Stade beat Ospreys on emotional Chauvin tribute night

Stade Francais beat the Ospreys 12-3 on an emotional night in which they paid tribute to Nicolas Chauvin, while Connacht and Agen also claimed European Challenge Cup wins on Friday.

Stade teenager Chauvin tragically died this week after sustaining a serious injury in an academy match against Bordeaux last Sunday.

The Top 14 club made entry free for the Pool Two encounter as respects were paid to the 19-year-old, who was pictured on the shirts Stade players wore in the warm-up.

There was also a minute’s silence before the match at Stade Jean Bouin, where four Nicolas Sanchez penalties gave Stade their first win of the competition at the expense of the leaders.

We stand alongside @SFParisRugby ahead of the game this evening for a moment of applause to pay our respects to Nicolas Chauvin pic.twitter.com/i7m17BURvw

— Ospreys (@ospreys) December 14, 2018

Connacht moved just two points behind Pool Three leaders Sale Sharks with a 36-21 bonus-point victory over 14-man Perpignan, who are still without a win and are now out of the competition.

Adrea Cocagi’s red card for a dangerous tackle midway through the second half proved to be costly, with tries from Matt Healy and Cian Kelleher putting the Pro14 side out of sight after Sean O’Brien’s first-half double and a Dave Heffernan five-pointer.

Agen moved off the foot of Pool Five with a 14-10 triumph over Top 14 rivals Grenoble, who missed the chance to go top.

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