Saints produce another big European performance to see off Section Paloise

The black, green and gold won at a noisy Stade du Hameau, where no other team had managed to beat Pau this season.

The French side, sitting second in the Top 14, had won all six of their home league matches, but Saints showed their character and class to secure a special success.

And they did it despite losing James Ramm to a 20-minute red card eight minutes into the second half.

The scores were locked at 17-17 at that stage, with Ramm having scored twice and Fraser Dingwall also having delivered a try for Saints.

Pau punished Saints with a try two minutes after Ramm saw red for taking Thomas Jolmes out in the air, but the black, green and gold refused to be denied.

They hit back with a well-crafted effort from man of the match Alex Mitchell on his 150th Saints appearance, and though decisions continued to go against them, Phil Dowson's men would not relent.

Eventually, a fine finish from George Hendy broke the French resistance, and Fin Smith finished things off a with a penalty, which left Pau with no points from their first ever Champions Cup encounter.

The hosts had to battle difficulties of their own on the day as they were forced into a couple of changes before kick-off, with captain Julian Montoya and key back Jack Maddocks missing out.

Saints, who claimed some memorable away wins on their way to the Champions Cup final last season, started the game on the front foot, and they came close to a score after putting together some tidy play from a lineout, with Hendy's offload just not quite gathered by Rory Hutchinson with the line in sight.

Another big chance came and went soon after as Saints used a penalty from a scrum five metres out to pile on more pressure, but as George Furbank went to ground the ball over the line, Pau full-back Aymeric Luc managed to dislodge it.

The worry was that Saints would be punished for not taking their early opportunities, and that proved to be the case as Pau started to crank up the heat, with Facundo Isa eventually muscling his way to the line to put his team in front.

Axel Desperes added the extras, and Saints were 7-0 down with 20 minutes played.

Saints tried to respond after kicking a penalty to the corner, but yet again a knock-on, this time from Hendy, cost them a try with Pau seemingly wide open.

Nothing was clicking for the black, green and gold, meaning time and again the home side got off the hook inside their own half.

But with half an hour on the clock, Saints finally found a spark as JJ van der Mescht sucked defenders in before Mitchell fired a fantastic long pass to the right for Ramm, who spun inside and scored.

Smith converted to level the scores, but Pau hit back almost immediately, with Gregoire Arfeuil managing to ground a Dan Robson kick.

The try really should have been chalked off as Arfeuil was clearly in front of Robson when the ball left his boot, but referee Andrea Piardi and his TMO decided it wasn't clear.

Saints responded in the right fashion, piecing together a move that ended with Hendy releasing Dingwall for a lovely try on the left.

Smith missed the conversion to leave Saints two points behind at the end of a half that would have given them with plenty of regrets.

But they set about putting that right early in the second period, with Smith flying through the middle before the ball was recycled for Furbank to send the acrobatic Ramm over the right.

Smith sent the conversion just wide, leaving the lead at three points.

Pau wasted little time in levelling the scores as the ever-accurate Desperes notched a penalty.

Saints were then hit with a huge blow as Ramm was shown a 20-minute red card for making contact with lofty lock Jolmes in the air.

Ramm had gone up at the same time as Jolmes but because he grabbed the shoulder of the Pau player on the way down and the lock landed awkwardly, referee Piardi reached for the red.

Saints were immediately made to pay as Robson placed a kick ahead on the left, where Ramm would have been, and Arfeuil gathered before sliding over the line.

It looked like Furbank had done enough as he got back to tackle Arfeuil, but though there was no clear grounding, the try was given.

Desperes converted again and Saints were in trouble, however they showed their character and skill by delivering a fine try that saw Alex Coles and Mitchell combine superbly for the scrum-half to race over for the bonus-point effort.

Smith converted, with a little help from the inside of the right post, levelling the scores again.

Saints opted to change their props with 23 minutes to go, and the decision paid immediate dividends as Manny Iyogun and Cleopas Kundiona helped them win a penalty at a Pau scrum.

Smith opted to go for goal, slotting the penalty superbly to help Saints move into a 27-24 lead, but Pau levelled again after a harsh call against Smith, who was penalised for a deliberate knock-on on halfway, allowing Desperes to notch a fine kick.

The officiating display was leaving a lot to be desired, with frustrated skipper Furbank and his Saints team-mates up against it.

Pau were pressing and calls were going their way, giving them crucial field position at a crucial time in the match.

The Saints pack was doing what it could to gain some control, continually securing penalties at Pau scrums, but the away side wasted a big chance as Mitchell opted against allowing his side to go for goal with a penalty, taking a quick tap, and the ball was eventually knocked on by Toby Thame close to the home line.

Saints did find a way over with four minutes to go though as Thame found Hendy on the left, and the winger turned on the turbos to dive over in the corner.

Smith missed the tricky conversion from the left touchline but after Mitchell put Pau under pressure with a clever kick ahead, Arfeuil found himself in trouble after trying to run the ball from behind his own line.

Arfeuil's pass was forward, giving Saints a scrum five metres out, and after they turned the screw, a penalty was awarded, meaning Smith could notch an easy three points with the clock in the red.

It put the seal on Saints' superb win and meant Pau took nothing from the match as their home winning streak came to an end.

Section Paloise: 15 Aymeric Luc; 14 Gregoire Arfeuil, 13 Nathan Decron, 12 Quentin Valentino (Clément Mondinat 63), 11 Clement Laporte; 10 Axel Desperes, 9 Dan Robson (Thomas Souverbie ; 1 Alexandre Echebehere (Remi Seneca 50), 2 Lucas Rey (c) (Youri Delhommel 50), 3 Jon Zabala Arrieta (Guram Papidze 35); 4 Thomas Jolmes (Joel Kpoku 75), 5 Remi Picquette (Mickael Capelli 52); 6 Sacha Zegueur (Reece Hewat 52), 7 Loic Credoz, 8 Facundo Isa.

Saints: 15 George Furbank (c); 14 James Ramm (Toby Thame 68), 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 George Hendy; 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Danilo Fischetti (Manny Iyogun 57), 2 Craig Wright (Robbie Smith 62), 3 Trevor Davison (Cleopas Kundiona 57); 4 Alex Coles, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht (Ed Prowse 49); 6 Josh Kemeny, 7 Tom Pearson (Sam Graham 75), 8 Callum Chick (Henry Pollock 49).

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)