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Cardiff Blues scrum-half Lloyd Williams has warned his team-mates Montpellier will prove a very different proposition on home soil this weekend. - 15/12/2015 13:54
Cardiff Blues scrum-half Lloyd Williams has warned his team-mates Montpellier will prove a very different proposition on home soil this weekend.
The Welsh side hauled themselves back into contention in Pool 3 of the European Rugby Challenge Cup as they recovered from 20-7 down to beat the French side 37-27 at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.
The Blues know a repeat performance at the Altrad Stadium would keep them hot on the heels of current pool pacesetters Harlequins and in the race to reach the quarter-finals for the second season in a row.
But Wales international Williams expects Montpellier to be an even tougher examination for his side in their own backyard.
“We know French teams pride themselves on their home games so it is going to be a different challenge, but we have beaten two quality sides over the last couple of weeks with Montpellier in Europe and Connacht in the Guinness Pro12, and the confidence is flowing through the team,” said Williams.
“There are obviously things to improve on and we are not going to get ahead of ourselves, there is plenty of hard work left to be done in this pool but we have put ourselves in a good position and we need to make the most of that by backing this result up.”
Head coach Danny Wilson is particularly concerned about Montpellier’s dangerous back three and knows a sharp kicking game will be crucial for the Welsh region.
“If you feed Montpellier they have got a lot of gifted strike runners across the field who you can struggle to contain so we need to go there and be disciplined in that facet of the game,” said Wilson.
Match Facts
- This will be only the second match between these sides in the Challenge Cup after Cardiff won their first encounter last weekend 37-27.
- Montpellier have won their last six Challenge Cup fixtures at home, three times longer than their next longest home winning streak.
- Cardiff Blues are aiming for consecutive wins in the Challenge Cup for the first time since their final pool match of 2014/15, alternating between wins and losses since then.
- Cardiff Blues remain undefeated in four matches against French opponents in the Challenge Cup (W4), including their win over Montpellier last weekend.
Paul Willemse's converted try two minutes into injury time rescued a dramatic win for Montpellier at home to the Cardiff Blues. - 17/12/2015 22:19
Paul Willemse’s converted try two minutes into injury time rescued a dramatic win for Montpellier at home to the Cardiff Blues.
Two penalties in the final 10 minutes from Blues rookie outside-half Jarrod Evans looked to have won it for the visitors but Willemse’s try and a conversion from Demetri Catrakilis broke Welsh hearts.
Wales international Alex Cuthbert scored his second try in as many weeks against Montpellier and 11 points from the boot of man-of-the-match Rhys Patchell had given the Blues a deserved lead first-half lead.
But a try from wing Julien Malzieu on the stroke of half-time kept Montpellier in contention and despite missing several opportunities in the second half with the Blues down to 14 men, the home side produced a score when it mattered to steal the win.
It keeps alive Montpellier’s hopes of qualification from pool three but they remain in third place in the group after the Blues’ losing bonus point leaves them in second behind leaders Harlequins.
Patchell had kicked the Blues in front with a penalty inside two minutes before Montpellier full-back Ben Lucas had a try ruled out by the TMO.
Outside-half Demetri Catrakillis brought Montpellier level with his first penalty before Patchell struck twice with the boot to put the Blues in command.
Catrakillis clawed back three points before Patchell and Cuthbert combined to punish the home side.
After Montpellier failed to clear their lines, Patchell’s weighted chip over the disjointed Montpellier backline was collected by Cuthbert to touch down.
Montpellier hit back just before half-time when Catrakillis put a perfect cross-field kick into the arms of Malzieu to bring them back to within three points.
The Blues were dealt a big blow with 25 minutes to go when number eight Manoa Vosawai saw yellow but despite their advantage Montpellier couldn’t break down a stubborn Blues’ defence.
A Catrakillis penalty eventually brought them level before two penalties from Evans gave the Blues a six point lead, only for Willemse to snatch the win at the death for Montpellier.
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