Away at the Gtech Community Stadium on the first day of the Champions Cup, Montpellier Hérault Rugby eliminated London Irish with the offensive bonus (27-32).
The Irish strike first. Irish flyhalf Paddy Jackson scored the first three points of the game from a penalty slightly moved to the right (3-0, 10th).
Carbonel lets its precision speak for itself. Facing the posts, the number 10 of the MHR didn’t hesitate to bring his team up to the Irish (3-3, 16th).
The MHR at the controls. After 23 minutes of play, the Cistes took the lead with a penalty by opener Louis Carbonel (3-6).
L’Héraultais at 2 pm. Guilty of a foul in front of the MHR goal line, prop Enzo Forletta received a yellow card in the 25th minute of play. Meanwhile, London Irish’s Argentine flanker Gonzalez signed a decisive charge for the first try of 2022/ 2023 European Cup campaign (10-6, 27).
The Irish go wild. The English scored a sublime try against 60 meters by Argentine winger Lucio Cinti (17-6, 32nd). The English scored a third try just before the break, again with Gonzalez (24-6, 39th).
Agustin Creevy sees red. The Argentine hooker receives a red card for a dangerous gesture on the back of MHR Anthony Bouthier (17-6, 33rd).
The MHR is relaunching. In stoppage time of the first period, MHR scrum-half Cobus Reinach allowed the Cistes to narrow the gap with an opportunistic try (24-13, 45th).
24-13 at rest for the Irish Londoners
The MHR continues to rise. On a nice off offense, the Cistes scored a second try with center back Thomas Darmon down the line (24-20, 53rd).
Cysts at the controls. The Héraultais took control of the match shortly after the hour with a third try scored by Alexandre Bécognée (24-27, 63rd).
Montpellier any bonus. Dominating in the second act, Philippe Saint-André’s players continued with a fourth try, synonymous with an offensive bonus, scored by Thomas Darmon in his second try of the evening (24-32, 68th). For their part, the Irish Londoners snatched the defensive bonus right at the end of the game.
With this test, @c_reinach restart the game for the @MHR_official just before the break. 🔔
Anything is still possible against 14-man London Irish for this first game of #Champions Cup ! pic.twitter.com/EYILcoaIgY
— French Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup_FR) December 9, 2022
