Several American players saw action last weekend, and four are gearing up for the next round of Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups this weekend.

Two, Jason Law and Nate Brakeley, will face off in the Varsity Match. More on that game here.

In England, Samu Manoa started at lock for the Saints and played the full 80 minutes in their 27-16 defeat of Sale. The win pushes Northampton to 7-3 and in third place in the Premiership. The Saints look to Ulster Friday and can leapfrog the Northern Ireland team and claim first place in Pool 4 of the H-Cup with a win.

Chris Wyles started at fullback for Saracens and played the full match, helping secure a 28-23 win over Gloucester. The result keeps Saracens one point ahead of Northampton and in second place at 7-1-2. Up next for Saracens is an H-Cup meeting with Munster Saturday in Limerick. This is an important match for Wyles' club, as a win will give them one over every team in the pool.

Scott Lavalla subbed on for Stade Francais in the team's 23-15 loss to Racing Metro Saturday. Stade commences Amlin Cup play against Cavalieri Prato in Italy Saturday. Stade is 2-0 in Pool 5, with wins over the London Welsh and Grenoble already in the bank.

Takudzwa Ngwenya started and played a full match for Biarritz in their 25-22 over Bourdeaux. The win keeps Biarritz at .500. They play Connacht in Galway in H-Cup Pool 3 play this weekend. Zee's crew is 1-1 and second in the pool currently.

In Serie A, Lou Stanfill started at No. 8 for Vincenza in their 15-6 win over Capoterra. It makes the Rangers 5-2, which is good for second place in its division.

In Japan, Todd Clever came off the bench in the Shining Arcs’ 48-5 loss to Kobe Steel. That makes two losses in a row for NTT, who slides to 5-4 on the season.