A WILD, raucous and compelling affair was ultimately decided by the power of Bourgoin’s front row and the absolute composure of their full-back and goal-kicker, Alexandre Peclier.

Three minutes into injury time, referee Tony Spreadbury pinged the Leinster props for standing up. It wasn’t a difficult shot for a kicker of Peclier’s ability, but he did well to hold his nerve.

Four minutes later, Leinster did have the chance to nick it, but 55 metres was beyond Felipe Contepomi’s range.

Bourgoin opened the scoring when Peclier fed David Janin with a long pass. The wing chipped Girvan Dempsey and got the bounce he needed in the left corner. Peclier landed an excellent conversion.

Contepomi got Leinster into the game with a penalty, but Leinster’s failure to deal with the restart presented Benjamin Boyet with a long-range drop-goal.

The second quarter was testy, with Contepomi and Peclier both being binned for an ugly tiff. But just as Leinster appeared to be losing all composure, Gordon D’Arcy took over. His initial change of direction was improved by Jamie Heaslip running towards the right corner and, one phase later, D’Arcy bamboozled with a dart through from short range.

A deliberate block by David Venditti allowed Contepomi to kick Leinster in front for the first time at 13-10. However, five minutes into injury time and five metres from their own line, Eric Miller and Shane Horgan’s dithering saw Leinster turn the ball over and pay the price when Pascal Peyron steamed over.

After the break. Leinster tried to run their way out of trouble inside their own half, but Venditti snaffled an interception and ran home.

Leinster kept the faith, retaining through the phases until Contepomi could knife over in the left corner. However he missed what proved to be a crucial conversion.

Robert Kearney then touched down and Contepomi kicked a 45m penalty to make it 28-27 to Leinster. From there it was mostly defence, however, and Bourgoin’s tight five had enough left in the tank to squeeze another penalty opportunity for the admirable Peclier.

STAR MAN: Alexandre Peclier (Bourgoin)

Bourgoin: A Peclier; D Janin (I Giorgadze 80min), D Venditti (G Davis 77min), JF Coux, A Forest; B Boyet, M Forest (capt); O Milloud, B Cabello, P Peyron (P Cardinali 18-28, 67min), J Pierre, P Pape (C del Fava 51min), J Frier, W Jooste, A Petrilli.

Leinster: G Dempsey; K Lewis, G D’Arcy, S Horgan, R Kearney; F Contepomi (capt), G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Blaney, W Green, M O’Kelly, B Williams, E Miller (C Jowitt 62min), J Heaslip, K Gleeson.

Scorers: Bourgoin: Tries: Janin, Peyron, Venditti Cons: Peclier (3) Pens: Peclier (2) DG: Boyet

Leinster: Tries: D’Arcy, Contepomi, Kearney Cons: Kearney, Contepomi Pens: Contepomi (3)

Yellow cards: Bourgoin: Peclier (31min), Coux (49min) Leinster: Contepomi (31min), Miller (43min)

Referee: T Spreadbury (England)

Attendance: 6,500