Latest news with #FraserDingwall
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Saints accuse Bordeaux of ‘foul play' towards Henry Pollock in post-final fracas
Northampton have urged tournament officials to launch an investigation into a post-game fracas involving England's Henry Pollock after Bordeaux's Champions Cup final victory. It is understood Saints will make a citing complaint if the incident does not lead to an official disciplinary probe. Phil Dowson, Saints' director of rugby, said the 20-year-old had been the victim of 'foul play' by a Bordeaux player. The meleé was initially sparked by an altercation between the Northampton captain, Fraser Dingwall, and the French international fly-half Matthieu Jalibert, before several other Bordeaux players became involved. Advertisement Related: Northampton heartbreak as Penaud inspires Bordeaux to Champions Cup glory Dowson was swift to congratulate Bordeaux on their victory but was clearly unimpressed by what unfolded following the final whistle. 'There was a fracas at the end, there was foul play involved and I have been assured the touch judge has seen it and will deal with it appropriately,' said the former England back-row forward. 'Henry Pollock was particularly upset by it because it was uncalled for and out of order and so he reacted. The officials have told me they will deal with it.' Saints' England fly-half Fin Smith also suggested the French players had previously been riled by Pollock during the game. 'They were after him. I don't think they liked him. He'll be alright. I remember they all sort of charged at him and tried to get hold of him. If you have just won a European Cup I'm surprised if the first thing you want to do is start a fight with a 20-year-old. I felt that was interesting.' Dingwall said he did not think there was bad blood during the game but felt the increasing number of players appealing for decisions was against the 'values' of the game. 'There were a couple of moments when boys potentially didn't adhere to those things and that's going to spark a reaction,' he said. Advertisement Dowson stressed he was extremely proud of his players for the way they battled on despite a number of injuries. He said George Furbank, driven away on a medical cart after an early collision, was fine but acknowledged the permanent removal of two-thirds of Northampton's back three inside the first four minutes had had 'a huge impact' on the contest. Dingwall said his team were extremely frustrated to have fallen just short: 'There was loads of fight and that sums us up this year – unfortunately we just gave them too many opportunities and didn't win the critical moments. 'It is frustrating when it is such small margins but that is the way this game is. We stayed in there but unfortunately when you play against top teams you can't give them opportunities. We didn't fire as many shots as we could have done. It is going to be frustrating to look back on.' Related: Exhausted Saints fall short again as Bordeaux's colour and passion wins out | Michael Aylwin Advertisement Bordeaux scored a remarkable 54 tries in their eight Champions Cup games this season, 14 of them by their France winger Damian Penaud who was named player of the tournament. Penaud scored two of his side's four tries in the final and is the third Frenchman to win the award in a row, following in the footsteps of Antoine Dupont and Grégory Alldritt. 'First of all, we will drink beer and then after that we will think about the Top 14,' said Penaud, whose side are also still in contention for the domestic league title. Meanwhile, European Professional Club Rugby has announced the first World Club Cup will take place in 2028. A tournament featuring the best club sides from the northern and southern hemispheres, to be held every four years, has received unanimous backing from all the sport's governing bodies. Sixteen teams will qualify – eight from the Champions Cup and the remainder drawn from Super Rugby Pacific and Japan. The EPCR chairman, Dominic McKay, confirmed before Saturday's Champions Cup final that an idea mooted for 'the last two or three years' will now be delivered.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Saints accuse Bordeaux of ‘foul play' towards Henry Pollock in post-final fracas
