Leeds Carnegie were defeated for the first time this season as they lost out 27-26 to a fired up Calvisano side in a dramatic match in Italy

Despite outscoring their Italian opposition by three tries to two, it was still not enough to prevent the English side from suffering their first European defeat this season.

In a closely fought match it was the Italian side which looked the stronger going into half-time, but things changed dramatically in the second half as Leeds clawed their way back into the match.

Despite going down by a point, the Leeds side will be happy with the fighting spirit that their team showed and will be looking forward to a strong performance in the Premiership.

Calvisano (15) 27

Tries: Nitoglia, Cittadini
Con: Griffen
Pen: Buso 2, Griffen 3

Leeds (8) 26

Tries: Blackett, Ma'asi, Bedford
Con: Di Bernardo
Pen: Di Bernardo 3

Calvisano: McLean, Forcucci, Mafi, M. Pratichetti, Nitoglia, Buso, Griffen, McKenzie, Ghiraldini, Vermeulen, Treloar, Purll, Dal Maso, Persico, Doherty.

Replacements: Bocca, Intoppa, Cittadini, Beccaris, Cattina, Patelli, Garcia.

Leeds Carnegie: Hinton, Holtby, Vickerman, Blackett, Biggs, Di Bernardo, Edwards, MacDonald, Ma'asi, Noon, Hooper, Lund, Dunbar, Clark, Oakley.

Replacements: Nilsen, McGee, Bouza, Schusterman, Bedford, Hepworth, Goodridge.

Referee: David Rosich (France)