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Relive some of the festive action from the Top 14 and English Premiership
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Top 14: Grenoble v Toulouse
Everything about this match screamed romantic sporting epic: Bottom-of-the-league Grenoble, with two wins all season – the last in October – came into the game on the back of a 71-3 European Challenge Cup drubbing in Wales. They faced a Toulouse side fresh from a two-match glorified training session in their back-to-back European Champions Cup matches against Italian whipping boys Zebre and in the hunt for a play-off spot. This match will not go down as a classic but what the action lacked in pure quality it more than made up for in sheer drama – an early surprise; a beautiful move that ended in a disallowed try; and one of those hold-your-breath dying periods that featured backs-to-the-wall defence in the face pounding, churning wave after wave of attack.
Premiership: Wasps v Bath
The pre-Christmas battle between second and third in the Aviva Premiership was always going to be a tasty affair – and to add just a dash of extra spice Wasps were one match away from an unbeaten 2016 at home when they faced Bath in front of a 26,292 crowd on Christmas Eve at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena. What followed was a joyous celebration of running, attacking rugby. It took just six minutes for the first try to be recorded – in truth, it should have been the third or fourth – and the scoring did not let up until the seventh touchdown of the game some 10 minutes from the end.
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Premiership: Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers
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With five wins from six games in all competitions going into this game dating back to the beginning of November, there’s no wonder Exeter were confident ahead of their Christmas Eve outing at Sandy Park. But their opponents were the gritty, determined and very much used-to-winning side from the East Midlands, who had claimed the spoils in seven of the last eight games against the side from southwest England. At stake was a festive place in the all-important top four. Sure, there’s a long way to go before that really matters, but it’s better to hold on to the position rather than chase it.
Top 14: Clermont v Stade Francais
Clermont’s Stade Marcel Michelin is one of French rugby’s great club grounds. And Clermont, for all that they cannot seem to win any silverware, are one of the great modern Top 14 sides. Two nights before Christmas, the Stade halfway up an extinct volcano in the Massif Central was decked out with nearly 18,000 mostly fancy-dressed fans looking for any reason for a festive celebration. And they got it, courtesy of an eight-try exhibition of champagne rugby from explosive start to equally explosive finish.
