Long led by USAP, Aviron Bayonnais finally won in the final minutes at the opening of the Top 14.
Thanks to a penalty from Joris Segonds a few minutes from the end of the match, Aviron Bayonnais won against Perpignan (21-19) in the opening of the Top 14 after having been behind throughout the match. Under the Basque Country sun and with two teams playing, the 2024/2025 Top 14 season had everything to start under the best auspices. The new ambitions of USAP and Aviron Bayonnais could have spoiled the party but the fervor of Jean-Dauger, once again to a sold-out crowd (the 26th consecutive) set the tone for this match. However, the Basques were quickly cooled by a clear launch from USAP where Tommaso Allan put his winger Crossdale into orbit for the first try of the season (6′) after a one-step pass from Veredamu which caused the gap.
Bayonne too messy, Perpignan very efficient
Bayonne were well on their way in this match, holding the ball and occupying the Catalan camp. But in the last third of the pitch, Bayonne took a while to get their sights in and it was not until a yellow card was given to Crossdale for a voluntary forward pass (11′) that Maqala allowed Aviron to get back into the game on a long sequence in front of the opposing line.
With a real desire to play, Grégory Patat’s players tried to play for a long time in front of the USAP 22m line by keeping possession, but these long sequences of possession mainly highlighted the aggressive defense of the Catalans and the imprecision in the Bayonnais’ passes. Above all, on the other side, Perpignan did not miss an opportunity to collect points by taking advantage of the glaring indiscipline of the Bayonnais (X penalties) punished by the imperturbable Tommaso Allan (18′, 23′, 27′, 43′).
Trailing by nine points a few minutes before half-time, Bayonne once again relied on its magician. For his last season, Camille Lopez (35 years old), a starter despite the presence of Joris Segonds, put his name on the scoreboard with a small feint pass to take Mcintyre’s inside and revive his team before the break (36′).
The hero Joris Segonds had to do it twice
Without decreasing in intensity, the second period was much more closed with defenses taking over the attacks. A penalty for USAP (43′), two for Bayonne (46′, 61′) but above all a huge opportunity wasted by Callandret while Bayonne was outnumbered very close to the line. Joris Segonds also had the opportunity to give the advantage to his new team at the end of the match (73′) but his penalty from more than 40 meters in the corner went to the left of the posts.
He was coming off a difficult defeat to digest with Stade Français in the semi-final of the Top 14 but this Saturday, the roles changed, to his great delight. Thanks to the desire of an entire Bayonne group pushed by Jean Dauger, Segonds this time managed a huge kick from more than 50 meters to offer victory to his new team. Not without difficulty, Bayonne thus starts its season on the right foot and lets Perpignan leave the Basque coast with enormous regrets after leading for 70 minutes.