Northampton have urged tournament officials to launch an investigation into a post-game fracas involving England's Henry Pollock after Bordeaux's Champions Cup final victory. It is understood Saints will make a citing complaint if the incident does not lead to an official disciplinary probe. Phil Dowson, Saints' director of rugby, said the 20-year-old had been the victim of 'foul play' by a Bordeaux player. The meleé was initially sparked by an altercation between the Northampton captain, Fraser Dingwall, and the French international fly-half Matthieu Jalibert, before several other Bordeaux players became involved. Dowson was swift to congratulate Bordeaux on their victory but was clearly unimpressed by what unfolded following the final whistle. 'There was a fracas at the end, there was foul play involved and I have been assured the touch judge has seen it and will deal with it appropriately,' said the former England back-row forward. 'Henry Pollock was particularly upset by it because it was uncalled for and out of order and so he reacted. The officials have told me they will deal with it.' Saints' England fly-half Fin Smith also suggested the French players had previously been riled by Pollock during the game. 'They were after him. I don't think they liked him. He'll be alright. I remember they all sort of charged at him and tried to get hold of him. If you have just won a European Cup I'm surprised if the first thing you want to do is start a fight with a 20-year-old. I felt that was interesting.' Dingwall said he did not think there was bad blood during the game but felt the increasing number of players appealing for decisions was against the 'values' of the game. 'There were a couple of moments when boys potentially didn't adhere to those things and that's going to spark a reaction,' he said. Dowson stressed he was extremely proud of his players for the way they battled on despite a number of injuries. He said George Furbank, driven away on a medical cart after an early collision, was fine but acknowledged the permanent removal of two-thirds of Northampton's back three inside the first four minutes had had 'a huge impact' on the contest. Dingwall said his team were extremely frustrated to have fallen just short: 'There was loads of fight and that sums us up this year – unfortunately we just gave them too many opportunities and didn't win the critical moments. 'It is frustrating when it is such small margins but that is the way this game is. We stayed in there but unfortunately when you play against top teams you can't give them opportunities. We didn't fire as many shots as we could have done. It is going to be frustrating to look back on.' Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Bordeaux scored a remarkable 54 tries in their eight Champions Cup games this season, 14 of them by their France winger Damian Penaud who was named player of the tournament. Penaud scored two of his side's four tries in the final and is the third Frenchman to win the award in a row, following in the footsteps of Antoine Dupont and Grégory Alldritt. 'First of all, we will drink beer and then after that we will think about the Top 14,' said Penaud, whose side are also still in contention for the domestic league title. Meanwhile, European Professional Club Rugby has announced the first World Club Cup will take place in 2028. A tournament featuring the best club sides from the northern and southern hemispheres, to be held every four years, has received unanimous backing from all the sport's governing bodies. Sixteen teams will qualify – eight from the Champions Cup and the remainder drawn from Super Rugby Pacific and Japan. The EPCR chairman, Dominic McKay, confirmed before Saturday's Champions Cup final that an idea mooted for 'the last two or three years' will now be delivered.
The 42
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Risk or rest? Northampton and Bordeaux's approach contrasts Leinster's
ONE INTERESTING ASPECT of the build-up to today's Champions Cup decider in Cardiff [KO 2.45pm, RTÉ/Premier Sports] was that both finalists went nearly full-strength last weekend. They resisted the temptation to rest key men a week out from the final, negating the risk of injury. Of course, the risk on the flipside is that players might not be as sharp and battle-hardened if they rest up. As they continue to fight on two fronts, Bordeaux had an important 34-29 win over Castres in the Top 14 last weekend, and most of their available big guns were involved. Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Matthieu Jalibert, and Maxime Lucu were in the starting XV, while Guido Petti, Yoram Moefana, and Pete Samu were among the replacements used. Bordeaux did the same before their Champions Cup semi-final win against Toulouse, going strong with their selection in a Top 14 clash with La Rochelle the previous weekend. Northampton took on Saracens in the Premiership last weekend and despite being well down the table and much out of the running for the play-offs, the Saints started all of their star men. Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman, Henry Pollock, Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny and captain Fraser Dingwall were all in the starting XV as Northampton beat Saracens 28-24, coming back from 7-24 down. There were injury concerns arising from the game, with hooker Curtis Langdon and fullback James Ramm both replaced in the first half before locks Temo Mayanavanua and Alex Coles suffered knocks in the second, but Saints were happy to keep match sharpness. 