Bayonne 30 Chiefs 24

Bayonne 30

Exeter Chiefs 24

By Mark Stevens at Stade Jean Dauger

A late sucker punch from Tongan Lisiate Fa’aoso floored Exeter Chiefs in their opening European Rugby Challenge Cup fixture away to Bayonne.

The imposing lock stole over for a converted try two minutes from time to deny Rob Baxter’s side from a hard fought victory at the Stade Jean Dauger.

His try, along with others from Opeti Fonua and Pierre Sayerse, were capped off by an impeccable kicking display from home scrum-half Christophe Loustalot, who finished the night with a 15-point haul.

The Chiefs, who netted a losing bonus point for their efforts, countered with tries from Adam Hughes and Carl Rimmer, while Ceri Sweeney and Jack Arnott netted the remainder of the points with the boot. However, it was not enough to sink their resilient Top 14 hosts, who claimed their fourth home win of the season.

As Baxter had predicted, jt was a much-changed Chiefs line-up that took to the field from that which had defeated London Irish 44-24 last time out. The pack was much changed with first starts for front-row duo Elvis Taione and Moray Low, whilst Ryan Caldwell, James Scaysbrook and Kai Horstmann were also included from the outset.

Behind, England international Jack Nowell was the only survivor from the Irish victory. A new half-back pairing was made up of Haydn Thomas and Sweeney, while Ian Whitten was partnered in the centre by debutant Hughes. The other changes saw starts for Tom James and Jack Arnott in a live wire back three alongside Nowell.

Bayonne, meanwhile, also took the opportunity to rotate their ranks with stars names such as Scott Spedding, Joe Rokocoko and Santiago Fernandez not even included in their match-day line-up. On the bench experienced Aussie Mark Chisholm was joined by Argentine playmaker Martin Bustos Moyano.

Early on, though, it was the Chiefs who set the tone as Sweeney slotted them in front on three minutes with a routine penalty after the Frenchmen were penalised for killing the ball in front of their own posts.

Arnott doubled the advantage moments later with a long-range penalty, before Sweeney made it 9-0 in as many minutes as he stroked over another sublime effort as Bayonne felt the full force of Irish referee Peter Fitzgibbon’s whistle.

It was just the start the Chiefs needed, but Bayonne countered momentarily with a penalty of their own as Loustalot slotted their opening points after Tongan hooker Taione was pulled up for going off his feet.

Thankfully, it was a momentary lapse from Baxter’s side who, with 18 minutes on the clock, claimed the game’s opening try through Hughes. The Welshman was able to dart over in the left corner after Scaysbrook had charged down a clearance from Clement Otazo before feeding the ball to Whitten, who in turn fed the ball to his fellow centre who did the rest. Sweeney converted from the touchline to give his side a 13 point advantage.

Sadly that would be as good as it got for the Chiefs, who for the remainder of the half played second fiddle to their Top14 rivals. Tongan powerhouse Fonua led the fightback as the 24-stone lock powered his way over for Bayonne’s opening try; then winger Sayerse claimed their second converted score of the night as he finished off a slick handling move in the left corner to make it 17-16.

With half time approaching the Chiefs were handed a bonus when Bayonne lost hooker Gregory Arganese to the sin-bin for a professional foul, but they could not make the numbers game count as the home side soaked up some late Exeter pressure to go in at the break with a narrow lead.

HALF TIME     BAYONNE 17    EXETER CHIEFS 16

On the resumption, it was the Chiefs who were again quickly inter their stride in attack. Sadly the execution was not quite at it’s best as chances came and went, along with an early penalty shot from Sweeney.

However, a second yellow card - this time to Bayonne hooker Gregory Arganese - gave the Chiefs the numerical advantage, which this time they made full use of.

Positioning themselves deep behind enemy lines, a line out take from Damian Welch created the driving maul from which Rimmer was able to splinter off the side and race over for his second try in as many weeks.

Sweeney failed with the testing touchline conversion, but he atoned moments later as he edged the Chiefs into a seven point lead with a third penalty after centre Thibault Visensang became the latest home player sent to the cooler by Fitzgibbon.

The Irish official was red-hot with his decision-making at the breakdown and it was the home side who were falling on the wrong side of his verdicts.

However, the Chiefs were soon to fall foul of his whistle as two quick fire penalties from the deadly Loustalot reduced Exeter’s grip on the game to a solitary points with just 15 minutes remaining.

Replacements were introduced from both sides as the game went somewhat scrappy, but the Chiefs were somehow holding their rivals at bay with some stout defence.

That was, however, until two minutes from time when a loose exit from the Chiefs was seized upon by the French side who, in an instance, worked the ball across the field, exposing a numbers game that allowed Fa’aoso to glide over for the crucial score. Loustalot duly nailed the testing conversion attempt to put Bayonne six points up with just a minute remaining.

Although the Chiefs did their best to rescue the restart, Bayonne cleverly smothered the ball into a maul that they worked to halfway before their Loustalot drilled the ball into the stands to spark scenes of delirium amongst the home faithful.

It was rough on Baxter’s side, particularly given their efforts in the unusual October heat, but it means next week’s home date with Connacht takes on extra significance now.

Bayonne: J Elissalde (M Bustos Moyano 61; S Vaka (B Duhalde 66), T Visensang, M Ugalde, P Sayerse (G Rouet 79); C Otazo, C Loustalot; JC Van Rensburg (L Pointud 57), G Arganese (S Labouyrie 69), F Lapeyrade (G Muller 67); O Fonua (L Fa’aoso 56), P Taele; B Chouzenoux, C Ancely (S Labouyrie 37-47, M Chisholm 67), J Monribot (capt).

Tries - Fonua, Sayerse, Fa’aoso; Conversion - Loustalot (3); Penalties - Loustalot (3)

Yellow Cards: Arganese, Chouzenoux, Visensang

Chiefs: J Arnott; J Nowell, A Hughes, I Whitten, T James (F Vainikolo 52); C Sweeney (capt), H Thomas (D Lewis 52); C Rimmer (B Sturgess 62), E Taione (G Bateman 62), M Low (A Brown 62); M Lees (S Naqelevuki h/t), R Caldwell (C Rimmer 69); D Armand, J Scaysbrook (D Welch 36), K Horstmann. Replacement (not used) G Steenson,

Tries - Hughes, Rimmer; Conversion - Sweeney; Penalties - Sweeney (3), Arnott

Referee: P Fitzgibbon

Attendance: 6,813

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v Connacht (H), European Challenge Cup, Saturday, October 25 (3pm)