Stade Francais snap losing run at Agen

PARIS: After three straight defeats in the Top 14, Stade Francais returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 19-6 win at struggling Agen.

The Parisians, who have been in mourning following the recent death of their young player Nicolas Chauvin, managed just a single try through Kylan Hamdaoui but Argentina fly-half Nicolas Sanchez marked his first start for the club with 14 points from the boot.

“It is a win that will do everyone at the club some good,” said full-back Hamdaoui.

“It was very important for us to win today. It has been a very emotional week and we came into the game on the back of three defeats in the Top 14.

“We had to win, it didn’t matter how.” Sanchez had put over two penalties before his perfectly-weighted through kick set up Hamdaoui for the try four minutes before half-time. Sanchez converted and added two more penalties in the second-half to put the game beyond Agen who remain in the bottom three. “The Christmas dinner isn’t going to taste as good, we can do better,” said Agen coach Mauricio Reggiardo.

The win lifts Stade Francais from eighth in the table into fourth, although that is likely to change after Saturday’s other games.