Heineken Cup: More French misery as Stade Francais crash out after Scarlets defeat

18 January 2009

French rugby was licking its wounds on Sunday evening after a miserable weekend of European action saw Stades Toulousain and Francais both crash to unexpected defeats, and left the unpalatable prospect of no Top 14 side in this year's Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

Toulouse still have a mathematical chance of qualifying, but need to win away to Pool 6 leaders Bath to guarantee their progress after a shocking 26-33 home defeat by Glasgow.

There is, however, no come back for Stade Francais after they went down 31-17 away to the Scarlets in Pool 4 on Sunday - their third successive Heineken Cup defeat, and one which confirmed their elimination from the tournament.

To make matters worse, neither Glasgow or the Scarlets had registered a single win in this tournament before the weekend. Indeed, Scarlets hadn't won in the Heineken Cup for two years.

But it was Glasgow's stunning 33-26 victory over Toulouse on Saturday that really stunned France, and the rugby world generally, as last year's runners-up were dismantled by an astonishing first-half display.

The Scottish side played superbly as they outclassed their illustrious hosts, shocking the French giants with their fearsome strength up front and scorching pace behind - a potent combination that left that left Toulouse looking devoid of belief at the half-time interval.

Nothing seemed more unlikely prior to the start of the match with yet another sell-out crowd at the Ernest Wallon expectant with anticipation as their beloved Toulouse set off in search of a 16^th straight win and guaranteed qualification for the quarter-finals.

But the visitors, who arrived bottom of the pile in Pool 6,  had clearly not read the script and soon went into a 3-0 lead when fly-half Dan Parks kicked a third-minute penalty.

If that was supposed to wake the hosts from their early slumber it appeared to have the opposite effect, with the Scots gaining confidence by the minute as centre Graeme Morrison went over for the game’s first try shortly after when Vincent Clerc failed to deal with a grubber kick.

Television replays suggested Clerc may have been taken without the ball but English referee Wayne Barnes allowed the try to stand and Parks added the conversion to make it 10-0.

Ill-discipline then cost Toulouse a further three points when backchat enabled Parks to move his second penalty 10m nearer before further extending the lead.

Scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde finally got Toulouse on the board when he succeeded with a 17^th minute penalty, but disappointment turned to disbelief when Glasgow added a second try shortly before the half hour.

This time it was number eight Kelly Brown who went over for the Scottish side after being set up by John Barclay, with Parks once more ensuring maximum points were attained.

And it could have been even worse had the metronomic kicker not missed with a couple of long range efforts, although he did land a 33^rd-minute drop goal to leave Stade staring into the abyss with a half-time deficit of 23-3.

A clearly furious Guy Noves rang the changes at the interval with fly-half Freddie Michalak replaced by Byron Kelleher, who moved to nine with Elissalde taking up the reins at 10. Centre Maleli Kunavore and prop Jean-Baptiste Poux were also substituted, with Florian Fritz and Daan Human coming in their places.

Toulouse briefly responded with Elissalde kicking a brace of early penalties to reduce the arrears, but the French international was yellow carded soon after (together with Glasgow’s Barclay) as tempers frayed.

Parks missed the resultant penalty but was spot on again after 68 minutes.

The visitors then rubbed further salt in the weeping Toulouse wounds when centre Max Evans raced in for try number three two minutes later after yet another kick and chase, with Parks once more on target as they took a scarcely believable 33-9 lead.

Concerted forward pressure earned Toulouse a 73^rd-minute penalty try, which Yannick Jauzion converted with a drop-goal, and the red and blacks threw everything at their opponents as they sought late consolation by securing an unlikely bonus point.

Winger Vincent Clerc raced over in the 76^th minute to take them nearer, with Gaffie Du Toit adding the conversion, and in a thrilling climax the latter succeeded with a last-minute penalty that cut the deficit to seven – thus earning the losing bonus point.

It remains to be seen just how crucial that might yet be but this was an almighty mess of Toulouse’s own making and now leaves their entire Heineken Cup campaign in tatters.

Bath's 15-12 win away to Newport Gwent Dragons on Sunday lifted the English club one point ahead of Toulouse at the top of Pool 6, setting up next weekend's clash at The Rec as a tantalising winner takes all encounter.