'I think there's the risk of those knocks, but there's the risk of not playing and not being up to speed, so I feel like we've benefited from that,' said skipper Dingwall on BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast on Wednesday. Northampton captain Fraser Dingwall. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO And happily for Saints, they named all of Langdon, Ramm, Mayanavanua, and Coles in their starting XV for today's final. It remains to be seen exactly how fit they all are, but it was good news yesterday. Advertisement The English side also went strong with selection the weekend before their big Champions Cup semi-final win away to Leinster, starting all their front-line players in a 48-31 Premiership victory over Bristol. It was a win that Northampton felt gave them momentum and sharpness for the Leinster clash. Of course, Northampton's build-up to the semi-final was in contrast to Leinster's. Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber opted not to start any of their front-liners in Leinster's two URC games against Ulster and the Scarlets before the semi-final. The same was true before Leinster's huge Round of 16 and quarter-final wins against Harlequins and Glasgow. None of the front-liners went on the URC tour of South Africa that preceded those Champions Cup knock-out games, but they looked sharp in those wins over Quins and Glasgow. This is nothing new for Leinster. They generally don't play their front-line players in the URC the weekend before their biggest Champions Cup games. Yet as they review the defeat to Northampton, Leinster will surely wonder whether they should have kept more rhythm in their first-choice players by giving them a start in either the Ulster or Scarlets game. Northampton head coach Sam Vesty certainly felt the Irish side weren't as precise as usual in the semi-final. 'Leinster? They didn't play for two weeks prior to playing us and there's lots of balls on the floor, the hands aren't quite as sharp as you want them to be,' Vesty told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly. 'You know, hindsight is brilliant, you can say whatever you want in hindsight.' Jacques Nienaber and Leo Cullen. Tom Honan / INPHO Tom Honan / INPHO / INPHO Vesty expanded on why Northampton didn't hold back with their selection a week before the Champions Cup semi-final or final. 'To go and play rugby and play sharp, fast, skillful, move-the-ball rugby, which is what we're trying to do, you have to do it,' said Sam Vesty. 'It comes with the risks, but we'll back our squad to go with whoever the 15 are that take the field and the eight on the bench that we've had a good training week, and we've got lots of good rugby under our belt.' The depth of Leinster's squad and the number of international players they have are the envy of many other clubs, but those things haven't resulted in a trophy since 2021. Of course, Leinster will look to put that right in the URC next month. Cullen is a coach who does his best to consider the long-term workload of his frontline Leinster players, most of whom play lots of minutes at the highest level of the game for Ireland. When he opted to rest front-liners in those weeks before the Northampton game, Cullen may have been considering the fact that many of them will go on an arduous Lions tour when their club season ends. That's on top of busy autumn and Six Nations campaigns for Ireland. Leinster's leading players often flag how well managed they are as a big positive. Perhaps Leinster will continue with their policy of giving key men chances to rest ahead of huge games. But they must at least consider whether their approach is getting the best results possible. For now, Leinster must watch on as Northampton and Bordeaux do battle today. NORTHAMPTON: George Furbank; Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall (captain), Rory Hutchinson, James Ramm; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison; Temo Mayanavanua, Tom Lockett; Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny, Henry Pollock. Replacements: Craig Wright, Tarek Haffar, Elliot Millar-Mills, Ed Prowse, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Litchfield, Ollie Sleightholme. BORDEAUX: Romain Buros; Damian Penaud, Nicolas Depoortere, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu (captain); Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea; Adam Coleman, Cyril Cazeaux; Mahamadou Diaby, Guido Petti, Pete Samu. Replacements: Connor Sa, Ugo Boniface, Ben Tameifuna, Pierre Bochaton, Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, Marko Gazzotti, Arthur Retiere, Rohan Janse van Rensburg. Referee: Nika Amashukeli [Georgia].
