The physical challenge offered by the Clermontois to the Rochelais livened up the meeting and caused a lot of talk this Saturday in Deflandre.
“I'm not going to let it happen. His name may be Skelton and he may be twenty or thirty kilos heavier, but it's still a rugby match. We’ll see what happens.” From the pre-match, Thomas Ceyte had started to flex his muscles and show his fangs in preparation for the face to face which awaited him in Deflandre with the Australian giant.
At least, we cannot blame the Clermont second line for not keeping his promises: he had talked, he dared. At each gathering, at the slightest meeting point, the native of Aubenas challenged and targeted his maritime alter ego who, as we know, likes nothing other than these exchanges of kindness. This fight between big chickens on hormones offered the loyal audience at Marcel's some pretty juicy treats with wrestling sessions on the ground, very high intensity clearings and a skirmish which resulted in the tearing of Mr. Skelton's jersey, forced to change his XXL tunic before the break.
“When you come to La Rochelle, if you don’t lay down the law, you’re dead”will say Christophe Urios. As a result, his troops were damn virile but not always correct. If Thomas Ceyte and company can boast of having stood firm against the “sheriff” Will Skelton and his troops, they tended to forget that another “sheriff” was present on the lawn in the person of Pierre Brousset. Fully in his role, the official imposed his own law, going so far as to brandish three yellow cards – some with orange highlights – to the visitors during the first half for glaring excesses of commitment. The fourteen points behind accumulated over this period were too many to allow Christophe Urios' men to reverse the trend. Even though they remembered, during the break, that rugby was also played with the ball; and that, in addition to not lowering your eyes, it is good practice to raise your head.
