Stade Francais blow Cardiff away
SATURDAY WRAP: Cardiff were blown away in the second half as they began their European Challenge Cup campaign with a 17-38 defeat to Stade Francais.
Although the hosts struck first when Mathis Ibo crossed in the corner after some sustained pressure, a much-changed Cardiff side responded well and were level when Harri Wilde and Matty Young combined well before spreading it for Iwan Stephens to finish off.
And they took a 10-5 lead in the 34th minute as Wilde and Young teamed up again, with the latter getting the try for a lead that held until half-time.
But things changed rapidly after the break, with Stade needing just a few seconds to retake the lead as Tanginoa Halaifonau cut through the defence and Louis Foursans-Bourdette converted for a 12-10 advantage.
Ibo crossed in the corner for his second try in the 51st minute, and moments after Stephens was narrowly denied a third Cardiff try, Stade took total control as Thibaud Motassi charged forward before offloading to Juan Martin Scelzo.
Lester Etien capitalised on an error from Wilde to set up Foursans-Bourdette for a fifth tr,y and as Cardiff heads dropped, Charles Laloi added another before Javan Sebastian scored a late try for the visitors.
*In Saturday’s other Challenge Cup matches, Montpellier recorded a 24-13 win in Georgia over Black Lion, while Lyon fell to a 14-23 home defeat to Newcastle.
In Italy, Zebre thumped Montauban 41-17, and in the day’s early result, Benetton upset the Lions 26-18 at Ellis Park.
See below for Saturday’s scores and scorers!
Stade Francais Paris 38-17 Cardiff
The scorers:
For Stade Francais Paris:
Tries: Ibo 2, Halaifonua, Scelzo, Foursans-Bourdette, Laloi
Cons: Foursans-Bourdette 4
For Cardiff:
Tries: Stephens, Young, Sebastian
Con: Wilde
Teams:
Stade Français Paris: 15 Mathis Ibo, 14 Charles Laloi, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Julien Delbouis, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 9 Paul Abadie, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Ryan Chapuis, 6 Tanginoa Halaifonua, 5 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 4 Paul Gabrillagues (captain), 3 Braxton Asi, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Sergo Abramishvili.
Replacements: 16 Alvaro Garcia Albo, 17 Jack Iscaro, 18 Moses Alo-Emile, 19 Juan-Martin Scelzo, 20 Thibaut Motassi, 21 Noah Nene, 22 Joe Jonas, 23 Setareki Turagacoke.
Cardiff: 15 Matty Young, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Cornel Smit, 12 Steff Emanuel, 11 Iwan Stephens, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Alun Lawrence (captain), 7 Taine Basham, 6 James Botham, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Sam Wainwright, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Rhys Barratt.
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Ioan Emanuel, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 George Nott, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Ieuan Davies, 22 Harri Wilde, 23 Elijah Evans
Referee: Peter Martin (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland), Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)
Black Lion 13-24 Montpellier
The scorers:
For Black Lion:
Try: Tabutsadze
Con: Tsirekidze
Pens: Tsirekidze
For Montpellier:
Tries: Uelese, Tolofua, Penalty Try, Cadot
Con: Hogg
Teams:
Black Lion: 15 Luka Takaishvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Demi Tapladze, 12 Tornike Kakhoidze, 11 Shalva Aptsiauri, 10 Luka Tsirekidze, 9 Tengiz Peranidze, 8 Giorgi Sinauridze, 7 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 6 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 5 Demuri Epremidze, 4 Mikheil Babunashvili (captain), 3 Kakhaber Darbaidze, 2 Irakli Kvatadze, 1 Nika Khatiashvili.
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Giorgi Chkhartishvili, 19 Giorgi Nikoladze, 20 Giorgi Kervalishvili, 21 Lasha Tsikhistavi, 22 Giorgi Spenderashvili, 23 Sandro Todua.
Montpellier: 15 Thomas Darmon, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Auguste Cadot, 12 Justo Piccardo, 11 Donovan Taofifenua, 10 Stuart Hogg, 9 Tom Baraer, 8 Alex Masibaka, 7 Marco Tauleigne, 6 Matthieu Uhila, 5 Nils Punti, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3. Mohamed Haouas, 2 Jordan Uelese (captain), 1 Valentin Welsch.
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17Nika Abuladze, 18 Christopher Tolofua, 19 Bastien Chalureau, 20 Djibril Sissako, 21 Alexis Bernadet, 22 Thomas Vincent, 23 Lennox Anyanwu.
Referee: Adam Leal (England)
Assistant referees: Harry Walbaum (England), Calum Howard (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (Eng)
Lyon Olympique Universitaire 14-23 Newcastle Red Bulls
The scorers:
For Lyon:
Tries: Mathiron, Shvangiradze
Cons: Jackson 2
For Newcastle:
Tries: Obatoyinbo, Christie, Spencer
Con: Connon
Pens: Connon 2
Teams:
Lyon Olympique Universitaire: 15 Martin Meliande, 14 Arthur Mathiron, 13 Thibaut Regard, 12 Josiah Maraku, 11 Ethan Dumortier, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Baptiste Couilloud (captain), 8 Lilian Baret, 7 Beka Shvangiradze, 6 Marvin Okuya, 5 Janse Roux, 4 Killian Geraci, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Mathis Sarragallet, 1 Thomas Moukoro.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Marchand, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Ave Maalo, 19 Bartholome Sanson, 20 Maxime Gouzou, 21 Charlie Cassang, 22 Iosefo Balewairiki, 23 Alfred Parisien.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Oll Spencer, 13 Alex Hearle, 12 Ethan Grayson, 11 Harrison Obatoyinbo, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Tom Gordon, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Oscar Usher, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 1 Adam Brocklebank.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Connor Hancock, 18 Micky Rewcastle, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Simon Benitez Cruz, 22 Cammy Hutchison, 23 Stefan Coetzee.
Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Christopher Allison (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Zebre Parma 41-17 US Montauban
The scorers:
For Zebre:
Tries: Faissal, Stavile, Ribaldi, Gesi, Fusco
Cons: Roger Farias 5
Pens: Roger Farias, Da Re
For US Montauban:
Tries: Ahmed, Asaeli
Cons: Bosviel 2
Pen: Bosviel
Teams:
Zebre Parma: 15 Giacomo da Re, 14 Malik Faissal, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Martin Roger Farias, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Davide Odiase, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Leonardo Krumov (captain), 4 Franco Carrera, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Giampietro Ribaldi, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso di Bartolomeo, 17 Luca Franceschetto, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Guido Volpi, 20 Jacopo Bianchi, 21 Migael Prinsloo, 22 Giulio Bertaccini, 23 Marco Zanon.
US Montauban: 15 Thomas Larregain, 14 Stephane Ahmed, 13 Romain Fonnicola, 12 Gibson Popoali’i, 11 Segundo Tuculet, 10 Jerome Bosviel, 9 Mael Castel, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Kyllian Ringuet, 6 Corentin Coularis, 5 Noa Kanika, 4 Karl Wilkins (captain), 3 Facundo Pomponio, 2 Kevin Firmin, 1 Nugzar Somkhishvili.
Replacements: 16 Jeremie Maurouard, 17 Lucas Seyrolle, 18 Vaea Fifita, 19 Tyrone Viiga, 20 Merlin Leflamand, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Gade Asaeli, 23 Valentin Simutoga.
Referee: Ben Connor (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gareth Newman (Wales), Aaron Parry (Wales)
TMO: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
