Fourteen-man Montpellier hold out against Gloucester
CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: Montpellier, reduced to 14 men for a large chunk of the second half, held out for a crucial 30-27 win against a hard-running Gloucester at the GGL Stadium on Sunday.
South African lock Jacques du Plessis, set to be in line for a French call-up next year, was given a red card after an elbow to the head of compatriot Gerbrandt Grobler in the 55th minute, a similar incident to France’s Sebastien Vahaamahina’s infringement during the World Cup quarterfinals.
“We probably had the game there and it could have been a turning point had we not worked a little bit harder,” Montpellier winger Nemani Nadolo told BT Sport.
“Credit to the boys, they stuck in there. We held our own,” he added.
Gloucester, who trailed 3-17 (after half-an-hour) and 10-24 at half-time, worked their way back into the game.
When Lloyd Evans converted a Joe Simpson try with five minutes remaining on the clock, an amazing come-from-behind win looked on the cards for the visitors.
However, the French outfit – with four South Africans in the starting XV – show true grit to hold on for the win.
The hosts started well and forced a turnover in kicking range on 13 minutes, allowing Benoit Paillaugue to slot over and put Montpellier ahead.
They extended the advantage soon after a nudge from Yvan Reilhac over the Gloucester line was collected by Jan Serfontein for the score.
Gloucester finally got a foothold in the match on 28 minutes through Billy Twelvetrees, as Montpellier conceded a penalty in front of the posts but they fell further behind soon after.
Tries from Caleb Timu, Nemani Nadolo and Callum Braley followed as the game swung back and forth with the hosts leading by 14 at the interval.
Gloucester started the second half on top and got a try as the aggressive line from Matt Banahan paid off with the wing powering over the try line.
Penalty kicks would be traded by Twelvetrees and Paillaugue in the latter stages, until Joe Simpson scored a late try to set up a grandstand finish.
However, it was to no avail for the visitors.
Montpellier will take on Toulouse in Round Three, while Gloucester will host Connacht.
The scorers
For Montpellier:
Tries: Serfontein, Timu, Nadolo
Cons: Paillaugue 3
Pens: Paillaugue 3
For Gloucester:
Tries: Braley, Banahan, Simpson
Cons: Twelvetrees 2, Evans
Pens: Twelvetrees 2
Red card: Jacques du Plessis (Montpellier, 55 – foul play, elbow to the face)
Teams:
Montpellier: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 Yvan Reilhac, 13 Arthur Vincent, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Anthony Bouthier, 9 Benoit Paillaugue (captain), 8 Caleb Timu, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Grégory Fichten.
Replacements: 16 Youri Delhommel, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Mohamed Haouas, 19 Martin Devergie, 20 Enzo Sanga, 21 Vincent Martin, 22 Thomas Darmon, 23 Paul Willemse.
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Freddie Clarke, 7 Jaco Kriel (captain), 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Corné Fourie, 1 Josh Hohneck.
Replacements: 16 Todd Gleave, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Ruan Ackermann, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Matt Banahan.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Kieran Barry (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Sources: @ChampionsCup
