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Au risque de voir lui échapper la qualification pour les phases finales de l'European Rugby Challenge Cup
Francois Trinh-duc wants Montpellier to get their European Rugby Challenge Cup campaign back on track against Italian side Calvisano this weekend.
The French side were well-beaten by Harlequins in their Pool 3 opener last weekend, conceding five tries in the process.
But a victory at home to Calvisano, who suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Cardiff Blues in their tournament opener, would put Jake White’s men back in the mix for knock-out stage qualification.
While their France international fly-half admits domestic duties remain a priority for his club, Trinh-duc is determined they put on a good show in continental competition.
“It would be wrong if, as a club, we did not give ourselves the chance to do well in this competition. European tournaments are a great test for coaches and players,” he said.
“The Top 14 is our priority but we will be playing our games in the Challenge Cup with the intention of winning. We have had a tough run of fixtures. If you look at the calendar, we played Harlequins on the back of games against Toulouse, Toulon and Clermont. It is not ideal.
“But those are things we cannot control. We have to move on and look forward to a new challenge and look to give ourselves the chance of qualification.”
Calvisano have never won on the road in European competition and Montpellier have not been beaten by an Italian side on their own turf in the second-tier tournament.
Match Facts
- Montpellier have won five of their six matches against Italian opponents in the Challenge Cup, those five victories coming by an average margin of 39 points.
- Rugby Calvisano have won only one of their previous 12 encounters with French teams in the Challenge Cup (D1, L10).
- Rugby Calvisano are yet to win an away fixture in the Challenge Cup from 12 attempts and concede an average of 37 points per away game.
- Montpellier have lost just two of their last 12 home games in the competition (W9, D1), winning the last five in a row.
La squadra di Jake White vince con un agevole 64-0 nella seconda giornata di Challenge Cup e raggiunge così i Cardiff Blues al secondo posto della pool 3. - 20/11/2015 21:45
Montpellier bounced back from their nightmare start at Harlequins to demolish Rugby Calvisano 64-0.
Jake White’s side are back in the hunt for a quarter-final place after their 10-try victory moved them level on points with Cardiff Blues in Pool Three.
It did not take long for the try-fest to get underway at the Altrad Stadium. Wing wizard Marvin O’Connor finished a sweeping move to put his side into the early ascendancy. Benoit Paillaugue was the next man to go over for the hosts eight minutes later, and he converted to take the score to 14-0.
Montpellier kept their foot on the gas with lock Paul Willemse crashing over for their third score after just 22 minutes. The bonus-point was predictably wrapped up two minutes through Kelian Galletier, after Francois Trihn-Duc had departed due to injury. There was still time for one more score before the break, as the hosts powered to a penalty try. Paillaugue converted for a 33-0 lead at half-time.
Whatever was said in the Rugby Calvisano dressing room did not have the desired effect. It took just three second-half minutes for Australia star Ben Mowen to go over for try number six, and Demetri Catrakilis was on-target with the conversion. Anthony Tuitavke was the next man to go over after 47 minutes, before the Italian side finally stopped the rot for 13 minutes. But their resistance was broken by Julien Malzieu,, who crossed to bring up the half-century. Robert Ebersohn and Yvan Reilhac crowned the triumph with two late tries at the death to secure a 59-0 victory.
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