At the end of a match marked by numerous technical errors, Lyon won at home against Perpignan. Facing the catchy Catalans, the Lyonnais suffered in the second half but managed to keep the advantage on the scoreboard. Final victory with a score of 17-12 for the Rhone residents, who had not won since October 13. Usap must be satisfied with the defensive bonus.
The year 2025 is off to a good start, from an accounting standpoint, for LOU. Penultimate in the standings before the start of the return phase, and after two consecutive draws against Toulouse and Racing, Lyon won, not without suffering, against Perpignan, this Saturday afternoon, 17-12. Thanks to this success, Karim Ghezal’s men leave the red zone. Perpignan, for its part, consoles itself with a defensive bonus, which allows it to remain twelfth.
At Gerland, it was USAP who had the best start. Ambitious in its game and strong in closed scrums (three penalties obtained against only one conceded in the first period), the team coached by Franck Azéma offered an interesting twenty minutes, but it only scored three points, thanks to the boot of Tommaso Allan, early in the game (0-3, 5th). However, the Sang et Or held the ball well and Lyon was penalized five times in the first quarter of an hour, but the visitors’ biggest opportunity, namely, a throw-in five meters from the goal opponent (17th), gave nothing.
After this failed start to the match, Lyon woke up thanks to its pack of forwards. It was first Beka Shvangiradze, in force, who scored the first try of the match (7-3, 23rd). On this action, the Georgian showed that his team had made a profitable choice by favoring the penalty on points, on the previous action (21st). Léo Berdeu then scored a penalty (10-3, 27th), then LOU passed the Catalan goal twice again.
The first time (33rd), Xavier Mignot thought about giving himself a try for his last with the LOU, but it was refused because of a forward from Alban Roussel a little earlier. The second time (36th), good defense from Hicks and Oviedo prevented Geraci from flattening, while Baptiste Couilloud had reached half of the field. It was finally Guillaume Marchand, in force, who increased the score just before the break (17-3, 39th), while a minute earlier, Apisai Naqalevu had received a yellow card for his third foul after -noon.
The Perpignan scrum in good shape
At the restart, it was LOU’s turn to play with fourteen players, after a yellow card addressed to Ainsley, punished in a closed scrum (42nd). Behind that, LOU received two new yellow cards since Monty Ioane, for a high tackle (49th), then Martin Méliande, following a tackle without a ball (68th) went to rest for ten minutes. It was thanks to Lyon’s numerous mistakes (16 in total) that Tommaso Allan, little by little, reduced the gap in the score (45th, 56th, 69th), so that ten minutes from the end, Perpignan was in the nails of the defensive bonus (17-12).
But Lyon, not necessarily confident like this missed penalty by Léo Berdeu (61st), led two tries to nothing, so much so that a third try would have been synonymous with an improved victory. It is with this in mind that Baptiste Couilloud’s partners insisted with penalties (71st, 76th) without ever finding the way to the goal again. And the locals were scared because Perpignan, valiant in defense and rather playful despite the conditions, had one last possession to go for the win, but a last ball carried well defended and pushed into touch by the local pack (82nd) allowed LOU to win its first Top 14 match since October 13.
