Montpellier keep in touch with the top four of the Top 14 with a 22-11 win over Perpignan on Friday night. Early in the game the Catalans weren’t helped by the sin-binning of fiery flanker, Jean-Pierre Perez.
Having scored early through number eight Alex Tulou, hosts Montpellier then capitalised on Perpignan being a man down as they scored another excellently taken try from fullback Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.
The visitors were in that position because Perez, never one to shy away from a confrontation, looked determined to get himself sent off within ten minutes of kickoff.
First he swung an open hand ‘punch’ at Fulgence Ouedraogo for no real reason at all, then a minute later, he flew into Santiago Fernandez while making little effort to actually charge down the ball.
Ouedraogo dropped theatrically, making it look worse, but the ref and officials turned a blind eye, only marching Perpignan back ten metres. The charge down, they spotted that.
Perpignan came back into the game with a try from Rudi Coetzee and two penalties from Jerome Porical, but Montepellier had the final say as they scored in the second half through Mamuka Gorgodze. You can view highlights of the match here.
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