Leeds Carnegie 9 Bourgoin 18: Leeds's lapses help point the way towards Cup exit

The hosts knew victory against Bourgoin would see them finish top of Pool One in the Amlin Challenge Cup – and ultimately set up a quarter-final with Cardiff Blues.

They were confident of producing the display needed to achieve that against a team who only narrowly defeated then in France last October.

However, despite dominating territory, especially in the second half when last season's beaten finalists struggled to escape from their own 22, Leeds could not find the breakthrough required against fierce French resistance.

Benjamin Boyet nudged Bourgoin 18-9 ahead with a 51st-minute penalty – after referee John Lacey missed a blatant forward pass from David Janin – but then it was all Leeds.

They exerted a huge period of sustained pressure on the French line whether through pick and drives, where American prop Mike MacDonald excelled, or rolling mauls off a dominant line-out, but every time they were repelled and too much slack handling cost them.

Even when desperate Bourgoin were reduced to 14 men just after the hour mark – centre Janin yellow carded for persistent infringing – wasteful Leeds failed to hold their nerve and could not make the advantage count.

Bourgoin, who now face a trip to Irish side Connacht in the last eight, had earlier raced into a 12-0 lead which ultimately did the damage.

Winger Jean-Francois Coux neatly finished off a crisp backline move in only the fourth minute with Boyet converting from wide out.

When Albert Vulivuli added a second try soon after down the other flank things looked ominous for the hosts.

However, they had shown promising signs with captain Marco Wentzel strong in the line-out, scrum-half Scott Mathie particularly effervescent during a rare start, and it was more their own mistakes than any inventiveness from Bourgoin that hurt them.

Indeed, it was Henry Paul's handling error when Leeds were in good position which led to Vulivuli's score, full-back Anthony Forest picking up the pieces inside his own half and cruising into space down the touchline before kicking ahead for the winger to finish.

Leeds responded with two penalties by Ceiron Thomas to get back to 12-6 before the quarter mark and continued to produce the brighter football.

However, it was all too far out to hurt the Frenchmen. Thomas put Jonny Hepworth searing into space from deep inside his own half and Lee Blackett continued the movement.

When the ball was switched back to the other side following some clever interplay from the forwards, they created an overlap only for Bourgoin blindside Julien Frierto to nullify it with a crucial rush tackle on MacDonald that caused him to spill.

Paul managed to slip Blackett away down the blindside but again it was from his own half and the play was pulled back for a forward pass.

Leeds turned down two kickable penalties to boot for the corner. MacDonald drove them close from the line-out but the home side were thwarted when Paul was taken out off the ball as Mathie tried to find the former England international, a foul missed by the referee.

Bourgoin struggled to gain any territory, a point illustrated when Boyet meekly attempted a drop-goal on one rare excursion back into Leeds's 22.

But it summed up what would come in that second half when, after the visitors did gain an attacking line-out, Wentzel expertly nicked it only for Thomas to maddeningly knock on as he tried to clear.

They shoved Bourgoin off their own ball defending a five-metre scrum to show the desire was always there but conceded a cheap penalty to Boyet at the start of the second half and Thomas's 48th-minute penalty response was their final score of a turgid afternoon.

Leeds Carnegie: Goodridge; Hepworth (Armstrong 72), Burrell, Paul, Blackett; Thomas, Mathie (Bedford 60); MacDonald, Ma'asi (Rawlinson 60), Gomez (Swainston 60), Lund (Denton 72), Wentzel, Myall (Pendlebury 60), Clark, Oakley.

Bourgoin: Forest; Vulivuli (Di Bernardo 71), Coetzee, Janin, Coux; Boyet, M Forest; Tchougong (Milloud 62), Kopelani (Genevois HT), Wihongi (Pelo 56), Basson, Frier (Leonte 49), Nicolas, Labrit (Levast 49), Jooste.

Referee: John Lacey