Dimitri Yachvili’s 23-points haul all but booked Biarritz’s Henieken Cup quarter-final place with a hard-fought win against the Newport Gwent Dragons.
The scrum-half proved the difference as the French side maintained their 100 per cent record in the competition.
And the defeat all but left the Welsh side starring elimination at the group stage. Paul Turner’s men knew they had to topple group leaders Biarritz if they were to reach the knockout stages. But after an impressive first-half display, the Dragons fell away.
The Welsh region, and ever-improving under Paul Turner, had suffered a blow before they had even kicked off. Switching from their fortress Rodney Parade home to Llanelli’s Parc y Scarlets stadium following a frozen pitch on Friday night, much of the Dragons’ success on their own turf.
On neutral territory and a low-key atmosphere 80 miles down up the M4 motorway, it was always going to be a tough afternoon for the Dragons.
Yet after failing behind to Yachvili’s early penalty, the Dragons responded almost immediately through Richard Fussell’s try. Joe Bearman, who had the presence in mind to know he didn’t have the gas to go all the way, chipped ahead for flying winger Fussell to touchdown in the corner.
Bearman, a strong-running No.8, has been tipped to win a Wales call for the Six Nations and he didn’t do his cause any harm here.
Not that his fellow team-mates didn’t play their part as the the Dragons battered at the French side’s door. Fussell again came closing to capitalising on Arlidge’s clever chip, with Karmichael Hunt having to come to the rescue.
It wasn’t the last time last-ditch tackling would deny the Dragons as only a defence scrambled back to deny another surge from Bearman.
Despite their domination, the Gwent region’s discipline wasn’t so spot on. Yachvili and Arlidge swapped penalties before the Turner’s men were penalised on the stroke of half-time by the pint-sized scrum-half.
The power had shifted and after Yachvili had missed a penalty, Aled Brew was sin-binned moments after the break.
It proved a key moment as after another break from the veteran French scrum-half, Damien Traille slotted over a drop goal to add another nail into the Dragons’ coffin.
Any doubts evaporated when that man Yachvili wrapped up the win with his side’s first try after 61 minutes. Taking the lineout from the top in a set move, the 29-year-old burst through unchallenged, before adding the extras.
Full-back Martyn Thomas should have sent Lewis Evans in for a consolation try. It summed up the difference between the two teams and the clinical visitors added insult to injury as Yachvili combined with Arnaud Mignardi to wrap up the win with a touchdown underneath the posts in the dying moments.
