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Montpellier reçoit dimanche à 16h les Leicester Tigers
Pride is all that’s left to play for as the two bottom clubs in Pool 5 go head-to-head.
Benetton Treviso are currently propping up the rest of the group without a single point to show from their previous five fixtures.
Montpellier triumphed 27-10 when the two sides met in Round 1 – the only previous Heineken Cup meeting between the two clubs.
Treviso can’t overtake the French club even if they secure a bonus point win as they trail Montpellier by six points.
The Italian side have had their struggles in defence and at the set piece in this year’s tournament and the statistics will make for uncomfortable reading for Treviso. In their first game against Montpellier they missed twice as many tackles (28) as their French counterparts as the visitors ran in two tries. Treviso also have the lowest success rate at the scrum (70%) and lineout (71%) of any other side in the competition.
Montpellier have had problems at the breakdown and their average turnovers of just 3.6 per game is far lower than any other side in the tournament. They go into the game off the back of five straight defeats in all competitions while Treviso have had four defeats and one draw in their last five outings.
Highlights: Montpellier v Benetton Treviso - 20/01/2014 11:54
Montpellier ensured they didn’t go through their Heineken Cup campaign without a home win as they ran in three tries to notch a double over their Italian counterparts to secure third position in Pool 5.
Former All Blacks wing Rene Ranger grabbed his first Heineken Cup try to break the deadlock midway through the first half as he made the most of the one extra man the home side were enjoying at that time thanks to the sin-binning of Benetton Treviso No 8 Marco Filippucci three minutes earlier.
Montpellier were seeking to finish Pool 5 as they had started, with a win over the Italians, and to end their run of successive European defeats at Stade Yves du Manoir. Home losses to Ulster and then Leicester Tigers put paid to their quarter-final aspirations and this game was all about pride.
The home lead grew when Georgian back row star Mamuka Gorgodze powered his way over and that made it 10-0 to Montpellier at the break. Benetton got their first points on the board five minutes into the second half when Tobias Botes made up for his earlier first by kicking a penalty to make it 10-3.
Former French outside half Francois Trinh Duc failed with a couple of kicks himself before he f=left the fray after 49 minutes to be replaced by Ilian Perraux. Botes closed the gap further with his second successful penalty on 54 minutes.
But the home side were not to be denied and their third try of the night came after 63 minutes and rounded off a good period of pressure. Wing Lucas Dupont got the score and Eric Escande added the conversion to make it 17-6.
The visitor's cause grew all the harder when Lorenzo Cittadini was given a yellow card in the 74th minute, although it became 14 v 14 three minutes later when Charles Geli was also sent to the sideline. Montpellier then clinched the bonus point with a try fro Pierre Berard in the final play of the game which Escande converted.
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