Champions Cup: Stade Francais 40-14 Treviso
Last Updated: 19/12/15 5:46pm
Stade Francais kept their Champions Cup play-off hopes alive with a 40-14 win over Treviso on Saturday night.
Morne Steyn kicked five conversions as Josaia Raisuqe crossed twice for the Parisians. Geoffrey Doumayrou scored at the very end of the game to go with tries from Hugo Bonneval and replacement prop Zurabi Zhvania.
The win keeps them within touching distance of pool leaders Leicester, who play Munster at Welford Road on Sunday.
Treviso added tries of their own through Alberto Sgarbi and Davide Giazzon, but were completely dominated in Paris as they remain win-less in Pool 4.
Stade Francais were first to score when a period of sustained pressure kept them camped in the opposition half. They were awarded a penalty near the touchline and opted for an attacking lineout. The driving maul bore no fruit but when the referee handed them another penalty under the poles, they called for a scrum.
A dominant Stade Francais pack caused their opposition counterparts to splinter, and the referee gave the home side a penalty try which Morne Steyn converted.
Steyn was given another easy conversion in the 12th minute when Bonneval broke through the midfield and ran up the right-hand side of the pitch before handing off the final defender and running in under the poles.
Raisuqe was next to score for the Frenchmen. The winger grabbed the ball at the base of the breakdown and ran through the middle of the ruck for a third try and another easy conversion for Steyn to make it 21-0 at half-time.
Treviso made things difficult for the home side in the early stages of the second half, but Stade Francais remained patient and kept running through the phases. The Italian side's defence was finally stretched too far and Raisuqe crashed through opposition winger Tommaso Iannone to dot down in the corner.
Sgarbi finally put Treviso on the board after 56 minutes. The Italians recycled the ball quickly and sent it left where an overlap presented itself. They passed it through the hands to put Sgarbi over for the score, which was converted by Jayden Hayward to make it 28-7.
Zurabi Zhvania then took a pass outside the opposition 22m and hurtled towards the line. Two defenders tried to tackle Stade Francais' replacement prop into touch, but he disregarded them to slide into the corner for the score.
Treviso's replacement hooker Davide Giazzon looked to have rounded up the scoring when he burrowed over from close range, but Doumayrou thwarted the midfield defence to run over for a try two minutes from time to complete a convincing win for Stade Francais in Paris.
