Category Sports News

Champions Cup

Bordeaux (24) 50

Tries: Rayasi 3, Page-Relo, Woki 3, Jalibert Cons: Page-Relo 5

Northampton (7) 28

Prem leaders Northampton were handed a European lesson by Champions Cup holders Bordeaux in a repeat of last year’s final.

Saints lost 28-20 in May’s tight and ill-tempered Cardiff showpiece but were blown away this time by a brilliant eight-try performance from the hosts in an electric atmosphere.

Star Saints back row Henry Pollock was booed throughout by a passionate home support after his part in a final-whistle scuffle in Cardiff.

The flamboyant flanker had his moments, scoring twice, but it was Bordeaux who surged on to ruthlessly exploit a gulf in class.

The French side were quicker, stronger and far more creative as they put on a clinical display, with Fiji full-back Salesi Rayasi and forward Cameron Woki both scoring hat-tricks.

Saints lost influential fly-half Fin Smith before kick-off but the England man would surely have made little difference against a Bordeaux side who have now won 24 of their past 27 home games.

Rayasi touched down the opener before Pollock’s inevitable moment of theatre. The England forward found himself on the left wing, kicked it ahead and gathered to run in and score before shushing the booing from the stands.

Saints then struggled at the scrum, with prop Danilo Fischetti being sin-binned, and they fell behind when a man down as Rayasi swapped passes with Damian Penaud to score.

Northampton went down to 13 men when flying winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey was taken out late by Rory Hutchinson and were still a man short when scrum-half Martin Page-Relo sniped through a gap in the stretched defence to score a sparkling third.

Penaud put Woki in to score a bonus point before the break and Rayasi completed a world-class hat-trick early in the second half with a ridiculous run from his own half, weaving and leaving Saints defenders in his wake.

Woki intercepted a pass to run in and score a second, before Tommy Freeman cut the lead with a fine finish after some concerted pressure.

Bordeaux again scored with ease though, Woki pocketing the loose ball from the restart to run in for his third before fly-half Matthieu Jalibert sprinted clear to bring up the 50 points on the hour mark.

Saints kept going, as Pollock scored a second fine try from a kick from Hutchinson in the closing stages and Fischetti stretched out to secure a potentially vital bonus point.

Bordeaux: Rayasi; Penaud, Depoortere, Moefana, Bielle-Biarrey; Jalibert, Page-Relo; Poirot, Lamothe (capt), Sadie, Coleman, Cazeaux, Du Preez, Woki, Matiu.

Replacements: Barlot, Perchaud, Tameifuna, Palu, Vergnes-Taillefer, Retiere, Carbery, Janse van Rensburg.

Sin-bin: Retiere (74)

Northampton: Hendy; Sleightholme, Freeman, Hutchinson, Todaro; Smith, Mitchell; Fischetti, Wright, Davison, Coles, Van der Mescht, Chick (capt), Pearson, Pollock.

Replacements: Smith, Iyogun, Millar-Mills, Prowse, Munga, Graham, McParland, Ramm.

Reigning Masters champion Shaun Murphy was eliminated on day one of the 2026 event, losing 6-2 to China’s Wu Yize in the first round.

Murphy, who beat Kyren Wilson to win the Triple Crown event for a second time a year ago, lost the opening three frames and, despite taking frame four, then lost the fifth on a black-ball finish.

Wu, 22, is ranked 13th in the world and picked up his first ranking title in November when he won the International Championship in Yanjing in his home country, beating world champions Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong and John Higgins along the way.

On his Alexandra Palace debut, Wu made a superb clearance of 137 in frame two and a break of 56 in frame seven.

He will play either current UK champion Mark Selby or China’s Xiao Guodong in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

“I felt a bit of pressure when I entered the stadium because it was the first time I’ve played in such a big stadium and the fans were so enthusiastic,” said Wu.

“After the first frame, I felt a bit more relaxed and I totally enjoyed the atmosphere. It’s definitely a great achievement for myself – my first time playing at the Masters and the first time beating Shaun Murphy.”

