At the end of a huge fight, the Rochelais won against Clermont on their lawn in Deflandre. Final victory 20-15 for the Maritimes. The ASM must be satisfied with a defensive bonus point and can harbor enormous regrets.
For its last at Deflandre in 2024, La Rochelle wanted to please its supporters before closing the calendar year in Perpignan. The Maritimes, who remained on two consecutive defeats in the Top 14, wanted to take advantage of their good form in the Champions Cup (2 victories in 2 matches) to raise their heads and maintain their place in the top 6.
And in this opening duel of the 12th day against Clermont, who had the wind in their sails in the championship, Ronan O'Gara's men intended to put up a huge fight. Three short minutes will be enough for Ihaia West, 50 meters in front of the posts, to open the score (3-0, 3').
The common thread of the game: indiscipline on both sides
If we had to choose the man of the match this Saturday afternoon, all heads will probably be turned towards Pierre Brousset, the referee of this match. Less than 10 minutes after kick-off and the first victim is Irae Simone, guilty of head contact on Ulupano Seuteni and penalized with a yellow card, the first in a long list (8') . La Rochelle will take the opportunity to score the first try of the game, after a great collective movement concluded by Teddy Thomas and transformed by Ihaia West (10-0, 18').
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Top 14 – Notes from La Rochelle – Clermont: Alldritt and Dillane in combat, Simone and Kremer at fault
Irae Simone will not even have had time to return to the field before Marcos Kremer will leave his partners for 10 minutes, after a high tackle from the Argentinian on Ihaia West, which led to the La Rochelle try. Clermont becomes disillusioned and puts obstacles in his way all by himself because of his aggressiveness.
Two new boxes distributed by Mr. Brousset, La Rochelle takes the opportunity to set sail
Clermont nevertheless reacted but failed to make it 14 against 15. Christophe Urios' players must therefore rely on Benjamin Urdapilleta to finally unlock his counter (10-3, 23'). Outnumbered for 20 minutes in this first act, the ASM held on rather well and was only led by a converted try while tensions continued to show themselves between Will Skelton and Thomas Ceyte in particular. The Argentine opener misses the target, to the delight of Marcel-Deflandre.
But now, the new scuffles got the better of Pierre Brousset, who brought out Louis Penverne for La Rochelle and Rob Simmons for Clermont for 10 minutes (32'). And in this little game, it is the locals who have the last word at 14 against 14. Quentin Lespiaucq's touch is well captured by Ultan Dillane, who fakes the ball carried to go for the solo try. Ihaia West transforms again (17-3, 35'), and La Rochelle returns to the locker room with a small lead.
The penalties are reversed in the second half, the cards too
If Teddy Thomas feared it at the break, hoping to have more margin after a first half largely dominated at 15 against 14 for 20 minutes, the second act quickly turned to the advantage of the visitors. The Auvergnats push and Alivereti Raka's pass for Benjamin Urdapilleta is slammed forward by Thomas Berjon. In the position of last defender, the sanction is double: yellow card against the La Rochelle scrum half and penalty try for ASM (17-10, 48'). The trend then seems to be completely reversed.
But La Rochelle resisted in numerical inferiority, as Clermont had done in the first period, and capitalized thanks to the foot of Ihaia West (20-10, 54'). The visitors, however, have resources, and Alivereti Raka comes to enhance the excellent work of his forwards a minute later to flatten the Jaunards' second try in a corner. Benjamin Urdapilleta misses the conversion, but Clermont is back in the fight (20-15, 55').
A final effort from Clermont, beaten by the defensive solidarity of La Rochelle
The last 25 minutes will only be a succession of Auvergne offensives repelled by the Maritimes. Mr. Brousset will distribute a sixth yellow card – the third for the Rochelais against Teddy Thomas, guilty of a high tackle on Théo Giral (62'). But at 14 against 15, La Rochelle did better than resist and disgusted Christophe Urios' men. The last ball carried organized by Barnabé Massa will go into the goal, but without having the opportunity to flatten. The locals held on to their victory, helped by Sébastien Bézy, who hit the siren while Clermont had the last action to negotiate, being satisfied with the defensive bonus point.
In the ranking, La Rochelle returns to success and achieves its last in 2024 at Deflandre. Ronan O'Gara's men, however, remain behind their opponent of the day – due to the defensive bonus gleaned this afternoon by the Auvergnats – and will try to end the year well in Perpignan next Sunday. Clermont, for its part, marks a halt after three consecutive victories in the Top 14 and will have to conclude this first leg well by hosting Montpellier in seven days.
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