One point is all that separates Soyaux-Angoulême from Agen at the end of an interesting meeting. Reduced to 14 for 10 minutes in the second half, the Lot-et-Garonnais allowed the SA XV to make the break. Thanks to this 30 to 29 success, the Angoumoisins moved up the rankings and remained in contact with the top 6.
Everything was decided in the last quarter of an hour in this mid-table duel between Soyaux-Angoulême and SU Agen. No less than five tries were scored during this period of time which, in the end, was fatal to the visitors who had nevertheless come with good intentions to play on the pitch of a team still looking for its cruising speed. With this success, Alexandre Ruiz's team is doing the right thing by staying in contact with the leading pack.
A SA XV jet
The evening had started badly for the SA -goal, cold picking late Angoumoisins (0/7). The Lot-et-Garonnais confirmed their good start to the evening by adding three points thanks to the boot of Pourteau (0/10, 11th) but the hardest part remained to be done. Precisely, the SA XV made the necessary effort to finally enter this part. It was even the former Agen player, George Tilsley, who sounded the revolt by scoring his team's first try in the 16th minute of play (5/10). Despite the failures at the foot of BoticaAngoulême took the measure of this meeting and took advantage of a blunder by the Agen defense to take the lead thanks to the success of Brosset, receiving his own candle (12/10, 25th). At the whistle indicating half-time, the Charentais were leading by a score of 15 to 10, not against the course of the game but still with a touch of success against an Agen team which did not know how to score despite two good opportunities in the middle of the first period.
A long second period favorable to the SA XV
The second half of this match was long and hard for the organizations. An hour passed between kick-off and the referee's final whistle. In the meantime, the two teams will each score three tries! The first to draw were the visitors who relied in particular on the technicality of their fly-half Billy Searle who sent a beautiful pass to Lebian into the goal (15/15, 51st). This movement crowned an excellent highlight from Agen who put speed into his game with the ball in his hands. But the match finally changed on the hour mark when, at the conclusion of a turnover, Barrett escaped along the line but was illegally stopped by Pourteau at the end of the race. The yellow card addressed to the Lot-et-Garonnais rear damaged its training who, she did not yet know, was going to take three tries in the space of 7 minutes. Masibaka, Matu'u and Texier brought the score to 30 to 15. “Only?” some will ask? Well yes because of the 5 tries registered by the SA XV this evening, only one was converted. And this lack of success at the foot almost cost dearly because the Agenais didn't give up! Lebian first revived the hope of a defensive bonus point (30/22, 77th) then Martins gave himself a good try on yet another good initiative from Searle who sent a nice diagonal shot to the foot for his winger (30/29, 83rd).
The seesaw
This meeting marked the passing of a third of the championship this evening. By taking 4 points, Soyaux-Angoulême switches to the right side by placing itself in seventh position in Pro D2, only two points behind fourth. This victory also confirms the good state of mind of this team which knows how to be efficient when approaching the opposing goal.
For the SUA, it’s quite the opposite. Despite this defensive bonus point, the Lot-et-Garonnais are now in the second peloton, relegated to ninth place but above all six points from sixth place. For Sébastien Calvet's training, everything is not to be thrown away this evening, far from it!
France
Rugby
