Alex Rowe scores on the bell. Brown converts and we go to oranges with Sheffield leading 16-10

Drop goal by deurau calms any nerves there might have been 25-18

3 left now

superb work from Simon ( I think) through the middle and good backing up by JPB and Blanch (who else) the tryscorer on the hootage

No offence to the Cru but I reckon we made hard work of that one and two periods of pressure stick in my mind, if Cruaders had done more with those chances in the 1st they could have been in with a real shout.

Peroni time

White's 2nd, Nicholls goal. 16 each on 45

Back-to-back tries around the hour mark. Taulapapa and Menzie Yere. 26-26 for Sheffield and a suspicion that it's broken Toulouse's back.

Yep. Late one from Peter Green and Sheffield win 32-16

Scrappy start from both teams but they showed some good touches. Catalan seem to always be looking for a try rather than being patient and getting through their sets. It's great to watch but invites stray passes and handling errors.
About 13 minutes into the game there was a lovely bit of play which started on the Catalan twenty with a slip pass from Blanch. Three tackles later the Crusaders full back had to push the ball dead and concede the drop-out. Senyor Raguin was almost embarrassed (or not as the case may be) when in a three man tackle his shorts were pulled down. My girlfriend enjoyed that far too much for my liking. The first real chance came from a lovely outside of the boot chip over the top from Dureau which was collected comfortably by Baille although I wasn't 100% he'd grounded it properly. After seeing it again he clearly lost it and so video referee Ian Smith made the correct decision. Crusaders' kicking was poor with almost every kick finding either Blanch or Greenshields and it took a lot of pressure of the Dragons defence. The first try of the game came on the half hour after a cracking series if passes from the right wing to the left finished off by Millard. One thing we noted in the first half was how quick Baille looked. He made a good few breaks of at least 10 metres which started with a string hand off and were continued by a real burst of pace. He grabbed a well deserved try 5 minutes before half time after several minutes of some mesmerising rugby from Catalan. It seemed like everyone from 1 to 13 had touched the ball and Crusaders couldn't get anywhere near the Dragons. Just before half time Witt threw Sa a ridiculous dummy and the big man bought it big time. Witt strolled in and all he had to do was put the ball down but he decided to stand on the whitewash of the far in-goal instead. However from what I heard a penalty was given against Sammut at the previous play of the ball though. Lucky escape either way.

Catalan had me pulling my hair out 12 minutes into the second half. After some lovely passes and clever rugby Sa decided to throw the ball to a teammate's head. Mellars scooped up the loose ball and raced 60 metres to touch down. Straight from the kick off Kear ignored rule number 1 and let the ball bounce... into touch meaning a drop out. More Catalan pressure this time resulted in a try for ----- next to the posts. Not long after Dragons were in again. Blanch beat the opposite winger and his centre to race in from 25 metres. A large part if the work was done for him with a quality Baille cut out pass on 55 minutes. Both Baille and the Irishman had stand out games and as I commented to my mate, I can't believe the difference in Baille since I last saw him over a year ago. Two Dureau kicks to the right corner in quick succession forced more drop-outs and it seemed like only a matter of time before Catalan went in again. They really seemed to be enjoying their rugby and tried some real off the cuff stuff, notably a cheeky behind the back flick from Vaccari. But it was Crusaders who scored with Tansey waltzing through some very soft tackles to score and then celebrate in front of the empty stand. Very surreal.
Crusaders went in again with only 7 minutes left and it was game on. The bloke's a bit special and did it all on his own. If Tansey's try owed a lot to the Dragons defence this was pure Sammut. He broke through a tackle on the half way line and found himself in open play with three defenders in front if him. The little man chipped over the top and beat them all to put fall on the ball and make for a very tense end to the game. A quick move up the field on the following set of six and Dureau dropped deep. You knew what was coming and sure enough he popped the ball over leaving the Welsh needing two tries. The game was put beyond doubt with a last second try by that man Blanch again. He looks like the move from Wakefield has given him a new lease of life and he had a big smile on his face as he went innunder the sticks.

I was impressed with both teams but some of the mistakes were really basic. The Catalans were fantastic to watch in attack but some of their defence was downright poor. They really need to work on their tackling and concentration in training.
I thought Crusaders looked much better with Sammut and Winterstein on the field. The Jack Sparrow lookalike has got such a fast rugby brain and I love the way Winterstein runs hard and fast angles.
There were a few Crusaders and Welsh flags on show which was great to see.
The new stand looks great and I can't wait to see and hear it full.

But it was Scotland international hooker Ian Henderson, coming off the bench to dominate the ruck and midfield areas, who really got the Catalans roaring.
...
Good old BBC

Dureau V Sammut
Those two have been going head to head since they were about 16.
Dureau usually wins, but he still needs to beat Sammut another dozen times to make up for the 2006 under 20s grandfinal in my books.
They'd actually play really well together - Dureau with the brains, Sammut with the freakish skills.

Ironically at the same time I was watching his brother Andrew do exactly the same to Toulouse !

what a family !

Our cub reporter has [url=http://www.sang-et-or.net/readarticle.php?article_id=877filed his despatch[/url from the Brutus

Dureau absolutely running away with the [url=http://www.sang-et-or.net/viewpage.php?page_id=63player of the year[/url award. And to think some people were sceptical about his signing. *coughs* *shuffles nervously* *stares at shoes*

Crusaders should have had 50 put past them? Really?
And while Sammut's try had a bit of luck about it the little man's skill outweighed any fortune he may gave had.

That's the opinion of our reporter, so it's good enough for me.

Always good to have different opinions. One of the key factors in a successful open forum.

his first few games were rubbish !

but he's settled in well under a competant coach and has some great support around him so well done to all involved in his improvement - long may it last...

regarding Tony Gigot - on saturday he wasn't listed as being injured for TO13 and wasn't on any team sheet - rumour has it that he was dropped by Dumas for having such a bad game against Barrow - I believe he has personal 'issues' with Dumas just like all the other TO13 lads.Biennes was sacked a few weeks ago for breach of discipline as I understand it and Josh Lewis has returned to Australia having had his contract terminated by mutual consent it seems.

Dumas is winding a lot of people up at present and many players,maybe up to half the squad will be leaving at the end of the season even if Dumas isn't at the club - there's deffo big problems in the camp....

Dureau was very lucky that he played under Trent Robinson in the lower grades and that Trent got a head coach job, because Brian Smith nearly killed his career.
Under Brian Smith Dureau was required to play set moves worked out by the coaching staff, and the second he did something spontaneous he was back on the bench or in reserve grade. As a consequence his brilliant, instinctive play dissappeared and he was playing crap.
Robinson knew what he could do and has let him do it.
It's a symbiotic relationship. The only success Robbo has had as a coach was with the Knights reserve grade and now with Catalans, and each time all he has done is let Dureau play his natural game.

There's a lot to be said for that. Noble at Crusaders last season, for example. Put your trust in players and they tend to respond. Unlike the rigidity of the systems at Toulouse and woe betide anyone who strays from the party line.

Finally, your Toulouse report now [url=http://www.sang-et-or.net/readarticle.php?article_id=879online[/url. Peter's angry

Just how bad can Tolouse get? Are they permanently exempt from relegation?

This is the last year of their exemption.

Will they be viable (should they go down) in Championship 1?
When I was in Tolouse a couple of weeks ago I was amazed by the number of locals who either didn't know much about them or didn't know they even existed. What effect would it have on the club if they returned to the French league?