It was the resumption of Pro D2, with this 16th day marking the new year and the start of the return phase. And obviously, we started with the same standards as last year, with surprises, some great moves, and some very Nice attempts.
The test of the evening: Mayo serves dessert
If they had forgotten it a little in 2024, the people of Nevers know how to play rugby. They decided to refresh everyone’s memory to celebrate the start of the new year. Despite the Pré-Fleuri pitch being tested by the winter, Xavier Péméja’s men opted for the option of playing against the Montois. So, even from thirty meters Hugo Bouyssou did not hesitate to throw some play. Hugues Bastide appreciated and followed the breakthrough of his center Noa Pommelet to make two good relays on the action. With a nice pass on a step, Shaun Reynolds shifted the three-quarter mark well. Gabin Rocher just had to give the leather to Perry Mayo who could flatten a magnificent try from more than 70 meters.
The most beautiful of the four tests for Uson which starts its year in the best possible way, with a bonus point and above all without having conceded a single point.
The performance of the evening: Soyaux meet at the first corner
It’s a start that would make Max Verstappen pale that the Angoumoisins have achieved. Very comfortable away from their baseAlexandre Ruiz’s players simply scored 17 points in 19 minutes against the Biarrots who remained in the stands. An ultra-realistic start for Soyaux who almost scored on all his forays into the Basque camp.
Also read:
Pro D2 – The big blow of Soyaux-Angoulême, the zero points of Montois in Nevers… The results of the sixteenth day
The awakening of Mathieu Acebes’ teammates could well have shaken Angoulême but Ben Botica’s penalty and Arthur Proult’s try put an end to the suspense once and for all. As a symbol of his team’s helplessness, Pierre Pagès sent the ball into touch to put an end to the torture and prevent the visitors from taking the offensive bonus. No matter, the main thing was elsewhere for the Angoumoisins who started the year in fifth place in the ranking and who can no longer hide!
The attack of the evening: the all-terrain ASBH
Nothing can shake ASBH when it comes to playing ball and attacking. Obviously life is simpler with Gabin Lorre author of the first try and decisive on the second. But the man at the start of the meeting was Taylor Gontineac, impacting each of his actions, perhaps too much. Author of a dangerous tackle, he was sent off and left his team at 14 before the break was even whistled.
The Biterrois don’t care! Faced with overwhelmed Nice, they continued to attack. And even at 14, Samuel Marques’ teammates did not deny themselves to win again with the offensive bonus. Always as attractive in attack, the Héraultais also left the Niçois with only 9 points without conceding the slightest try. A result which allows Pierre Caillet’s men to take third place on the podium alone.
Confirmation of the evening: Oyonnax continues its rise
Casually, Oyo shows up again. Opposed to Aurillac, in a trap match like they have lost so many this season, the Oyomen did not flinch this time, offering themselves a third consecutive victory, a great first this season. It wasn’t a great match, without lying to you, but whatever, the important thing was to keep the momentum from the end of last year for the former resident of the Top 14. It’s done, thanks, among others, to the first try of Argentine fullback Martin Bogado, who arrived in the offseason.
Another action is to be remembered in this part without great flights: the second try of the locals, scored by Ruru, as a trickster. The reason? Quite simply because with the new rules in force in the coming days, this test will never be accepted again (from the 18th day to be precise). The Oyonnax scrum half in fact thwarted the Aurillacois ball release five meters from the goal: behavior which will no longer be tolerated in the future, in the name of the fluidity of the game. This evening, he was synonymous with a break for the Oyomen and happiness for their supporters.
The highlight of the evening: these Columérins have “canes”
The frustration of the Drômois must have been great this Friday evening. There are the 4 tries conceded, the defeat at home and this bottom of the table where nothing is moving (with the defensive bonus, Fabien Fortassin’s men are 5 points behind Aurillac, and 8 ahead of Nice). But the worst part of all this is the realism shown by the Columérins. The first arrow is the one thrown by Ugo Pacome. At the end of the break, while the Damiers were pressing, he intercepted a pass from Pauvert, and was going to score 70 meters further, well in front of potential defenders.
But his partner Rodrigo Marta, placed in the center, obsessed with the test, must have been stung in his pride. Playing a “free kick” quickly with his hand on his line of 22, he offered an arc race to score, also after a completely crazy race. And when we know what he thought of his young partner: “The quality that I really like, and one of the only ones in which it surpassed me, is speedwhispered Rodrigo Marta a month ago, on the occasion of the Midi Olympique Oscars. When I was clocked at 35km/h, he did 35.1… It’s annoying!” Don’t worry, your honor was safe.
Progress of the evening: Provence rugby has done its homework
They knew their axis of progression and made sure that it was just a bad memory. The Aixois have finally unlocked their away victory counter. They had come closer, before the end of year holidays, with these defensive bonus points recovered in Colomiers and Dax, with only a small point gap over their opponents. This time, it’s the right one, with this masterful success in Armandie. Yet ahead at the break, the Agenais lost the thread, conceding a penalty try following Lapègue being taken by Pourteau without the ball (47th), then yet another lost touch allowing Coville to pierce the defensive curtain before Tyrell scored ( 64th).
With this performance, Provence rugby is back on the podium, now only one point behind Béziers.
The image of the evening: North made his debut in Pro D2
It’s an image that we probably wouldn’t have believed in a few years ago. But George North made his debut in Pro D2 well, on the lawn of Armandie. The Welsh international (121 caps, 3 with the Lions) came on in the 49th minute, with the number 22, in place of Nadir Bouhedjeur. A Welsh flag was raised in the stands.
To his credit, a committed forward (75th) by going to the ground after the simultaneous tackle of two Agenais, then, four minutes later, nice hooks to eliminate two defenders on the closed side. In total, he beat 3 defenders and covered 36 meters in 4 races with the ball. We can’t wait to see more!
The false surprise of the evening: in Dax, Néné is not alone
Finally, is it really surprising to see these Dacquois so enterprising and, above all, so successful? After a year and a half, not really anymore… Against CA Brive, who came to score a blow, Jean-Baptiste Barrère’s partners were consistent, diligent, precise. And perhaps even more… Noah Néné offered us a sequence that was reminiscent of the Landes derby, with an exceptional fifty-meter race, ending not with a try, but with an acrobatic post-contact pass for Gatelier. The video refereeing indicated that she was forward. The Dacquois were going to have to sit on the offensive bonus? No way ! Since it was the forwards who took this responsibility, with a perfect ball carried in the very last moments.
Icon Sport – Anthony Dibon
“We were hoping for that (the offensive bonus, Editor’s note) and we knew it would be complicated with this team from Brive, second and favorite for this championshipexpressed Noah Néné at the microphone of Canal +. We told ourselves not to lose the match and we managed not only not to lose it, but to win it in style. […] The instructions were to play despite the weather. It’s certain that there was a little apprehension, but the instructions are the instructions, and we respected them.” And they did a lot of good!
