Lyon edge Cardiff in France

MATCH REPORT: Cardiff had to settle for a solitary bonus point after Lyon kicked off their Challenge Cup campaign with 37-26 win at Matmut Stadium de Gerland.

Matt Sherratt’s side staged a strong second-half comeback as tries from Ellis Bevan and Gabriel Hamer-Webb gave them hope of clawing out an improbable win.

But the French side responded well in the latter stages and a swift response from Esteban Gonzalez, coupled with two penalties from Martin Meliande, ended the visitors’ hopes.

Cardiff had been up for it from the start, with an early Josh Adams try converted by Tinus de Beer, putting the Welsh side in front.

Danny Southworth then crossed to restore Cardiff’s advantage after a try from Ethan Dumortier had helped levelled the score, but Dumortier’s second, after a try for Alfred Parisien, ensured the hosts would claim a 17-14 half-time lead.

Lyon looked set to run away with it after Yanis Charcosset extended their lead early in the second half, but when Bevan squeezed over following a strong scrum it sparked the late recovery.

The scorers

For Lyon Olympique
Tries: Dumortier 2, Parisien, Charcosset, Gonzalez
Cons: Meliande 3
Pens: Meliande, Gonzalez

For Cardiff
Tries: Adams, Southworth, Bevan, Hamer-Webb
Cons: De Beer 2, Sheedy

Teams

Lyon Olympique Universitaire: 15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Ethan Dumortier, 13 Alfred Parisien, 12 Josiah Maraku, 11 Vincent Rattez, 10 Martin Meliande, 9 Charlie Cassang, 8 Maxime Gouzou, 7 Marvin Okuya, 6 Dylan Cretin (captain), 5 Alban Roussel, 4 Killian Geraci, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Yanis Charcosset, 1 Hamza Kaabeche.
Replacements: 16 Baptiste Narmand, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Beka Shvangiradze, 21 Esteban Gonzalez, 22 Alexandre Tchaptchet, 23 Thibaut Regard.

Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Steffan Emanuel, 11 Gabe Hamer-Webb, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams (captain), 4 Seb Davies, 3 Rhys Litterick, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Danny Southworth.
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Josh McNally, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Johan Mulder, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Harri Millard.

Referee: Hollie Davidson
Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam, Rob McDowell
TMO: Mike Adamson