Perpignan flyhalf Antoine Aucagne kicked a last-minute penalty to deny the Toyota Cheetahs a victory and forced a 20-all draw in their EPCR Challenge game in Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon.
Aucagne’s kick came a minute after the Cheetahs thought they had won the game through an Ethan Wentzel penalty at the other end of the ground to give them the lead for only the second time in an error-ridden game.
The crucial penalty for Perpignan came from the ensuing kickoff, where the Cheetahs were pinged at the breakdown, a situation that seemed to happen all too often in the game as their forwards were beaten again and again.
And the Bloemfontein side will be unhappy with their own performance, as other than a handful of missed kicks by Wentzel, they failed to capitalise on several first-half chances with the wind at their backs and on a dominant set piece when it mattered.
80:10 |Full-Time
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Toyota SA
EPCR Challenge Cup
Rugby Nederland
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In fact, it seemed as if Perpignan had more street smarts and played the big moments well to lead 17-10 at the break.
The Cheetahs will probably point to the fact they are rusty having not had competitive rugby for the last two months.
It was Aucagne who opened the scoring for the French side after the Cheetahs were caught flat footed early on, but the Cheetahs soon asserted some forward dominance to pound the Perpignan defences and were rewarded in the ninth minute when Jeandre Rudolph crossed the line after a blindside move.
Namibian hooker Louis van der Westhuizen added his name to the scoresheet after a monster rolling maul, but Perpignan were to hit back hard and retake the lead thanks to a set-piece move that set winger Setareki Toganiyadrava through a hole to score their second try.
The third was a hammer blow on the stroke of halftime as a wayward cross- field kick that seemed to go nowhere, caught the Cheetahs off guard and allowed midfielder Job Poulet to pounce on the bouncing ball and run through to score.
While the second half was a frustrating affair to watch, it was the Cheetahs who scored through a beautiful, worked move where flanker Daniel Maartens came into the backline on the angle to scythe through and score.
That try levelled the scores and a few minutes later it seemed Wentzel had given the Cheetahs the win.
Until Aucagne stepped up and settled the match, with the final scoreline a fair reflection of tight game on a chilly Amsterdam afternoon.
SCORERS
Toyota Cheetahs - tries: Jeandre Rudolph, Louis van der Westhuizen, Daniel Maartens. Conversion: Ethan Wentzel. Penalty: Wentzel.
Perpignan - tries: Antoine Aucagane, Setareki Toganiyadrava, Job Poulet. Conversion: Aucagne. Penalty:Aucagne