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Hat-trick for Nagusa as Montpellier go top

Joe Tomane split the Lyon defence with a line out move, while Timoci Nagusa scored a hat-trick as Montpellier moved to the summit of the Top 14 with a 38-17 win over Lyon after Bordeaux-Begles beat La Rochelle on Saturday.

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Vern Cotter’s men were given the opportunity to go top when La Rochelle slipped up and they grasped it with both hands at Altrad Stadium.

Montpellier had slumped to back-to-back defeats in the French top flight before beating Glasgow Warriors twice in the European Champions Cup, but dominated the second half to see off Lyon.

Nagusa was the star of the show, the Fiji winger coming off the bench to claim a second-half treble after Louis Picamoles scored two tries in the first half.

Joe Tomane added a sixth try late on for the new leaders, with five pointers from Liam Gill and Thibault Regard in vain for Lyon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhOJkQxFtzk

La Rochelle are three points behind Cotter’s side following a 29-19 loss to Bordeaux at Matmut Atlantique.

After losing to Wasps in the Champions Cup last week, La Rochelle were found out again despite Bordeaux having Jean-Baptiste Dubie’s red card in the second half for a high tackle on Vincent Rattez.

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Geoffrey Cros and Peni Ravai were Bordeaux’s try-scorers, while Matthieu Jalibert scored 19 points with the boot in La Rochelle’s fourth Top 14 loss of the season.

Castres are up to third after a 28-6 win over Stade Francais and Agen beat fellow strugglers Brive 27-13.

Pau edged out Clermont Auvergne 22-21 and Toulon scored six tries in a 49-25 rout of bottom side Oyonnax.

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G
GrahamVF 1 hour ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

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