Neath make the wait worthwhile

European Cup : Neath's twice postponed Heineken European Cup clash with Beziers was well worth the wait as they just got the…

European Cup: Neath's twice postponed Heineken European Cup clash with Beziers was well worth the wait as they just got the better of the French side, winning a thrilling encounter 23-18 in Neath last night.

Karim Ghezal and Jean-Marc Aue scored great tries for Beziers and they edged into a 18-16 lead when captain Pierre Mignoni kicked a drop goal after 65 minutes.

Neath regained the lead 10 minutes from time as the home side worked a superb overlap for right-winger Gareth Morris to race clear and Lee Jarvis converted from wide.

Neath travel to group leaders Leicester and Beziers take on Calvisano to complete the group this weekend.

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In the Challenge Cup quarter-final first leg last night, Jonny Wilkinson played his first game for Newcastle since injuring his shoulder in the autumn Test against South Africa but saw his side beaten 31-10 by Saracens.

Six Nations: France have recalled prop forward Christian Califano and wing Christophe Dominici to a 30-man squad for a training camp this weekend to prepare for their Six Nations opener against England on February 15th.

Califano (30) had thrown his international career into doubt after winning 65 caps when he joined Super 12 club Auckland Blues for the summer season last year.

Stade Francais wing Dominici has played 26 times for his country but his last cap was in November 2001.

Three other players - loose forward Jean Bouilhou, centre Clement Poitrenaud of Toulouse and Montferrand wing Aurelien Rougerie - also return to the fold. Rougerie only returned to competitive action in December after a serious throat injury sustained in a tackle by Wasps hooker Phil Greening during a pre-season friendly in August.

Scottish Row: Scotland's plans for the Six Nations could be hit by the row between Edinburgh and Borders. The dispute stems from the Pro Cup game earlier this month when Edinburgh cited Borders' George Graham for an alleged punch on Craig Smith. Borders then followed up by citing Edinburgh duo Nathan Hines and Martin Leslie for as yet unspecified incidents.