For 43-year-old Murphy, who reached the semi-final of the UK Championship last month, it was a disappointing afternoon with him failing to register a single break of 50.

“I’ve been looking forward to today for a year, walking out as champion, but I enjoyed the first 10 minutes,” said Murphy. “I didn’t play well, certainly the worst performance of my season, maybe the worst in the Masters.

“I’m very disappointed. None of it was there. I felt everything I touched was not there. I’ve been working very hard, practising hard, playing a lot of snooker, so I didn’t expect to play like that and I’m as shocked as anyone.

Chelsea have not had to chase for a while. At this stage, they usually lead the Women’s Super League title race – and gone on to win the last six in a row.

But with ground to make up on current leaders Manchester City, who are six points clear after beating Everton, Blues boss Sonia Bompastor is preparing for a challenging few months.

Her side meant business when they arrived at Kingsmeadow on Sunday for their first match of 2026 and a thumping 5-0 win over West Ham sent a message they will not be dethroned without a fight.

Within 49 seconds they were 1-0 up – Yu Endo’s own goal the second fastest in Women’s Super League history – and by half-time they led by four.

Sandy Baltimore’s second goal of the afternoon from the penalty spot in the 70th minute wrapped up an impressive 5-0 win.

Chelsea are aiming to defend their three domestic titles and win that elusive Women’s Champions League trophy, so can they peak at the right time to achieve their target?

“It was really important to come into this second part of the season and have the right mindset,” said Bompastor.

“We are in a different place from last season where we were at the top. But I think the club has been in this situation before.

“I’m comfortable – even if I wish we could be at the top. The only thing we can control is that we put in the best performance in every game to make sure we get the three points.

Being ruthless is not a problem Chelsea have encountered often in recent years, but it has crept in this term.

An early-season defeat at Aston Villa, underwhelming draws with Manchester United and Liverpool, and a shock 1-0 loss by Everton in December have all proved costly, with City taking command at the top.

In those games, creating chances were not the issue – it was scoring goals. But after managing 14 in their past two matches – including a 9-1 League Cup win at Liverpool in December – Chelsea seem to have rediscovered their finishing touch.

Against West Ham, they capitalised on two defensive errors and converted five of 10 shots on target, as well as hitting the crossbar.

Given Chelsea boast the meanest defence in the division with just six goals conceded from 12 games, being clinical at the other end could be a lethal combination.

“If you reflect on the first part of the season, if you analysed the performances and looked at the stats, we created a lot of opportunities” added Bompastor.

“It’s really important that you are efficient. We speak a lot about performances but the most important thing when you are at Chelsea is to win.”

That is the main message until the end of the campaign.

Chelsea know there is wriggle room in the title race with meetings against Arsenal and City to follow later this month.

They also visit an in-form Tottenham side, while their busy schedule will include the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals in March.

“When you play for Chelsea, you have to compete in four competitions and win titles,” said Bompastor. “It’s reinforcing these messages all the time.

Chelsea’s ruthlessness came at the wrong time for West Ham, who were playing in their first match under new manager Rita Guarino.

The Italian was given a harsh lesson on life in the WSL and the gap between the elite and second-bottom West Ham.

It was always going to be a tall ask to deliver a result, especially as Guarino has had just weeks with her players.

But this could not have gone much worse.

They trailed 2-0 following errors by defender Endo and goalkeeper Kinga Szemik and gave away a penalty in the second half for Viviane Asseyi’s handball.

“It was a tough game against a great opponent, who play great football and are one of the best teams in Europe,” said Guarino. “We can learn about many things, such as being more organised and not making easy mistakes because I know the quality of my players.

“It’s not about concentration. It was little tactical mistakes and understanding. If you give time and space to an opponent like Chelsea, obviously they have the chance to score.”

It is a busy few weeks for West Ham too, with further away games at Newcastle in the Women’s FA Cup on Friday and at Leicester City the following weekend.

Guarino will hope that by the time they return home – welcoming Tottenham on 1 February – they show improvement.

“I see the high level of commitment from the players. That is there in every training session and in every minute of this game,” she added.

“I saw they tried to do what we prepared [against Chelsea] but they could not always do it.

