A try from Samoan star Paul Williams two minutes from time saw George Smith’s Stade Francais edge English club Exeter 22-17 on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals of the European Challenge Cup.
Stade, last year’s losing finalists, ultimately proved too strong for a plucky Exeter side despite failing to dominate the game.
“This win shows that we can raise our level,” said Stade’s Australian director of rugby Michael Cheika.
“The match turned in our favour at the end. We showed good discipline against a team who could finish in the top four in the English Premiership. At halftime, we said that this match would go right to the end. It’s always the way in Europe.”
Exeter coach Rob Baxter praised his team.
“I’m very proud of my team. We came to Paris and played very well and could have won,” said Baxter.
“If we had won, we would certainly have deserved it because we looked like a very good team. The performance was fantastic – we went for it and we came up a tiny bit short.”
Exeter fly-half Ignacio Mieres opened the scoring with a 20th minute penalty after the home side strayed offside at a ruck.
The Argentinian missed his second effort but then saw counterpart and compatriot Felipe Contepomi sin-binned soon after for reacting to a bone-crunching hit by hooker Chris Whitehead with a wild, swinging punch.
Mieres kicked the ensuing penalty, but Julien Dupuy clawed one back for Stade after a reckless tackle by Exeter winger Gonzalo Camacho.
The respective kickers then traded penalties to leave the halftime score at 9-6 and the game delicately poised with each team failing to find their rhythm.
Stade came out firing on all cylinders in the second period, a dink through from Contepomi eluding the covering Phil Dollman but falling nicely for Djibril Camara, the fullback stretching to dot down in the corner for the game’s first try.
Dupuy missed the conversion but hit a penalty in the 48th minute, cancelled out immediately by Mieres.
The France international scrum-half was on target again to stretch Stade’s lead to 17-12.
But with 11 minutes remaining, missed tackles from Contepomi and Dupuy allowed Exeter’s Fijian centre Sireli Naqelevuki in for a soft try, Mieres missing the conversion to leave the scores tied.
The Argentinian, a former Stade player, then crucially missed a snatched drop-goal. The Parisians came roaring back up the pitch and Dupuy found a gap and sent out an inch-perfect pass to the fast-approaching Williams for the decisive try.
On Friday, defending champions and current English Premiership leaders Harlequins face a tough away game to the Jonny Wilkinson-led Toulon on the French Mediterranean coast.
Wasps host Biarritz on Saturday, with Brive entertaining Scarlets on Sunday in the final quarter-final.