Shock defeat for French giants

Nov 19 2007 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

Bristol 17-0 Stade Francais

DAVID HILL kicked Bristol to the most notable win in their Heineken Cup history as tournament favourites Stade Francais suffered a surprise Pool Three defeat.

New Zealander Hill booted four penalties, while centre Neil Brew scored the game’s solitary try on 77 minutes to give Bristol a fighting chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

But the game proved a drab affair in cold, wet conditions, with little attacking thrills to enthuse a 10,500 Memorial Stadium crowd.

Bristol, in only their second season of top-flight European rugby, resorted to basic rugby, using a vastly-superior pack to smash Stade’s resistance.

Although the home side lacked flair or invention behind the scrum, it hardly mattered, because Stade proved even more limited with ball in hand.

It was a shambolic display by the French champions on a weekend when England’s Heineken Cup challengers made their presence felt following wins on Saturday for Wasps, London Irish and Leicester, while Gloucester beat the Ospreys on Friday night.

Stade, given their magnificent record at Stade Jean Bouin, are unlikely to drop points in Paris during their Heineken Cup campaign.

But, if their away form does not improve drastically on yesterday’s grisly evidence, then they could struggle to progress beyond the pool stage.

England scrum-half Shaun Perry captained Bristol in the absence of injured flanker Matt Salter, while Roy Winters replaced Nathan Budgett, who damaged windpipe cartilage during last Sunday’s defeat against Cardiff Blues.

Stade were led by hooker Dimitri Szarzewski, with two other members of the French World Cup squad joining him on starting duty – Skrela and flanker Remy Martin.

But the French champions travelled without several star players, and it showed.