RTÉ News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Champions Cup final preview: Northampton Saints and Bordeaux Begles primed for novel Cardiff clash
It's a Champions Cup final with a fresh twist and a novel pairing. For the first time in four seasons, and just the third time in the last eight years, Leinster are marked absent. Instead, Bordeaux Begles, for the first time, or Northampton Saints, winners in 2000, will raise the trophy aloft in Cardiff's Principality Stadium where organisers are expecting over 60,000 fans, many of whom may be wearing and feeling blue. Having contested the last three deciders, and come so close to a fifth star, plenty of Leinster fans had already booked flights and accommodation to the Welsh capital and now have to look on as either Fraser Dingwall or Maxime Lucu raise the cup after the tournament's 30th final. It's hard to know if the involvement of former Leinster, Munster and Ireland out-half Joey Carbery would have made it even harder to endure for the travelling Irish support – imagine if the Athy man landed a late kick to win the cup. However, the 29-year-old, who started three times and featured off the bench in Bordeaux's semi-final win over Toulouse, gets pushed out with Yannick Bru opting for a 6:2 split. The Irish connection comes now in the form of ex-Ireland Under-20s boss Noel McNamara as he oversees a star-studded backline including Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Damian Penaud, who has recovered from an ankle injury to take his place on the wing. The French side are top scorers in the competition with 50 tries and come into the game with a 100% winning record, including victories over Leicester, Ulster (twice), Exeter, Sharks, Munster and the defending champions, Toulouse, 35-18 three weeks ago. Surprisingly beaten by Harlequins in last season's quarter-final, they also reached the Top14 decider. The tale of the tape shows the French outfit, who were only promoted to the top tier in 2011, best in class in lineout success (91%), metres made (3,805), clean breaks (102) and turnovers won (75). What a season @UBBrugby are having 🔥 Best moment so far in #InvestecChampionsCup? Last few tickets remaining here ➡️ — Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 20, 2025 Bru will feel his team, who are appearing in their first Champions Cup final, are due a title. Phil Dowson's Saints, who lost to Stade Francais but beat Castres (twice), Bulls, Munster, Clermont and Leinster this season, are not short of stars in their own backline. Scrum-half Alex Mitchell, out-half Fin Smith, and winger Tommy Freeman, who scored a hat-trick in their stunning 37-34 semi-final win against Leinster, are all going on the Lions tour, while England full-back George Furbank returns following injury. That means James Ramm, who has beaten 30 defenders this season, a tournament high, moves to the wing. Hugely prominent in the semi-final win in Dublin, the performance of Lions bolter Henry Pollock may go a long way to deciding the outcome. Short-listed for the player of the tournament, alongside Lucu and top-try scorer Penaud (12), the Saints back row has scored seven tries in the competition and tops the charts for turnovers with 18. "It's every rugby kid's dream to play in these finals. It's where you want to be in your career," said the dynamic 20-year-old, who moves to number 8 with Ulster-bound Juarno Augustus injured. "I'm really excited, I can't wait. There's a great buzz around the club, everyone's ready to rip into it". After a slow start to the season, Northampton, beaten in the 2011 final by Leinster, have been on fire for the knock-outs. What a run to the #InvestecChampionsCup Final 🔥 @SaintsRugby 's best moment? Get your tickets to the Principality Stadium before they're gone ➡️ — Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 20, 2025 They left it too late to make the play-offs in the Premiership but come into this game off the back of a morale-boosting 28-24 win over Saracens last weekend. Notably, Dowson didn't put his frontliners on ice for that clash: Mitchell, Smith, Freeman and Pollock all started. Bordeaux, too, decided not to rest their main men for last weekend's Top14 win over Castres, which keeps them in second place in the table. Saints, the last season's Premiership winners, demonstrated what they can do in that famous win in Dublin three weeks ago and Bordeaux have ample warning. Both sides can strike from deep with numerous play-makers all over the pitch, the game is set up for a shoot-out, however, finals have a funny way of making teams tighten up. "You often see across sports that semi-finals are end-to-end classic encounters and then finals are often a nervy, turgid affair where the margins are very tight," said Dowson. "We have spoken about that, we understand that and we need to make sure we don't panic when those things happen. "We want to make sure – and I am sure Bordeaux are saying exactly the same thing – that (the semi-final) is not the summit of our season, that this game is our best performance and our most exciting one." The sides have met just once previously, UBB winning a pool stage game, 16-12, in Franklin's Gardens in 2020, with former Connacht back Santi Cordero scoring a crucial try. Whatever happens, the absence of the teams that have reigned in Europe for the last 15 years: Leinster (seven finals), Saracens (four), La Rochelle (three), Clermont (three), Toulon (three) and Toulouse (three), means the final has a refreshing feel to it. If Northampton can reproduce the form of the last round, they'll be right in the mix but Bordeaux, slight favourites, look like men on a mission. Northampton Saints: George Furbank; Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall (capt), Rory Hutchinson, James Ramm; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison; Temo Mayanavanua, Tom Lockett; Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny, Henry Pollock. Replacements: Craig Wright, Tarek Haffar, Elliot Millar Mills, Ed Prowse, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Litchfield, Ollie Sleightholme. Bordeaux Begles: Romain Buros; Damian Penaud, Nicols Depoortère, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu (capt); Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea, Adam Coleman, Cyril Cazeaux, Mahamadou Diaby, Guido Petti, Peter Samu.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'They're not like us' - Saints' special spirit creates shot at glory
