The Japanese season may be finished, but the Australians playing in European club competitions are in full swing.
The French Top 14 concluded its regular season as the English Premiership and the URC had their semi-finals.
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Rugby.com.au breaks down the best from the weekend.
Izaia Perese came up big for Leicester as they advanced into the Premiership Final against Sale.
Perese cames off the bench in the 66th minute and had an instant impact, breaking a 16-all dead-lock with a stunning try.
The former Waratah and Wallaby ran a perfect line to break through the Sharks defence before sprinting past the fullback to the delight of the home crowd.
The try was the difference in the game as Michael Cheika’s side will take on Bath in the final after their win over Bristol.
However, it was no such luck for prop Sam Talakai with Glasgow in the URC semi-finals.
Talakai came off the bench early in the second half and recorded a pair of tackle busts in defeat as Leinster raced away with a 37-19 win.
In the final week of the Top 14 regular season, several Australians had big performances in crucial games for their respective clubs.
Clermont’s Australian contingent were influential in their 21-10 win over Montpellier, securing their spot in the top six.
Irae Simone led the way with a game-high seven tackle busts to go with a line break and line break assist.
Fullback Alex Newsome was also strong with a line break and a pair of tackle busts, with Rob Simmons and Folau Fainga’a working hard across their respective stints.
It was enough to take bragging rights over former Wallaby Jordan Uelese, who returned to hooker after a one-off stint in the back-row.
In other games, Pete Samu and Adam Coleman started in Bordeaux’s 52-28 win over Vannes.
The win came with second spot already locked up, with Bordeaux-Begles set to play the winner of Toulon-Castres next weekend.
Will Skelton’s La Rochelle was eliminated from finals contention by Jack Maddocks and Pau in a 32-18 win for Section Paloise.
