Latest
Overview
Season so far
Tournament record
Le Stade Français accueille jeudi soir à 20h30 les Italiens de Prato sur sa pelouse fétiche de Jean-Bouin. Une rencontre qui doit permettre aux Parisiens de rester au moins à égalité avec leurs rivaux des London Irish. - 08/01/2014 10:17
Stade Francais can move a step closer to another European quarter-final with a bonus-point victory over Italian outfit I Cavalieri Prato on Thursday night.
The Parisians took pole position in Pool 5 with a maximum-point success over London Irish in Round 4 and they now know that back-to-back repeats against Prato and lowly Lusitanos would guarantee a spot in the last eight.
London Irish were in the box seat prior to their trip to Paris in Round 4 after a brace of maximum-point wins and a 23-14 success against Stade at the Madejski Stadium but the French giants wrestled control of the pool thanks to a bonus-point win over the Exiles on December 14.
Antoine Burban’s 78th-minute try ensured Stade top the standings courtesy of having picked up more match points in the back-to-back games between themselves and Irish and it is therefore they who will qualify for the knockout stages if the two teams finish level on points after six rounds of action.
Level is exactly how they sit at the moment but it would be a surprise if Stade do not end up as pool winners given that they are facing a Prato side who had never won away from home in the competition until last month’s victory in Lisbon.
Stade possess a formidable home record in Europe, too, with their last defeat in any continental competition coming against Harlequins in the Heineken Cup in December 2008. They have only ever lost twice at home in the Amlin Challenge Cup and just one of those occasions was in a pool match, way back in their first season in Europe in 1997/98 when London Irish won 29-28 at the Stade Jean Bouin.
But Gonzalo Quesada’s troops will be aware that complacency could cost them dear, just as it almost did when they travelled to Italy in Round 2. Only a late Nicolas Garrault try spared their blushes and denied Cavalieri Prato the biggest victory in their history despite the fact that the minnows had played nearly an hour with 14 men after Giacomo Bernini’s early red card.
Stade didn’t have it all their own way the last time they met Prato in the French capital, either, with the hosts only securing a five-point haul in the closing stages. Stade ran out 29-6 winners but they needed two tries in the final six minutes to claim a bonus point last season.
Prato cam still qualify for the last eight themselves after their back-to-back wins over Lusitanos took them on to 11 points, just three shy of both Stade and Irish, but that scenario would give European rugby one of its biggest shocks in 19 seasons of competition.
Le Stade Français s'impose à domicile au terme d'une partie brouillonne face à Prato (31-3). Les Parisiens auront dû attendre les derniers instants de la rencontre pour obtenir le bonus offensif primordial pour la suite. - 09/01/2014 22:20
Stade Francais Paris took a giant step towards the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup with a 31-3 win over I Cavalieri Prato.
Last season’s beaten finalists began the night knowing that back-to-back bonus point successes against Cavalieri and lowly Lusitanos would guarantee a place in the last eight and they have now completed half that job after a fourth win from five pool games win in the French capital.
Stade, who lost to Leinster in Dublin in last season’s showpiece, took control of the pool with a last-gasp bonus point try against London Irish last time out and they again left it late to achieve the outcome they were after at the Stade Jean Bouin.
Quarter-final qualification looked to be swinging back in Irish’s favour after a slow second half but Anton van Zyl crossed with just two minutes remaining to secure maximum points.
Stade led 17-0 with two tries in the bag at the break through Djibril Camara and Romain Frou in a five-minute spell leading up to the half hour but they failed to kick on after the interval.
Instead, it was the Italians who scored next through a penalty from Matte Falsaperla after 53 minutes before Stade struck twice in the last 10 minutes.
Former Super Rugby star Richard Kingi grabbed Stade’s third try after 71 minutes and van Zyl completed the job when Prato were down to 14 following men Giacomo Berni’s yellow card as time appeared to be running out.
Jerome Porical added 11 points with the boot but the four tries were all that really mattered as a repeat in Portugal a week today will now secure top spot regardless of how London Irish fare in Rounds 5 and 6.
LIVE - TEST - Commentary