Investec Champions Cup final: Northampton Saints v Bordeaux-Begles Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 24 May Kick-off 14:45 BST Coverage: Live TV coverage on Welsh language channel S4C on iPlayer, live radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Northampton, with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website Nina Simone's Sinnerman was part of Northampton's pre-game dressing-room playlist. After the match though, as Northampton celebrated a semi-final upset in the bowels of Aviva Stadium, coach Phil Dowson, unconsciously perhaps, channelled Kendrick Lamar. "It's all about connection," he told the players. "It runs through our DNA." "They," he said, gesturing through the dressing room wall towards Leinster, "are not like us." It is a theme Saints have returned to, both on that day and throughout their Champions Cup campaign. "I promise you, the connection they [Leinster] have isn't built like ours," captain Fraser Dingwall told his team-mates in their pre-match huddle at Aviva Stadium. "Our connection, that we build every day, is way stronger." It is an elusive quality, difficult to define and impossible to see in data. Many clubs say they have it. But Northampton's claim seems strong. Rugby Union Weekly: Inside Northampton The Saints Show with Alex Mitchell Saints Ascending: Northampton's hunt for the next Henry Pollock Bristol's Ellis Genge, who gets the close-up view on England duty, described their backline as the "most tight-knit I have ever seen in terms of being genuine mates". From afar, it also seems evident. Away in Pretoria against the Bulls, at home against Munster and away to Leinster in the Aviva, when the pressure has come on, Northampton have risen together, rather than splintered apart. Dingwall says their unity is not a chance collection of like minds, but forged by the way the club operates. "Firstly we all grew up together," he told Rugby Union Weekly. "This whole club is built on the academy system." Northampton aim for more than half of their senior squad to be homegrown. This season they achieved it, with 32 out of 61 first-team players being academy graduates. The bonds go way back. Now 26, Dingwall was 16 when he first met George Furbank, with whom he has shared the captaincy this year. As teenagers, the pair lived together for two years in one of the houses provided to youngsters by the club. Scrum-half Alex Mitchell would come round to play console games. "This isn't necessarily a town where there is loads to do, but what you do have is the people around you at this club," Dingwall added. "You become more than just colleagues, you become friends, and they become very close friendships because you spend so much time together, both at the club and off the pitch. "That connection and how much every team-mate means to each other drives performance and development. "You see people get better, but also your friends go through life's milestones as well - getting married and having kids – so there are some really nice bits around it." "My mum even mentions it!" scrum-half Mitchell told BBC Radio Northampton's The Saints Show. "She says 'you guys are so close'. "In the academy the bonding is natural – the club have four or five houses and you are hanging around each other's the whole time." Dingwall and Mitchell are now senior figures. As well as their own homes, they have upgraded to the 'Mayfair' section of the Franklin's Gardens dressing room – distant from the toilets, a little more spacious – since the departure of Lewis Ludlam, Courtney Lawes and Alex Waller last summer. But the band-of-brothers ethos remains strong, replenished by new blood. There are team trips, communal holidays, late-night pranks and, earlier this month, there was a meal. Dingwall smilingly put aside his own disappointment of missing out to host a celebration for Mitchell, Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock on their call-ups to the British and Irish Lions squad. The loss of senior voices in the summer has made room for others in the huddle - a different generation riffing on the same togetherness. "George Furbank is a quality captain, very similar to Dingwall, he can send a rocket up you if needed," said Mitchell when asked about dressing room leaders. "Fin Smith is really good. Henry Pollock loves effing and jeffing, but brings huge energy . "Alex Coles is really good and Curtis Langdon will be first over the top to get at the opposition." On Saturday the opposition is Bordeaux-Begles - another team arriving with a higher wage bill and shorter odds. Can Saints find the words to sum up their connection and snuff out the stars once more? In a final of fine margins, it could be the difference. "I'm sure every other dressing room will say the same thing, and it is no disrespect to the other team," said Dingwall. "I just fully believe that the group we have this year is so bought into what we're trying to do, so connected emotionally off the pitch, that you get 1% extra fight out of people. "That goes a long way." Listen: Sport's Strangest Crimes - Bloodgate Listen to the latest Rugby Union Weekly podcast
