French misery for Exeter as Challenge Cup hopes take a hit
SUNDAY WRAP: Exeter succumbed to a late fightback from Racing 92 after Greg Fisilau had been sent to the sin-bin as the French side snatched a dramatic 31-31 draw in their Challenge Cup match at the Stade Dominique Duvauchelle.
After Kleo Labarbe put the hosts ahead with an early try, the Chiefs, who beat Cheetahs 42-12 in their opening game, responded as Martin Moloney and Kane James both touched down.
Selestino Ravutaumada’s 27th-minute try pulled Racing back in the game, only for Lewis Pearson and Rus Tuima to go over before the break to give Exeter what seemed a solid 28-12 lead, Ben Coen making all the conversions.
After a hectic first half, the tempo dropped following changes from both sides in the pack.
Exeter saw Tuima given a yellow card just after the hour, with Racing capitalising to score another try through Romain Taofifenua before Coen kicked a 70th-minute penalty, and Fisilau was also then sent to the sin-bin.
Nolann Donguy’s try set up a tense finish, and Racing rallied as Antoine Latrasse went over in added time, with Geronimo Prisciantelli slotting over the extras to complete the comeback.
Elsewhere, Dragons produced a late rally with a last-gasp converted try from Harrison Keddie to edge out Lyon 23-21 in a thrilling finish at Rodney Parade
The Welsh side, who lost away in Perpignan last time out, made a bright start and went ahead through a couple of penalties from Angus O’Brien before Jared Rosser was shown a yellow card in the 22nd minute for an illegal clear-out.
Lyon, beaten at home by Newcastle in their opening European fixture, went on to take a 7-6 lead into half-time following a converted try by South African Janse Roux.
The French side continued their momentum after the break as wing Arthur Mathiron gathered his own kick to touch down. Prop Ave Maalo then added another try from close range after Dragons flyhalf Tinus de Beer was sent to the sin-bin in the 56th minute for not rolling away.
Dragons, though, rallied again as Keddie went over in the corner, and Lyon then picked up a late yellow card for Josiah Maraku. The home side made the extra man count as Oli Burrows scored from the back of a driving maul to reduce the deficit to 21-16 as O’Brien missed another conversion attempt.
There was a grandstand finish when Keddie crashed over for his second try of the match in the 79th minute, and this time O’Brien made sure of the extras to seal a dramatic victory.
See below for Sunday’s scores and scorers!
Racing 92 31-31 Exeter Chiefs
The scorers:
For Racing:
Tries: Labarbe, Ravutaumada, Basse, Donguy, Latrasse
Cons: Gibert, Prisciantelli
For Exeter:
Tries: Moloney, James, Pearson, Tuima
Cons: Coen 4
Pens: Coen
Teams:
Racing 92: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Nolann Donguy, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Joey Manu, 11 Selestino Ravutaumada, 10 Antoine Gibert, 9 Kleo Labarbe, 8 Noa Zinzen, 7 Thomas Lainault, 6 Fabien Sanconnie, 5 Will Rowlands (captain), 4 Junior Kpoku, 3 Gia Kharaishvili, 2 Yanis Basse, 1 Edouard Jabea Njocke
Replacements: 16 Lehopoame Leota, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 21 Auguste Albuisson, 22 Antoine Latrasse, 23 Vinaya Habosi
Exeter: 15 Will Haydon-Wood, 14 Dan John, 13 Harry Ascherl, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Campbell Ridl, 10 Ben Coen, 9 Charlie Chapman, 8 Kane James, 7 Martin Moloney, 6 Richard Capstick, 5 Rus Tuima, 4 Lewis Pearson (captain), 3 Jimmy Roots, 2 Julian Heaven, 1 Ethan Burger,
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Khwezi Mona, 19 Oscar Beckerleg, 20 Ethan Roots, 21 Greg Fisilau, 22 Tom Cairns, 23 Ollie Batson
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant referees: Riccardo Angelucci (Italy) & Luca Bisetto (Italy)
TMO: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy)
Dragons 23-21 Lyon
The scorers:
For Dragons:
Tries: Keddie 2, Burrows
Cons: O’Brien
Pens: O’Brien 2
For Lyon:
Tries: Roux, Mathiron, Maalo
Cons: Cassang 2, Gonzalez
Teams:
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (captain), 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Dai Richards, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Huw Anderson, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Niall Armstrong, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Rob Hunt, 2 Oli Burrows, 1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths,
Replacements: 16 Will Austin, 17 Jordan Morris, 18 Owain James, 19 Ryan Woodman, 20 Harrison Keddie, 21 Che Hope, 22 Joe Westwood, 23 Ewan Rosser
Lyon: 15 Ethan Dumortier, 14 Dorian Diabou, 13 Alfred Parisien, 12 Iosefo Balewairiki, 11 Arthur Mathiron, 10 Alexandre Tchaptchet, 9 Charlie Cassang, 8 Maxime Gouzou, 7 Beka Shvangiradze, 6 Marvin Okuya, 5 Janse Roux, 4 Félix Lambey (captain), 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Mathis Sarragallet, 1 Jérôme Rey,
Replacements: 16 Thomas Marceline, 17 Hamza Kaabeche, 18 Ave Maalo, 19 Bartholome Sanson, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Lilian Baret, 22 Esteban Gonzalez, 23 Josiah Maraku
Referee: Fillippo Russo (Italy)
Assistant referees: Lorenzo Pedezzi (Italy) & Riccardo Bonato (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy )
