USAP edged Cardiff Rugby 23-20 in a Round 3 EPCR Challenge Cup at the Stade Aime Giral. USAP led 10-03 at the halftime break but had to fight desperately at the end of the match.
A tight start in Perpignan meant just three points separated the two after 20 minutes, thanks to the boot of Tommaso Allan from the tee.
Tinus de Beer hit back with a penalty for Cardiff, but USAP scored the first try of the match through Allan on the stroke of halftime, which he converted for the hosts to head into the sheds 10-03 up.
On the end of a cracking crash ball, Rey Lee-Lo powered over a few minutes into the second 40 following a tight first half.
Tinus de Beer added the extras to draw Cardiff level at 10-10 before another penalty from Tommaso Allan nudged USAP ahead once more.
Minutes later, Tavite Veredamu was on the end of a fast break for Perpignan as they extended their lead to 18-10.
Lucas Velarte added another for the French side before Johan Mulder hit back for Cardiff to make it 23-20 with 10 minutes to play, but USAP held them out for a dramatic win.
USAP: Tries: Tommaso Allan, Tavite Veredamu, Lucas Velarte Conversion: Tommaso Allan. Penalties: Tommaso Allan (2).
Cardiff Rugby: Tries: Rey Lee-Lo, Johan Mulder. Conversions: Tinus de Beer (2). Penalties: Tinus de Beer (2).
Teams
USAP: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Tavite Veredamu, 13 Job Poulet, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (c), 11 Seta Toganiyadrava, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Lucas Velarte, 7 Alessandro Ortombina, 6 Noe Della Schiava, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Victor Montgaillard,1 Giorgi Beria. Replacements: 16 Seilala Lam, 17 Bruce Devaux, 18 Akato Fakatika, 19 Tristan Labouteley, 20 Patrick Sobela, 21 Tom Ecochard, 22 Antoine Aucagne, 23 Apisai Naqalevu.
Cardiff Rugby: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Regan Grace, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams (c), 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Rhys Barratt. Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Johan Mulder, 22 Ben Thomas, 23 Jacob Beetham.