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Perpignan have the Pool 2 edge but they cannot afford any complacency when they meet Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo at Stade Aimé Giral on Thursday night. - 15/01/2013 20:40
Perpignan have the Pool 2 edge but they cannot afford any complacency when they meet Femi-CZ VEA Rovigo at Stade Aimé Giral on Thursday night.
Perignan and Worcester Warriors are level on 20 points apiece with the French club holding the slight edge with the superior try count of 3-1 from the head-to-head matches between the clubs.
Perpignan beat Rovigo 12-79 in Round 1 with a 10-try spree, Adrien Plante crossing the Italians line, and they will be chasing another five-point victory to cause Warriors heartbreak.
Perpignan, the 2003 Heineken Cup finalists, will view going all the way in this tournament as a genuine route to next season’s Heineken Cup.
Match Facts
- Perpignan have lost just twice in 14 home games in the Amlin Challenge Cup, both times to English clubs (Newcastle Falcons 1997, Rotherham Titans 2000).
- Rovigo have won just three of 53 games in this competition, conceding an average of 6.4 tries per game in these matches.
- The Italian side have lost their last 27 games in this tournament, not picking up a win since 2008 when they beat Dax.
- Perpignan need to score 52 points in this match to reach the landmark of 1,000 points in the Amlin Challenge Cup, they average 31 points per game so far (54 v Italian opposition).
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Adrien Planté is one of two players to have crossed for six tries in the competition this season.
Perpignan and Stade Francais Paris will kick-off a mouth-watering weekend of European semi-final action when they clash in an all-French contest at Stade Aime Giral with a place in the Dublin final next month the glittering prize. - 23/04/2013 15:49
Perpignan became the fourth side to qualify for the quarter finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup after they claimed a comfortable 40-22 win over Femi-CZ Rovigo on Thursday night.
The Catalan giants knew a bonus-point success would secure a last eight place and they were as good as there by half time at the Stade Aimé Giral.
Perpignan had the try-bonus sewn up by the break as they crossed four times in the opening 30 minutes and the remarkable comeback that Rovigo needed to help prolong Worcester’s qualification hopes was never on the cards.
Even if the English outfit pick up maximum points against Bizkaia Gernika RT on Sunday, Perpignan will pip them to top spot in Pool 2 as they scored more tries in their double header back in December.
Worcester won the Round 3 clash 22-21 at Sixways and Perpignan triumphed 13-6 in the return leg a week later but it was Marc Delpoux’s men who were in the box seat after scoring three tries to one over the two games.
Farid Sid set Perpignan on their way with a brace of tries in the first eight minutes tonight, although Rovigo did hit back with a Luke Mahoney try and a Stefan Basson penalty to cut the gap to 14-8 after a quarter of an hour.
Basson missed the chance to create a three-point ball game after 19 minutes and Perpignan made him pay as they crossed twice more in the next 10 minutes.
Sid’s wing partner Armand Batlle went over on 21 minutes, with tighthead prop Kisi Pulu following suit just before the half hour.
Andrea Bacchetti did provide a swift response for the visitors with a converted try moments later but Perpignan were 28-15 to the good at the interval after Gilles Bosch converted all four of his side’s scores.
Perpignan took their foot off the gas in the early stages of the second period as they brought on a raft of replacements but they did claim their fifth seven-pointer after 55 minutes courtesy of a penalty try which James Hook converted.
Bacchetti’s second score gave the Italians a glimmer of hope at 35-22 with 16 minutes still to play but Hook had the final word with a sixth try with just over five minutes to go, with Rovigo then seeing centre Joe Van Niekerk red carded moments later.
Perpignan join Aviva Premiership sides Gloucester, Bath and London Wasps in the knockout stages, with Stade Francais Paris needing just a single point from Saturday’s home clash with London Welsh to make it a French double.
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