Late sucker punch floors Chiefs

A late sucker punch from Tongan Lisiate Fa’aoso floored Exeter Chiefs in their opening European Rugby Challenge Cup fixture away to Bayonne.

The imposing lock stole over for a converted try two minutes from time to deny Rob Baxter’s side from a hard fought victory at the Stade Jean Dauger.

His try, along with others from Opeti Fonua and Pierre Sayerse, were capped off by an impeccable kicking display from home scrum-half Christophe Loustalot, who finished the night with a 15-point haul.

The Chiefs, who netted a losing bonus point for their efforts, countered with tries from Adam Hughes and Carl Rimmer, while Ceri Sweeney and Jack Arnott netted the remainder of the points with the boot.

However, it was not enough to sink their resilient Top 14 hosts, who claimed their fourth home win of the season. As Baxter had predicted, jt was a much-changed Chiefs line-up that took to the field from that which had defeated London Irish 44-24 last time out.

The pack was much changed with first starts for front-row duo Elvis Taione and Moray Low, whilst Ryan Caldwell, James Scaysbrook and Kai Horstmann were also included from the outset. Behind, England international Jack Nowell was the only survivor from the Irish victory. A new half-back pairing was made up of Haydn Thomas and Sweeney, while Ian Whitten was partnered in the centre by debutant Hughes.

The other changes saw starts for Tom James and Jack Arnott in a live wire back three alongside Nowell. Bayonne, meanwhile, also took the opportunity to rotate their ranks with stars names such as Scott Spedding, Joe Rokocoko and Santiago Fernandez not even included in their match-day line-up.

On the bench experienced Aussie Mark Chisholm was joined by Argentine playmaker Martin Bustos Moyano.

See more at: http://exeterchiefs.co.uk/news/bayonne-30-chiefs-24/#sthash.0FXyvwae.dpuf