Racing 33 Northampton Saints 3
Dan Carter's Racing 92 career got off to a perfect start as he orchestrated a 33-3 win over Northampton Saints in Paris .
The World Cup winner kicked three conversions and produced a commanding display as Racing ran-in five tries to move top of pool three.
Carter played 64 minutes on his debut before being substituted to a standing ovation at the Stade Yves-Du-Manoir.
“I was a little bit nervous before the game, I was unsure about how I would go after having six weeks off after the World Cup,” Carter said after the game.
“I was blowing a bit towards the end but hopefully I can keep building on this performance because it’s brilliant to be here playing for this great club.
Carter had created the space for Racing’s first try with a lovely show-and-go and when the ball was recycled back, Joe Rokocoko was able to spin the ball out wide for Chavancy to go over in the corner.
It allowed Carter to get his first points in a Racing shirt with a superb conversion from out wide.
Henry Chavancy, Eddy Ben Arous and Brice Dulin scored before half-time and the latter got a second after the interval to make sure of the bonus point for the Parisians.
Juan Imhoff completed the rout with a fifth try shortly before the end as Racing sent out a stern warning to the rest of Europe.
“You look at the talent here, there’s so many French internationals, Kiwis, South Africans, it’s a real united nations. But talent is not going to be what wins this competition it’s about how we all gel together but we showed out there tonight that we do come together well as a team and on our day we could beat anyone,” Carter said.
Exeter 31 Clermont Auvergne 14
Exeter scored 21 unanswered second-half points to beat Clermont Auvergne 31-14 and join Ospreys at the top of European Champions Cup Pool Two.
The French Top 14 pacesetters, who included 11 internationals, were no match for the Aviva Premiership’s second placed team after the break at Sandy Park.
The last time the sides met in Devon, three years ago, the French side handed out a harsh lesson with a 46-12 mauling.
This time, the visitors – playing with a strong wind at the backs, led 14-10 at the break but were pegged back.
Eddie Jones was at Sandy Park for the first time since his appointment as England’s head coach – but it was a shame for the hosts that Exeter centre Henry Slade was ruled out for four months after undergoing surgery on a broken leg and a damaged ankle.
Exeter were forced to make a late change as Sam Hill pulled up in the warm-up, so Nowell switched to centre, with Olly Woodburn promoted to the right wing and Michele Campagnaro added to the bench.
The hosts looked to have opened the scoring from a rolling maul but TMO Simon McDowell was unable to clearly see the ball ground, before Clermont’s Hosea Gear breezed through under the posts for the opening try.
Scrumhalf Morgan Parra added the extras but Gareth Steenson pulled three points back three minutes later from in front of the posts, only for Aurelien Rougerie to win the race to the touchdown for the visitors’ second try – with Parra’s conversion hitting the upright and bouncing over.
The French international then saw his 51-metre penalty bounce the wrong way off the same upright, before Exeter’s Thomas Waldrom crossed from close range and Steenson defied the wind to convert and complete the first-half scoring.
The second half comeback started when Waldrom powered over for a try which Steenson converted, before Woodburn’s try-saving tackle denied Peceli Yato.
Exeter were reduced to 14 men when Irish referee John Lacey sent Phil Dollman to the sin-bin for 10 minutes – and Yato followed him for a high tackle on replacement Dave Lewis.
The home crowd were happy when Don Armand crossed and Steenson converted and there was still time for Exeter to secure a try-scoring bonus point through lock Mitch Lees.
Steenson again converted to seal a magnificent victory for the Devon side ahead of next Sunday’s return leg.
Ospreys 19 Bordeaux 16
Dan Biggar scored all 19 points to keep Ospreys joint top of Pool Two, but it was an unconvincing performance from the hosts.
The decisive moment arrived in the 44th minute, when French wing Jean-Baptiste Dubie was sent off for a high and dangerous challenge on Biggar. Bordeaux were 13-12 in front at that stage, having scored the game’s first try through Felix le Bourhis.
Biggar went on to score a try, which he then converted, and finished with four penalties.
Pierre Bernard added the extras after Le Bourhis’ score and kicked two penalties, with his replacement, Romain Lonca, slotting a penalty in the second half.
Benetton Treviso 17 Stade Francais 50
Stade Francais ran in 50 points as they drubbed Bennetion Treviso 50-17.
Paul Williams scored a brace of tries, while six other players crossed the line.
Waisea Vuidravuwalu, Julien Arias, Meyer Bosman, Sylvain Nicolas and Sergio Parisse all dotted down in a one-sided rout.
Jules Plisson kicked six goals and a penalty to reach the half-century. The home side’s three scores came from Sam Christie, Simone Ragusi and Marco Lazzaroni.
