Holders Stade Rochelais break Gloucester hearts with late try

CURRIE CUP REPORT: Gloucester were minutes away from the Champions Cup quarterfinals before Stade Rochelais wing Teddy Thomas’ 78th-minute try broke English hearts in a 26-29 defeat at the Stade Marcel Deflandre on Saturday.

Chris Harris, Freddie Clarke and Louis Rees-Zammit crossed the whitewash for Gloucester, who were close to securing one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.

But Thomas (2), Pierre Bourgarit and Tawera Kerr-Barlow did just enough for the French side on home soil to secure their last eight berth.

Antoine Hastoy opened the scoring for the afternoon with a fifth-minute penalty in what many expected to be a one-sided affair given the hosts’ dominance in the pool stage.

The forwards were knocking on the door but it’s @TeddyThoms who scores a dramatic late try to give @staderochelais the win 🤯👏⛵️#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/r1ifVCfPGy

— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) April 1, 2023

But Gloucester were up for the fight and scored the first try of the contest with 11 minutes played. A delightfully worked lineout allowed Seb Atkinson to time a perfect offload for centre Harris who scampered over for the score.

Billy Twelvetrees added a penalty two minutes later as Gloucester extended their lead to seven points.

The hosts then took command of the contest with two tries in five minutes. Firstly, hooker Bourgarit burrowed over from close range before Thomas crossed for his first of the afternoon. The wing produced a stunning kick-chase down the right flank, recovering his own punt to give the hosts a 15-10 lead.

However, the visiting English side showed backbone before the interval. A wonderful attacking move, first flowing from right to left, allowed Ollie Thorley to break the lines and gain territory.

The Cherry and Whites then swiftly move the ball in the other direction, floating the ball out to lock Clarke, who produced a sensational diving finish that any back would have been proud of.

In the early stage of the second half, Gloucester were reduced to 14 men when Lewis Ludlow brought down a maul illegally close to his own line.

The hosts took full advantage of the extra man to burrow over from close range, scrum-half Kerr-Barlow crossing the whitewash to put the defending champions ahead once more.

The 14 men would not give up, however, and they scored a short-handed try. A cross-field kick from the boot of fly-half Twelvetrees nestled in the hands of wing Rees-Zammit who dived over for the score.

As Gloucester returned to full strength, they took the lead once again through another Twelvetrees penalty. He then slotted another to open a four-point lead, moments after La Rochelle’s Georges-Henri Colombe who was sent to the sin bin for a nasty clear-out on Ruan Ackermann.

However, Gloucester were to be dealt the fatal blow with two minutes remaining, Thomas crossing for his second of the afternoon after some heroic last-ditch defending.

The scorers:

For Stade Rochelais:
Tries: Bourgarit, Thomas 2, Kerr-Barlow
Cons: Hastoy 3
Pen: Hastoy

For Gloucester:
Tries: Harris, Clarke, Rees-Zammit
Con: Twelvetrees
Pens: Twelvetrees 3

Yellow cards: Lewis Ludlow (Gloucester, 44′); Georges Colombe (La Rochelle, 68′)

Teams:

Stade Rochelais: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Raymond Rhule, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Jules Favre, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (captain), 7 Levani Botia, 6 Ultan Dillane, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Joel Sclavi.
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Georges Henri Colombe, 19 Romain Sazy, 20 Yoan Tanga, 21 Paul Boudehent, 22 Thomas Berjon, 23 Hugo Reus.

Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Billy Twelvetrees, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Jack Clement, 7 Lewis Ludlow (captain), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Seb Blake, 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Freddie Thomas, 21 Ben Morgan, 22 Charlie Chapman, 23 Jonny May.

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Ian Kenny (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)

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