Montpellier came from 18 points down to get their Champions Cup campaign off to an excellent start as they overcame 14-man London Irish 32-27 on Friday.

The Exiles dominated the opening 30 minutes, going 17-6 ahead thanks to Juan Martin Gonzalez and Lucio Cinti tries, but Agustin Creevy was then sent off for a dangerous tackle. It would eventually prove the difference but only after Gonzalez had touched down for a second time.

The French outfit’s powerful forward pack went to work and they reduced the arrears on the stroke of half-time through Cobus Reinach before Thomas Darmon crossed the whitewash to make it a four-point game.

Alexandre Becognee then moved the visitors ahead and Darmon effectively took them out of reach, despite Irish earning a losing bonus-point with a late Rory Jennings penalty.

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A powerful burst from Benhard Janse van Rensburg created the first score. The Irish centre’s run put the visitors’ defence on the back foot and, when they were penalised, Paddy Jackson knocked over the resulting kick.

However, straight from the restart it was Irish’s turn to infringe, but Louis Carbonel sent his straightforward kick wide.

Carbonel was soon presented with another opportunity and this time made no mistake to leave the scores level after an evenly-contested but largely featureless first quarter.

An error from Jackson, who kicked the ball into touch in goal, gave the French field position and, when Irish conceded a scrum penalty, Carbonel was again on target.

Irish had the next chance for points but turned down a kick at goal in favour of more attacking options. They built up a head of steam to put Montpellier under pressure, with French prop Enzo Forletta yellow-carded for a deliberate offside.

The hosts immediately capitalised when flanker Gonzalez forced his way over from close range before a superb 45-metre run from Ollie Hassell-Collins created another for Cinti.

Creevy had played a key part in that score with a neat offload for the scoring pass, but moments later he was sent off for a high tackle on Montpellier full-back Anthony Bouthier.

Bouthier left the field for a head injury assessment and French problems continued when Ben Loader raced past some weak tackling to send Gonzalez in for his second.

Montpellier’s response

The visitors badly needed a response before half-time and they got one when Reinach darted over from a close-range maul, with Carbonel’s conversion leaving his side 24-13 adrift at the interval.

Bouthier returned for the restart and it was his run which was the catalyst for his side’s second try.

The full-back made 15 metres before quick handling from the French backs saw Darmon cross in the corner.

Irish lost the impressive Gonzalez to a head assessment as they struggled to stem the tide. Zach Mercer was becoming increasingly influential for the visitors and a couple of telling bursts set up a try from Becognee.

The hosts were now struggling to cope and it came as no surprise when Darmon outflanked the cover for a bonus-point try.

Irish were given a glimmer of hope when Montpellier replacement Leo Coly was sin-binned, but they could only manage a last-minute penalty from Jennings to give them a well-deserved Champions Cup bonus-point.

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