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Arguably the most mouth-watering tie of the round takes place at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday as Pool 5 leaders London Irish entertain Parisian giants Stade Francais. - 06/12/2013 23:45
Arguably the most mouth-watering tie of the round takes place at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday as Pool 5 leaders London Irish entertain Parisian giants Stade Francais.
The two sides are separated by just one point at the top of the standings after the Exiles picked up comprehensive bonus-point wins at Portuguese side Lusitanos and at home to I Cavalieri Prato, while Stade saw off the same two teams in less convincing fashion.
Stade needed a late Nicolas Garrault try to spare their blushes in Italy in the last round of action as they made hard work of beating a Cavalieri side who played for nearly an hour with 14 men following Giacomo Bernini’s red card.
Their failure to pick up a try-scoring bonus point in that tense encounter leaves them trailing the English outfit prior to this weekend’s meeting in Reading but victory on Saturday would see the odds on qualification for the quarter-finals swing massively in their favour ahead of next week’s return fixture in the French capital.
A place in the knockout stages would appear to be the minimum requirement for a Stade side hoping to go one better than last season whey reached a fourth European showpiece only to be comfortably beaten by Leinster in the Amlin Challenge Cup Final in Dublin. That defeat mirrored their 2011 Amlin Challenge Cup heartache against Harlequins in Cardiff and their 2005 and 2001 Heineken Cup misery at Murrayfield and the Parc des Princes against Toulouse and Leicester Tigers.
London Irish also tasted disappointment in their solitary Amlin Challenge Cup Final appearance after they lost an extra-time thriller to Gloucester in Oxford eight seasons ago. They reached the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup two years later in 2008 but haven’t featured in the last eight of either tournament since a quarter-final showing in the Amlin Challenge Cup in 2009.
The two teams go into the head-to-head fixtures in vastly different form, with Irish having lost all six games since their 67-6 win over Lusitanos, while Stade thumped Heineken Cup kings RC Toulon at the weekend. Brian Smith’s men have been beaten by Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints on two occasions each, as well as Leicester Tigers and London Wasps, as they continue to struggle to recapture their European promise on the domestic stage. Stade, on the other hand, were sensational in the second-half against Toulon as they scored 20 unanswered points after the interval to jump up to fifth in the Top 14 table, just a point behind second-placed Toulouse.
Stade haven’t had it all their own way since their last Amlin Challenge Cup involvement, though, and have lost both away games that followed their narrow success in Italy. Richard Pool-Jones’ side failed to get the better of Racing Metro the week after their win over Prato, before being well-beaten by Bordeaux-Begles 45-23 the week before last.
Irish will have to do without star wing Marland Yarde after he was ruled out for up to 14 weeks with a hip injury but Wallaby star James O’Connor could make his European debut.
Le Stade Français perd la première manche de son bras de fer pour la première place de la poule 5 en Amlin Challenge Cup (24-13). Les Parisiens ont craqué en deuxième mi-temps. - 08/12/2013 18:13
London Irish came out on top against Stade Francais in the battle of the Pool 5 heavyweights at the Madejski Stadium.
In a tense Amlin Challenge Cup contest, a late Alex Lewington try secured the win for the Irish and put them in pole position to qualify for the knockout stages.
Indiscipline had threatened to cost the home team dearly against a physical Stade side but, guided by fly-half Shane Geraghty, they held on for a third straight pool victory. The two teams meet again in France next Saturday with Irish now five points clear at the top of Pool 5.
Irish made a bright start at the Madejski despite their poor league form, with Geraghty kicking a penalty with less than two minutes on the clock. Stade responded three minutes later, though, with a penalty from Jerome Porical as they started to put the home side under pressure, and the Exiles were soon down to 14 men when centre Fergus Mulchrone was sent to the sin bin for not releasing in the tackle just metres from his own line. But despite some sustained attacks from the French side Irish defended superbly.
Geraghty then set up the game’s opening try with a lovely break before finding wing Tom Fowlie to cross over. The former England fly-half then kicked a penalty on the stroke of half-time to edge the home side into an 11-point lead at the break.
Irish changed their entire front row at the interval but it was Stade who started the stronger and they clawed three points back with a Porical penalty on 44 minutes.
Brian Smith’s side then went down to 14 men for the second time in the match when lock Nic Rouse was shown a yellow card for not rolling away in the tackle. This time Stade did make the most of their advantage with a converted try from replacement Olivier Missoup.
Geraghty steadied the ship for the home side with a penalty on the hour mark but, just as they returned to a full complement, they went down to 14 men once again. Replacement hooker Mike Mayhew became the third Irish player to be sent to the bin but things were soon evened up when Stade wing Djibril Camara was also shown a yellow card.
With both sides down to 14 it was the English side who capitalised with a try from full back Lewington, which Geraghty converted to seal the win.
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