It is conceivable that a losing bonus point could just be enough to secure qualification, but that would be dependent on results going their way elsewhere - a scenario that is far too risky to rely upon.

Glasgow coach Sean Lineen was understandably delighted after his charges pulled off the upset of the tournament so far.

"It was a fantastic result and I am so proud of every one of the guys," he said afterwards. "They stuck to the game plan and it worked a treat. We kept the ball well and Dan Parks [who netted 18 points] was simply outstanding.

"Having said that, it was a real team effort, with the front row having to work their socks off. Naturally everyone connected with the squad is totally delighted."

Toulouse's Noves conceded the better team had won. "They deserved the win because they wanted it more. Maybe we had our eyes on next week's game against Bath because it was only in parts of the second half that we showed any hunger," he said.

"Glasgow had proved in the past that they can be a dangerous side. They almost won at Bath and they have given us problems in Scotland. We now have a fight on our hands to make it into the quarter-finals," he added.

Stade Francais travelled to Wales on Sunday with justified optimism as their injury-ravaged hosts had failed to win any of their past 11 European games - but they soon found themselves 7-0 down after David Lyons' fourth-minute try was converted by Stephen Jones.

Stade knew that a bonus-point win was their minimum requirement - meaning victory and four tries - but Jones kicked three more penalties as the home side surged into a 16-5 half-time lead.

Guillaume Bousses, playing on the wing, did manage a try back for the visitors on the quarter-hour, but the Paris club seemed strangely off the pace with fly-half Juan-Martin Hernandez palpably below his best.

Coach Ewen McKenzie no doubt tried to rally his troops at the interval but once more it was the Scarlets who scored first after the break, with centre Jonathan Davies going over after 54 minutes. Jones missed the conversion but added a penalty shortly after the extend the lead to 24-5.

Bousses grabbed a second try for the French when he intercepted and ran the length of the field with 15 minutes left, but Davies replied in kind for the Welsh as the Parisians kissed goodbye to their Heineken Cup dreams.

Mirco Bergamasco's last-minute try was academic as Stade crashed out of Europe's premier cup competition without even making the final eight.

"We weren't good enough," conceded McKenzie afterwards. "We weren't even in the same street," said the Stade Francais coach.

"I'm very disappointed. I thought we were very soft at the start of the game."

He added: "In a big game we have come up short and we will have to look at that to see the reasons why."

Elsewhere, Perpignan beat the Ospreys 17-15 at home in Pool 3 on Saturday but their chances of qualifying faded further as they failed to register an attacking bonus point. Indeed, the Ospreys will be the happier of the two sides after rallying from 17-0 down to claim a defensive bonus point.

Dan Carter's deputy Steve Myler kicked kicked four first-half penalties to put the Catalans 12-0 up, and home hopes were briefly raised when Henry Tuilagi went over for the game's opening try shortly after the restart.

But the Welsh side refused to roll over and fought their way back into the match courtesy of tries from Shane Williams and substitute Jonny Vaughton. Fly-half James Hook added a conversion and a 75th-minute penalty as they battled for an unlikely win, but Perpignan managed to hold on for the victory.

The Ospreys, however, remain three points clear of the Top 14 side, with Leicester Tigers clear leaders after trouncing Benetton Treviso 52-0.

Biarritz continued their recent revival with a 23-15 win away to Calvisano in Pool 6, thanks to second-half tries from lock Cesar Damiani and prop Benoit August.

Calvisano's Kiwi fly-half Gerard Fraser kept the Italians in the game with four penalties and a drop-goal but Biarritz's second-half display proved decisive as they fought back from 12-9 down at the interval. 

Heineken Cup tables

Over in the European Challenge Cup a late try from winger Norman Ligairi secured Brive a narrow 10-9 away win at Newcastle Falcons in Pool 4.

Andy Goode's subsequent conversion put Brive one point ahead with six minutes to go and they managed to hold out for the crucial victory that sees them qualify for the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Bourgoin squandered a 17-8 half-time lead as they went down 25-24 away to Italian side Petrarca Padova in Pool 3.

European Challenge Cup tables
 

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