The annoyance of Maxime Lucu at the 54e minute of play said a lot about the painful evening that Union Bordeaux-Bègles experienced against Montpellier (9-6) this Saturday at Chaban-Delmas. But the French international quickly regained his usual composure to pass two penalties (60e63e) which allowed the Gironde club to avoid the trap.
“The state of mind is the minimum. We are happy that this is a free warning”
“We knew it would be a difficult, tough match,” emphasized manager Yannick Bru afterwards. “The fog didn't add anything sexy to the encounter. The defensive mindset was great. We were super supportive, super physical. Obviously, we still did some good things to win. But the state of mind is the minimum. We're glad it's a no-cost warning. »
“Reconnection”
Dominated in the scrum, slowed down by a faulty touch (five balls lost on its own throws), the UBB was unable to put its game in place against the Montpellier wall. She tried to accelerate after the break but was never able to make it happen, like Retière's two attempts refused on video (59e65e). “To set up our rugby, we knew that we were going to have to make a big effort in support, races, in aerial duels… We were good in certain areas and a little fragile in others,” noted Yannick Bru. We felt at one point that their defensive efforts were taking precedence over our rugby. In the second half, the bench's contribution was important, we got back into the lead but we didn't finish. »
After the international break, the UBB found many internationals in its ranks. But some were sorely lacking in rhythm. “Let's not forget that Ben Tameifuna played his first Top 14 match, that Maxime Lamothe has spent more time in the stands recently, alongside Max Lucu,” recalled the manager. We knew it was a reconnection match. But the copy is not satisfactory. »
Despite all this, UBB managed to win without scoring a single try for the first time this season and thus maintains its second place in the ranking. “It’s not too bad, we’re where we wanted to be,” underlined hooker Maxime Lamothe. The Bordelais can now turn their attention to their entry into the Champions Cup next Sunday against Leicester. But they know that they will have to show something else to start the European campaign on the right foot.
Union Bordeaux-Bègles 9 – Montpellier 6
Lieu Bordeaux (Chaban-Delmas stadium) Spectators 32 215 Arbitrator M. Charabas Half time 3-0
BORDEAUX-BEGLES 3 Lucu penalties (11th, 60th, 63rd)
The team: Carbery (Retière, 52e) – Uberti (Tameifuna, 74e), Depoortere, Van Rensburg, Bielle-Biarrey – (o) Jalibert, (m) Lucu (cap) – Bochaton, Gazzotti (Tatafu, 34e), Vergnes (Swinton, 41e ) – Coleman (Petti, 50e), Cazeaux – Tameifuna (Taufa, 60e), Lamothe (Sa, 50e), Poirot (Perchaud, 50e-54e).
Yellow card: Poirot (73rd, repeated mistakes)
MONTPELLIER 3 Coly penalties (46th, 76th)
The team: Tisseron – Moustin, Cadot (Vincent, 63rd then Louwrens, 74th), Serfontein, Ngandebe (Moorby, 64th) – (o) Vincent, (m) Coly – Bécognée (Nouchi, 64th), B. Vunipola (cap) (Nouchi, 37e-41e), Camara (Forletta, 65e) – Chalureau (Duguid, 60th), Verhaeghe – Hounkpatin (Japaridze, 60th), Uelese, Erdocio (Camara, 70th).
Yellow card: Erdocio (59e, antijeu)