The Rennes rugby club won, this Sunday, May 4, the title of French national champion 2 by overcoming Niort (19-10) in Tours. A controlled victory that propels the Breton club as a national, two years after leaving it.
A tense finish, a coronation deserved
It is at the Copmelée stadium, in Tours, that the Rennes Student Club (REC) won a new national title, at the end of a final hanging against a valiant team from Niort. Led at the break (6-7), the Rennais made the difference in the second period, thanks to a trial of the hooker Alexandre Fau and impeccable management of weak times as strong times.
The start of the match had however been complicated for the men of Kévin Courties, quickly reduced to 14 twice. The Niortais took the opportunity to open the scoring in the 9th minute by a terrasson test. But Rennes remained in the match thanks to two penalties of Benjamin Noble. On break, nothing was played.
The Rennes Pack makes the law
The second half saw the RA Gradually take control meeting. Taking advantage of the opposing indiscipline (two yellow cards for Niort), the Breton pack scored a decisive essay, carried behind Alexandre Fau, transformed by noble. Two penalties signed Lalarme in the last minutes came to seal a victory built with rigor and commitment.
On the Niortais side, the disappointment is great. Reduced to 14 for thirty minutes accumulated, the men of Johann Authier let go of a historic opportunity. They have one last chance to access the national: an accession match against Langon, scheduled for May 11.
A successful season, an ambitious return
First of their hen in regular phase, victorious from Valencia d’Agen in quarters and Vienna in the semi-finals, the Rennais have mastered their end -to -end route. This title is a fair award for a solid group, led by his emblematic captain Alexandre Gueroult, who played his last match there after fifteen years of loyalty to the club. It was he who raised the shield, in an emotion shared by a whole Breton people.
For the REC, it will now be a question of Do not relive the scenario of 2023where the club had come down after a single season at the third national level. With the best attack and the best defense in the championship this year, the bases seem stronger.
In the wake of RC Vannes, spearhead of Breton rugby in Top 14, The REC confirms its status as a second regional forcewith a structured and ambitious project. And this coronation may well mark the start of a new cycle for Rennes rugby, more than ever turned to the future.
Photo : DR
[cc] Breizh-info.com, 2023, free copy and distribution dispatches subject to mention and link to the original source
