Maxime Lucu kicked a last-minute penalty as Bordeaux-Begles defeated French Top 14 leaders Montpellier 23-22 on Sunday.
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The result allowed second-placed Bordeaux to cut the gap to just two points.
Lucu finished the game with a personal haul of 18 points with hooker Maxime Lamothe scoring Bordeaux’s only try after seven minutes.
It was a welcome win for a Bordeaux side which had suffered eight defeats in nine matches.
For Montpellier, who have a European Champions Cup quarter-final date with French rivals La Rochelle in two weeks’ time, it was a first home loss since a 22-20 defeat to Clermont in mid-October.
However, they came close to victory in the closing stages of Sunday’s game as Bordeaux’s discipline deserted them.
A yellow card for back-row forward Mahamadou Diaby in the 64th minute allowed South African star fly-half Handre Pollard to kick three penalties.
Lock forward Florian Verhaeghe then scored a converted try in the 76th minute as Montpellier edged 22-20 ahead.
But that was the cue for Lucu to boot his nerveless last-gasp penalty to secure the win for Bordeaux.”And it was looking like a strong weekend. You never know with the weather how competitive you are going to be, but I think we did very well and this one-two is very deserved.
“The start was very important, but afterwards, judging the conditions and when to swap to the slick tyres — because in the lead you have to always dictate the pace.”
Perez said he was delighted to bring smiles to the Red Bull team.
“It was really intense,” he said. “The most important thing today was not to make mistakes because with these conditions it was so tricky. To get a one-two, out there, is a great result for the team.
– ‘Undriveable’ Mercedes –
“I am very pleased to see everyone in my team smiling today and I am happy for Max.”
Norris said: “An amazing race! An amazing weekend.
“I’m happy. The team deserves it. It was a mixture of tricky conditions, but we’ve been able to capitalise on that — I love these conditions, so always do quite well.”
George Russell produced a stirring drive for Mercedes to come home fourth after starting 11th, fending off Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo at the finish, while team-mate seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finished a distant 13th.
