Stade Francais power on but Perpignan suffer
narrow defeat
18 October 2008
Three tries in nine
second-half minutes saw Stade Francais maintain their 100%
winning record this season but it was agony for Perpignan as
they had a last-minute try disallowed in their narrow defeat
to the Ospreys.
Stade, like Toulouse last
night, took their time to exert dominance before cruising to
a crushing 37-15 victory over Llanelli Scarlets in Pool 4 at
the Stade Jean Bouin.
The runaway Top 14
leaders, who have now won nine consecutive games, were
restricted to penalties and speculative drop goals as they
struggled to assert their authority in the initial stages,
but they turned on the power after the interval as tries
from winger Julien Saubade and captain Sergio Parisse (2)
extended their lead from 9-8 to 30-8 in the blink of an eye.
Italian number eight
Parisse was a massive presence throughout and was only
denied a hat-trick when desperate defending stopped him just
inches short of the line on the hour mark.
Full-back Lionel Beauxis
was also in fine form, adding four second-half conversions
to his three first-half penalties to maintain his own 100%
record, in contrast to Juan Martin Hernandez who missed with
all three of his attempted drop goals.
Beauxis also had the
pleasure of securing Stade’s winning bonus point when he
charged down an attempted kick and ran in Paris’ fourth try
from the halfway line in the closing minutes, taking his
personal tally to 22 points in the process.
The Scarlets started
brightly, even scoring the game’s first try when Mark Jones
sped in after 19 minutes, and their refusal to cave in was
later rewarded when replacement Ceiron Thomas touched down
five minutes from the end. But in truth they were never in
this contest once Stade had stretched their legs after the
interval and a second successive defeat leaves them
contemplating an early exit from this year’s Heineken Cup.
Perpignan’s hopes remain
very much alive, despite their 15-9 defeat away to the
Ospreys at Liberty Stadium in Pool 3.
For all their pressure the
Ospreys failed to score a try for the second game in the
succession, but Perpignan’s continuous infringing proved
costly as teenage fly-half Dan Biggar kicked five penalties
to Jerome Porical’s three.
The French side’s cause
was further hindered by three yellow cards – for Adrien
Plante, Jean-Pierre Perez and Guillaume Vilaceca – and they
were even forced to play with 13 men at one point in the
first half.
Having said that, the
Ospreys were fortunate not to lose Paul James before the
interval after his punch laid out Marius Tincu, but was
somehow missed by referee Wayne Barnes.
The resulting penalty
handed Porical his third successful kick to give the
visitors a 9-6 half-time lead, but the Ospreys piled on the
pressure after the interval as they sought to make their
numerical advantage count.
Number eight Filo Tiatia
was twice denied tries for minor infringements but Biggar
held his nerve with a trio of kicks to ensure the home side
emerged victorious.
Perpignan, who beat Treviso 27-16 last week,
threw everything at the Welsh in a last-gasp effort to win
the game and looked to have succeeded when Viliami Vaki
crashed over from five metres in the final minute, only for
Barnes to infuriate the French once more by calling a
forward pass.
Ultimately Perpignan had
to settle for a losing bonus point, but at least they should
have Dan Carter in their line-up for their next Heineken Cup
match, against Leicester Tigers at Welford Road on December
6th.
That match looks key to
their hopes of progressing after the Tigers racked up a
60-16 away victory at Benetton Treviso to move top of the
group.
Elsewhere, Toulouse coach
Guy Noves praised Glasgow Warriors after Friday’s 22-16 win
in Pool 5, but said a half-time reorganisation proved
crucial for last year’s Heineken Cup runners-up.
“I had to tell my players
to focus, stick together and try to move the ball more,” he
admitted after the game. “By magic we found ourselves in a
10 minute period and then had the chance to go for the bonus
point.
“But Glasgow didn’t give
up and we couldn’t score again. They got a breakaway try and
we were hanging on at the end. But we have won our first two
games and I am happy with that.”
Toulouse captain Yannick
Jauzion, who scored a second-half try, was also content with
the outcome after a slow start from the visitors at Firhill
Park.
"We came with the
intention of winning and going for the bonus point, but
unfortunately we couldn't get the four tires. Maybe we will
play better in the future," he said.
|
