Not all gloom as Reds made to pay for errors

Stade Francais all but secured their place in the Heineken European Cup quarter-finals last night with a fine exhibition of finishing at Hughenden, spearheaded by the man who surprised New Zealand in October, Christophe Dominici.

The little man who upstaged Jonah Lomu in France's epic victory over the All Blacks in the World Cup semi-final, scored two first half tries as his club subdued the Red before his star-studded side went on to a comfortable win with an impressive second half performance, in doing so becoming the first team to win away from home in Pool 1.

''That was an important win for us,'' Stade's Kiwi assistant coach Grant Ross said afterwards. ''We've got a bit of a tarred image outside France because with the sort of resources we have available to us, we are expected to be doing better.

''However, on the back of an excellent win over Leicester last week that has done a lot for our credibility.''

That Stade took such satisfaction from their performance offered some consolation for the Reds, a crowd of more than 4000 drawn from all over their vast territory, having packed encouragingly into Hughenden.

Yet while his side again contributed considerably to an entertaining match, home coach Richie Dixon was clearly aggravated by the errors that once again cost his side dearly.

''The players know that their three first half tries were very avoidable,'' he said.

''We have to make first up tackles, otherwise it becomes very difficult for the covering players. However at least no-one is hiding from their responsibility, which is a good sign.''

The way the Reds contributed to their own downfall was an echo of last week's performance in Dublin.

Admittedly their defence was stretched ahead of the first score, after Arthur Gomes counter-attack was well supported by Christophe Juillet.

Even so, after the ball was switched from the left flank to wide on the right, Dominci should have had too much to do when the ball reached him.

However, he stepped past Iain McInroy and wriggled too easily out of Tommy Hayes' attempted tackle in claiming a try well converted by Diego Dominguez.

Hayes compounded his error by pulling two penalty kicks wide, but the Reds levelled the scores by producing the sort of continuity play for which they are fast developing a reputation.

As a Stade move broke down inside the Reds 22, Shaun Longstaff fell on the loose ball, setting up the chance for his captain to break, Hayes, Longstaff again and Roland Reid all featuring as play was transferred deep into Stade territory.

When the No.8 was hauled down the ball was again quickly recycled, however and good work by Nicol and openside flanker Donnie McFadyen created just enough room for Metcalfe to out-strip Juillet on the left, Hayes converting from under the posts.

Just as the Reds seemed to be imposing themselves, however, they went behind again.

Little seemed on as Stade grappled for ruck ball midway inside the Reds half, yet when Christophe Laussucq broke from the base he found unlikely support, prop Sylvain Marconnet breaking a tackle as he entered the 22 to serve the try on a platter for hooker Fabrice Landreau.

The leeway was reduced when Hayes at last found his range with a penalty from midway inside the Stade half, but the visitors again demonstrated ruthless efficiency after powerful runs by Juillet and back-row colleague Christophe Moni had taken them into Reds territory.

The cover defence was actually quite impressive, no immediate score coming from what was at one stage a three-man overlap on the right, but again Dominci's sidestep took him past McInroy and his forwards arrived in force to drive the winger over the line.

The third quarter saw Stade dominate territorially, however that they had only three points to show for their superiority, from a Dominguez penalty, spoke volumes for the Reds' defensive effort. They were finally broken down, though, following a close range lineout.

Laussucq made the initial break and when he was stopped just short, the ball was quickly popped up to prop Pieter De Villiers clear on the left touchline.

The respect the Reds had earned over their two meetings with one of the powers of European rugby and, indeed, throughout their campaign, was demonstrated when, with six minutes left, Domingez opted to go for goal after his side was awarded a penalty just outside the Reds 22.

Furthermore the spirit they have generated was also shown moments later when, with Craig Chalmers whose introduction for his European debut for the Reds had been well received, was involved in the tap penalty move which ended with Jason White stretching over the line for a consolation score.

Overall it was a disappointing night, tinged with hope for the future. As Dixon said defiantly: ''This is not the end of anything. It is still just the beginning for the Glasgow Caledonians.''

Glasgow Caledonians - G Metcalfe; S Longstaff, A Bulloch, J Stuart (I Jardine 8 min), I McInroy; T Hayes (C Chalmers 66), A Nicol (G Beveridge 51-61); D Hilton, G Bulloch (G Scott 69), G McIlwham, S Campbell, J White, G Simpson (J Petrie 38), D McFadyen, R Reid.

Stade Francais - A Gomes (N Raffault 66); C Dominici, F Comba, C Mytton, T Lombard; D Dominguez, C Laussucq; S Marconnet, F Landreau, P De Villiers, D Auradou (H Chaffardon 41), D George, C Moni, M Lievremont, C Juillet.

Referee - B Campsall (England)

Scoring sequence (Reds first): 0-7, 7-7, 7-14, 10-14, 10-19 (half-time); 10-22, 10-27, 10-30, 15-30.

Scorers: Reds: Tries - Metcalfe (15), White (77). Conversions - Hayes (15). Penalty - Hayes (35). Stade: Tries - Dominci (3, 37), Landreau (30), De Villiers (64). Conversions - Dominguez (3, 30). Penalties - Dominguez (54, 74).