Champions Cup Round of 16 first legs - Friday: Connacht 21-26 Leinster; Saturday: Sale 9-10 Bristol, Bordeaux-Begles 13-31 La Rochelle, Toulouse vs Ulster, Exeter vs Munster, Stade Francais vs Racing 92; Sunday: Montpellier vs Harlequins (1pm), Clermont vs Leicester Tigers (3.15pm)
Saturday 9 April 2022 22:03, UK
Bristol Bears secured a Champions Cup Round of 16 first leg win at Sale Sharks, La Rochelle won well at Bordeaux-Begles, as did Racing 92 at Stade Francais.
Bristol took their first step towards the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals after Semi Radradra's late try earned them a narrow 10-9 comeback victory over Sale in the first leg of their last-16 clash.
The Fiji flyer's introduction from the bench sparked his side into life after a poor first half - where neither side dominated - and his superb burst through midfield to score proved decisive.
Callum Sheedy scored a penalty and conversion from the tee, while Rob Du Preez scored all of the Sharks' points with three penalties.
Alex Sanderson gave Manu Tuilagi a first start since February, with the centre continuing his return from a hamstring problem.
Also starting for the Sharks were outgoing South Africa pair Faf De Klerk and Lood De Jager, with the club confirming both would leave the Premiership side at the end of the season.
Bristol made 10 changes from last week's defeat at Northampton, including a return for Nathan Hughes after a loan spell at Bath.
However, Pat Lam elected to leave stars Radradra and Charles Piutau on the bench, with the pair being introduced after the break.
Victory over two legs will see the winners face either Racing 92 or Stade Francais in the quarter-finals.
An all-Top 14 clash in the Heineken Champions Cup defied domestic form as Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle prevailed 31-13 at Bordeaux.
Five tries lit up a lively last-16 first leg at Stade Chaban-Delmas that saw La Rochelle pull away in the third quarter.
Raymond Rhule and Jonathan Danty touched down for the visitors, who were also awarded a penalty try, while Ihaia West slotted four penalties.
Cameron Woki and Federico Mori crossed for Bordeaux, who sit a place higher than their opponents in the French league.
Head coach O'Gara was not present on the sidelines for the victory as he serves a two-week suspension for "indiscipline, in particular for challenging the decisions of match officials", incurred against Racing 92.
The result puts La Rochelle in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals, with the second leg to be played at the Stade Marcel Deflandre next Saturday.
Racing 92 took a significant step towards claiming a place in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals by toppling Stade Francais 22-9.
France centre Gael Fickou scored the only try of the last-16 first-leg clash at the Stade Jean-Bouin and it took until the 66th minute to breach the home defence.
Scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec kicked five penalties to provide the foundation for a gritty win in the Paris derby.
Stade Francais suffered a major setback with 13 minutes to go when hooker Tolu Latu was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Baptiste Chouzenoux.
It was 12-6 at half-time with fly-half Joris Segonds kicking all of Stade's points and they face an uphill task to qualify for the last eight from this position.
The rivals collide in the second leg at La Defense Arena next Sunday.
