Exeter Chiefs crashed to a 30-24 defeat away to Bayonne in their opening European Challenge Cup match on Saturday evening.
The Sandy Park outfit were leading late in the Pool Two contest but lock Lisiate Fa'aoso scored a try with two minutes remaining that Christophe Loustalot converted to secure the win.
Rob Baxter's men travelled back with a losing bonus point after making 11 changes to the starting line-up, but they will be hoping for more against Connacht at home this Saturday.
Debutant Adam Hughes and Carl Rimmer crossed for tries for the visitors, with Ceri Sweeney and Jack Arnott kicking the rest of the points, but it was not enough on the night.
Opeti Fonua and Pierre Sayerse also crossed for tries for Bayonne, with scrum-half Loustalot finishing the night with 15 points.
Sweeney opened the scoring with a penalty after the Frenchmen were penalised for killing the ball in front of their own posts.
Arnott doubled the advantage moments later with a long-range penalty, before Sweeney made it 9-0 in as many minutes as he stroked over another sublime effort as Bayonne felt the full force of Irish referee Peter Fitzgibbon's whistle.
It was just the start the Chiefs needed, but Bayonne countered momentarily with a penalty of their own as Loustalot slotted their opening points after Chiefs hooker Elvis Taione was pulled up for going off his feet.
It was a momentary lapse from Baxter's side who, with 18 minutes on the clock, claimed the game's opening try through Hughes. The Welshman was able to dart over in the left corner after James Scaysbrook had charged down a clearance from Clement Otazo before feeding the ball to Ian Whitten Whitten, who in turn fed the ball to his fellow centre who did the rest. Sweeney converted from the touchline to give his side a 13-point advantage.
Sadly that would be as good as it got for the Chiefs, who for the remainder of the half played second fiddle to their Top 14 rivals. Tongan powerhouse Fonua led the fightback as the 24-stone lock powered his way over for Bayonne's opening try, then winger Sayerse claimed their second converted score of the night as he finished off a slick handling move in the left corner to make it 17-16.
With half time approaching, the Chiefs were handed a bonus when Bayonne lost hooker Gregory Arganese to the sin-bin for a professional foul, but they could not make the numbers game count as the home side soaked up some late Exeter pressure to go in at the break with a narrow lead.
On the resumption, it was the Chiefs who were again quickly inter their stride in attack but the execution was not quite at it's best as chances came and went, along with an early penalty shot from Sweeney.
However, a second yellow card, this time to Bayonne's Chouzenoux, gave the Chiefs the numerical advantage, which this time they made full use of.
Positioning themselves deep behind enemy lines, a line-out take from Damian Welch created the driving maul from which Rimmer was able to splinter off the side and race over for his second try in as many weeks.
Sweeney failed with the testing touchline conversion, but he atoned moments later as he edged the Chiefs into a seven-point lead with a third penalty after centre Thibault Visensang became the latest home player sent to the cooler by Fitzgibbon.
The Irish official was red-hot with his decision-making at the breakdown and it was the home side who were falling on the wrong side of his verdicts.
However, the Chiefs were soon to fall foul of his whistle as two quick fire penalties from the deadly Loustalot reduced Exeter's grip on the game to a solitary points with just 15 minutes remaining.
Replacements were introduced from both sides as the game went somewhat scrappy, but the Chiefs were somehow holding their rivals at bay with some stout defence.
That was, however, until two minutes from time when a loose exit from the Chiefs was seized upon by the French side who, in an instance, worked the ball across the field, exposing a numbers game that allowed Fa'aoso to glide over for the crucial score. Loustalot duly nailed the testing conversion attempt to put Bayonne six points up with just a minute remaining.Bayonne: Elissalde (Bustos Moyano, 61; Vaka (Duhalde, 66), Visensang, Ugalde, Sayerse (Rouet, 79); Otazo, Loustalot; Van Rensburg (Pointud, 57), Arganese (Labouyrie, 69), Lapeyrade (Muller, 67), Fonua (Fa'aoso, 56), Taele, Chouzenoux, Ancely (Labouyrie, 37-47; Chisholm, 67), MonribotYellow cards: Arganese, Chouzenoux, VisensangScorers: tries - Fonua, Sayerse, Fa'aoso; con – Loustalot (3); pens – Loustalot (3)Exeter Chiefs: Arnott; Nowell, Hughes, Whitten, James (Vainikolo, 52); Sweeney, Thomas (Lewis, 52); Rimmer (Sturgess, 62), Taione (Bateman, 62), Low (Brown, 62), Lees (Naqelevuki, H/T), Caldwell (Rimmer, 69), Armand, Scaysbrook (Welch, 36), Horstmann. Rep (not used): SteensonScorers: tries – Hughes, Rimmer; con – Sweeney; pens – Sweeney (3), ArnottReferee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)Attendance: 6,813
