, P Cokanasiga, and M Brown.