Montpellier's second-half show floors Lions
01/11/2025 02:37 PM
MATCH REPORT: Montpellier cemented their place at the top of the Challenge Cup Pool 2 with a 28-5 bonus-point win over the Lions on Saturday.
Montpellier scrumhalf Alexis Bernadet scored a brace of tries as his team recorded their third Challenge Cup win in three matches.
*To recap all the action: CLICK HERE!!!
Lock Marco Tauleigne and No.8 Sam Simmonds were the other try-scorers, while Thomas Vincent added three conversions.
Promising Springbok Quan Horn was the Lions' solo try-scorer.
The result leaves Montpellier top of the table, while the Lions are in fifth place and out of the top-four qualifying spots.
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Horn got the proceedings underway and his team found themselves under a lot of pressure.
After the Lions conceded a penalty, Montpellier kicked to touch and retain the ball from the line-out. They worked the ball to the inside before captain Marco Tauleigne powered over the line for the first try of the match.
Thomas Vincent added the easy conversion for the 7-0 lead.
In less than three minutes, Alexis Bernadet thought he extended the hosts' lead. However, the try was cancelled after the referee Ben Breakspear and TMO Tom Spurrier spotted a tackle of the ball leading up to the score.
A moment of relief for the Lions, nonetheless it was very short-lived as Montpellier were absolutely relentless on attack.
They enjoyed much of the possession and kept the Lions inside their half for much of the first quarter.
The South Africans managed to absorb much of the French side's attack.
After 26 minutes, the Lions were inside Montpellier's 22 for the first time. They put in some solid passes but an overcooked grubber from Horn halted all their efforts.
It was a frustrating first half for both camps.
Unforced errors took centre stage at the Lions.
For the hosts, it was a case of all the possession and territory but very little reward as they took a narrow 7-0 lead at the break.
The Lions started the second half with more vigour.
A dominant scrum injected some much-needed energy and after multiple phases, Horn busted through a couple of defenders before diving over the five-pointer.
Unfortunately for the Lions, flyhalf Sam Francis was beaten by the shot clock and could not add the conversion.
The Lions went down to 14 men when Etienne Oosthuizen made head contact in his tackle on Anthony Bouthier.
Similar to teh first half, Montpellier thought that they scored when Madosh Tambwe ran a lethal line before dotting down.
However, the try was chalked off after yet another tackle off the ball.
With a man down, the Lions unleashed Sanele Nohomba from the bench.
Bernadet finally got his name on the scoresheet. From an incredible counter-attack, the scrumhalf linked up Thomas Vincent, before diving over the line. Vincent added the extras for the 14-5 lead.
The nippy scrumhalf bagged his double on the hour mark, extending Montpellier's lead to 21-5.
JC Pretorius had a chance to narrow the deficit when he pounced on a loose ball and made his way down the field. However great cover defence halted the opportunity.
Instead, it was Montpellier who counterattacked before Sam Simmonds dived over for the bonus-point try.
Man of the match: Montpellier scrumhalf Alexis Bernadet gets our nod. The 23-year-old was the heart of his team's attack and scored a brace of tries.
The scorers:
For Montpellier:
Tries: Tauleigne, Bernadet 2, Simmonds
Cons: Vincent 4
For Lions:
Try: Q. Horn
Yellow card: Ettiene Oosthuizen (Lions, 48 - dangerous tackle)
Teams
Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Auguste Cadot, 11 George Bridge, 10 Thomas Vincent, 9 Alexis Bernadet, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Lenni Nouchi (captain), 6 Nicolas Martins, 5 Marco Tauleigne, 4 Youssouf Soucouna, 3 Luka Japaridze, 2 Lyam Akrab, 1 Enzo Forletta,
Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Baptiste Erdocio, 18 Mohamed Haouas, 19 Yacouba Camara, 20 Jules Veyrier, 21 Aurelien Barreau, 22 Arthur Vincent, 23 Pierre Lucas
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Izan Esterhuizen, 6 WJ Steenkamp, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naudé, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Rynhardt Jonker.
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Mike English (Wales)
TMO: Tom Spurrier (Wales)
