All Black winger Ben Smith was sent off on his Pau debut as his team went down 21-18 to Top 14 strugglers Stade Francais on Sunday.
Smith, capped 84 times by New Zealand, was shown a red card by international referee Alexandre Ruiz in the 51st minute for an elbow-led fend that left Stade hooker Lucas Da Silva prone.
"We're a little sad for him," Pau coach Frederic Manca said of Smith.
#Francia El debut menos esperado 👊💥 En su primer partido en Pau, Ben #Smith vio la roja a los 10 min del ST por un codazo.
— A Pleno Rugby (@aplenorugby) December 22, 2019
¡La crónica! >> https://t.co/F9dKfxBNDn pic.twitter.com/S6IW21J2Fj
"There was no intent to lift the elbow or plant it in the throat."
Pau took an early lead, Antoine Hastoy hitting two penalties either side of a Siegfried Fisi'ihoi try.
But the Parisians hit back with tries either side of half-time from Arthur Colville and Quentin Bethune, Joris Segonds converting one and adding three further penalties.
There was drama until the end, however, as Pau captain Lucas Rey crossed for a 72nd minute try, converted by Tom Taylor.
But bottom-placed Stade held on for just their third victory of the season, while Pau return home with the consolation of having picked up a losing bonus point.
"It wasn't easy," Stade backs coach Julien Arias said. "But the essential was to win the match, to give ourselves some breathing space."
