Champions Cup (J4): Fourth Defeat for Stade Français Paris, Outplayed by the Stormers

Stade Français Paris ended their Champions Cup campaign with a fourth consecutive defeat as they were defeated by the Stormers (20-24).

Stade Français Paris concluded their Champions Cup journey with yet another defeat. Despite a promising start, they couldn't avoid their fourth loss against the Stormers. The Parisians couldn't have hoped for a better beginning. As both teams engaged in back and forth rugby, a fumble by Warrick Gelant opened the door for Mathis Ibo. He swiftly counter-attacked and sent Andy Timo over for a try in the 1st minute, with Joris Segonds missing the conversion. The Stormers responded just ten minutes later. After earning a penalty and finding a five-meter lineout, Herschel Jantjies skillfully extracted the ball from the resulting maul to catch the Parisian defense off guard. Unfortunately, Manie Libbok was unsuccessful with the conversion, leaving the score level. Shortly after, Joris Segonds capitalized on a penalty for offside, giving Stade Français a temporary lead. However, their advantage lasted a mere three minutes. Once again, the defense of the Capital's club was breached by a driving maul, and Ruben van Heerden took advantage to score the Stormers' second try at the 15-minute mark. Stade Français regained the lead on the scoreboard just over ten minutes before halftime.

Stade Français Paris Couldn't Make a Difference

After playing a penalty with their hands near the South African try line, Joris Segonds orchestrated a close-range attack that resulted in a perfectly timed pass to Lester Etien, who crossed the line. The "Pink Soldiers" held on to a five-point advantage until halftime. At the start of the second half, Rory Kockott attempted an opportunistic drop goal from a clearance kick by Manie Libbok, but the former Castres player missed the target. The first points of the second half quickly followed after this missed opportunity. This time, the Parisian scrum-half combined with Mathieu Hirigoyen, and the Stade Français flanker crossed the line on his second attempt, giving his team a ten-point lead. Joris Segonds missed the conversion. Six minutes later, Giovanni Habel Küffner picked up a loose ball from the Stormers and charged ahead to score a try... but the flanker was initially in an offside position, and the try was rightfully disallowed. It proved to be the turning point of the match. Handre Stassen, who was dismissed by the Parisian club in 2019 following a positive doping test, made an impact in his return to the Stade Jean-Bouin.

Messy and Fatal Ending to the Match

Shortly after coming on as a substitute, the South African flanker forced his way over the line following a dominant scrum, bringing the Stormers within three points with 20 minutes remaining. The closing stage of the match saw the Parisian scrum losing its cohesion. Vasil Kakovin received a yellow card in the 67th minute for multiple infringements in the scrum. On his replacement, Clément Castets suffered the same fate in the 69th minute. With a lack of a specialist loosehead prop, the referee enforced the "lack" rule, allowing simulated scrums with the cost of having an additional player withdrawn. Stade Français had to continue with only twelve players. The Stormers took full advantage of this situation. From a scrum, Damian Willemse played a quick pass to Manie Libbok, who scored the try, putting the South Africans ahead on the scoreboard. The Parisians, desperate to salvage a victory that would secure them a place in the Challenge Cup, failed to break the Stormers' solid defense. With this fourth defeat in four matches (20-24), the Capital club finishes at the bottom of Pool 4, while the Stormers secure their place in the knockout stages with a second-place finish.