Neath's twice postponed Heineken Cup clash with Beziers was well worth the
wait as the Welshmen just got the better of the French side in a thrilling
encounter.
Beziers showed all their French during the closing stages as they looked for
an all-important try but the Neath defence just about held out.
Early Neath dominance only reaped a penalty on 21 minutes by fly-half Lee
Jarvis.
The home side paid for their inability to convert pressure into points as
Beziers hit back with a sparkling try.
Captain Pierre Mignoni breached the Neath defence to send lock Karim Ghezal
galloping over in the corner.
Argentinian Gonzalo Quesada converted superbly from the touchline before
extending his side's lead with a penalty before Jarvis replied with a similar
effort.
In injury time in the first half, Neath flanker Alfie Mocelutu scrambled over
near the post for Jarvis to add the extra points.
Jarvis kicked his third penalty early in the second half but Beziers found the
Neath slope to their liking.
Centre Jean-Marc Aue had too much pace for the covering defence as he broke a
tackle to break clear for a fine try before scrum-half Mignoni gave his side the
lead with a neat left-footed drop goal.
Neath regained the lead 10 minutes from time as the home side worked a superb
overlap as right-winger Gareth Morris to race clear for Jarvis to convert from
wide.
Neath travel to group leaders Leicester and Beziers take on Calvisano to
complete the group this weekend.
Teams:
Neath: Durston, G. Morris, Storey, Tiueti, Marsden, Jarvis,
A. Moore, D. Jones, B. Williams, A. Jones, A. Newman,
G. Llewellyn, Mocelutu, Tandy, R. Phillips.
Not Used: A. Bateman, S. Connor, Mathews, L. Bateman.
Tries: G. Morris, A. Newman.
Cons: Jarvis 2.
Pens: Jarvis 3.
Beziers: Bonetti, Escalles, Aue, Grandclaude, Desjardin,
Quesada, Mignoni, S. Chobet, Swarzewski, Bonorino, Ghezal,
Nadiradze, Martinez, Gardiner, Gommard.
Not Used: Selua, Ratianidze, Koita, Mounier, Bousquet,
Lafforgue, Laharague.
Tries: Aue, Ghezal.
Cons: Quesada.
Pens: Quesada.
Drop Goals: Mignoni
Att: 2,500
Ref: Roy Maybank (RFU).