Montpellier (14) 33

Tries: Darmon, Akrab, Rates, Bernadet, Welsch Cons: Coly 2, Hogg 2

Connacht (24) 31

Montpellier scored three tries in the final 15 minutes to claim a thrilling 33-31 victory over Connacht in Pool One in the Challenge Cup.

Connacht let a 17-point lead slip and Stuart Hogg converted Valentin Welsch’s 74th-minute try to book Montpellier’s place in the knockout stages.

Despite a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions, Connacht can still reach the last 16 if they overcome bottom side US Montauban in their final pool fixture on Saturday.

Thomas Darmon’s converted try gave the hosts an early lead at the Septeo Stadium but Connacht hit back through scrum-half Ben Murphy.

Montpellier regained the lead as hooker Lyam Akrab crossed from a rolling maul, but opposite number Dylan Tierney-Martin responded and Sam Gilbert’s second conversion levelled the game once again.

Finn Treacy’s try put the Irish province ahead for the first time, and a conversion and penalty from Gilbert handed Connacht a deserved 24-14 lead at the break.

Gilbert’s superb afternoon continued as he crossed and converted his own try, which secured the four-try bonus-point and Connacht looked to be in a strong position going into the final quarter of the game.

However, a late flurry from Montpellier meant the hosts would end the game in style. After earlier being denied by Gilbert’s try-saving tackle, wing Melvyn Rates’ try was converted by Hogg, but the former Scotland international missed from the tee after Alexis Bernadet touched down out wide with 11 minutes to play.

But there was late drama as replacement prop Welsch scored under the posts to level the game, and Hogg slotted the conversion for what would be the winning kick.

Montpellier: T Vincent; D Taofifenua; T Darmon, J Piccardo; M Rates; S Hogg, L Coly; B Erdorico, L Akrab, L Japaridze; F Verhaeghe, B Chalureau; M Tauleigne, A Becognee (capt), A Masibaka.

Replacements: R Riccitelli, V Welsch, C Tolofua, M Uhila, L Gleeson, A Bernadet, A Vincent, J Ducros.

Connacht: S Gilbert; S Jennings; H West, C Forde; F Treacy, B Murphy; B Bohan, D Tierney-Martin, S Illo; D Murray, J Murphy; C Prendergast (capt), P Boyle, S Jansen.

Despite a third successive loss in their Champions Cup campaign, Scarlets remain in the hunt for a place in European knockout rugby.

Saturday’s 47-38 defeat by Pau saw them pick up a second losing bonus-point, which could prove crucial in Pool 4.

After the final round of fixtures next weekend, the top four teams qualify for the last 16 of the Champions Cup, while fifth-placed teams drop into the same stage of the Challenge Cup.

Mathematically, Scarlets can still get into the top four, but they would need to start with a bonus-point victory at Northampton Saints, who currently top of the English Premiership, and hope Pau slip up against Bulls.

“It’s obviously disappointing from a loss perspective,” said Peel after the loss to Pau.

“But I did feel like there were elements of our game that were more positive than they were in the last two games, and we’re still in with a tangible opportunity of finishing in fifth place.

“The Bulls have to travel and we have to travel to Franklin’s Gardens, which is a brilliant place to play rugby – I’ve played there myself – against a team who are full of quality.

Scarlets marked their return to Europe’s top competition with a single-point loss to Bristol Bears who, like Saints, are also flying high in the league.

A trip to French giants Bordeaux-Begles followed and, despite being outclassed, Scarlets gave a decent account against the reigning champions, who feature superstars such as Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

Pau sent a second-string side to Parc y Scarlets, but showed why they are currently second in the Top 14 in a clinical seven-try display.

Reflecting on the campaign, Peel added: “We’ve played three quality fixtures in this competition and it shows we can compete.

“Maybe a bounce of a ball might go our way one day or we might get a TMO decision that goes our way and that will change a bit of momentum, but until then, we work hard and keep moving forward.

“Saints are a really good attacking side and we conceded 40 odd points… so that’s going to be a big challenge for us to keep them at bay.