Latest
Overview
Season so far
Tournament record
Bizkaia Gernika will be aiming to secure their first European win when they host fellow Pool Two strugglers Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo. - 07/12/2012 10:45
Bizkaia Gernika will be aiming to secure their first European win when they host fellow Pool Two strugglers Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo.
Both sides sit at the bottom of the group topped by Worcester Warriors with zero points but Los Basurdes, runaway leaders in the Spanish league, will be buoyed by their comprehensive 32-8 victory over Santboiana.
The Basque club ran in four tries in the triumph and their European top points scorer Deccie Cusack added 12 points with the boot.
Rovigo travel to Urbieta Rugby Sport Centre on the back of 20-straight defeats in the Amlin Challenge Cup but the Italians can also take comfort from their league form.
The Veneto club cruised to a 23-12 victory over Fiamme Oro Roma last weekend, with Matteo Maran and Jean-Francois Montauriol crossing for tries and Steffan Basson contributing a further 13 points.
Match Facts
• Rovigo have lost their last 24 Amlin Challenge Cup games and only won one of three 50 games in the competition.
• Rovigo have averaged the lowest points in this edition of the competition so far (7.5).
• Rovigo are the only team to have failed to score a single try in the Amlin Challenge Cup this season.
• Aaron Persico has registered the most tackles in the Amlin Challenge Cup 2012/13 (30).
Bizkaia Gernika created history last weekend after claiming their first win in European competition. - 14/12/2012 07:30
Bizkaia Gernika RT gave Spanish rugby a massive shot in the arm as they held out for an historic debut Amlin Challenge Cup victory by beating VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo 13-3 at Urbieta Rugby Sport Centre.
The tournament newcomers had lost both their group openers against Worcester Warriors and Perpignan.
But those disappointments became distant memories and things of the past as they celebrated the triumph that left Rovigo rooted to the foot of the table without even a losing bonus point.
Flanker Jon Magunazelaia was the toast of the town with the game’s only try after 37 minutes, with outside-half Deccie Cusack adding the conversion for a seven-point half-time lead.
Rovigo’s sole score came in the shape of a 47th minute David Duca penalty before Cusack sealed the win with two penalty goals of his own in the 59th and 71st minutes to create a slice of European history for his club.
LIVE - TEST - Commentary