At the start of the 4th day of the championship, Grenoble, in its home ground of the Stade des Alpes, suffered before taking the upper hand over Dax (19-13). The Landais were taken out of the defensive bonus just after the siren following a successful penalty by Clément.
Four months ago, Dax, a surprise guest in the final phase, exploded against Grenoble (58-10). And if the Landais had no regrets, as their season had been exceptional for a promoted team, the return to the Landes will have a slightly more bitter taste in this month of September.
The leader, unbeaten in the first three days including a win at Valence Romains, cracked on the gong after leading throughout this game (19-13). The players of the trio Hueber – Nadau – Pézery were clumsy for a long time before turning the match around thanks to the contribution of their bench. At the end of the game, the young fly-half Clément did not tremble when giving his team the victory.
Thanks to this success, and while waiting for the other results of the day, Grenoble takes the podium (3rd, 12 points), just behind Dax (2nd, 12 points).
The lucky one is called Oltmann
In a lively first half, it was the Landais who made the best impression. Séguy opened the scoring (0-3, 2nd), then Dubois’s gang used a double mess. At the end of the first quarter of an hour, Grenoble thought they had found the solution thanks to a superb achievement by Hulleu at the end of a first-hand launch. Warned by his video, M. Boulay reversed his decision to sanction Lestrade, guilty of a blank passage (13th). Séguy took advantage of this to invest the opposing camp.
On the back foot after a good Grenoble defense, the Dax opener decided to take a drop goal. The ball hit the left post, before falling back into Oltmann’s arms (0-10, 15th). With their backs to the wall, Grenoble, very imprecise in the scoring area, ended up forcing the Landes lock. For a repetition of fouls, Hiriart-Urruty received a yellow card (29th). Clever, Sam Davies knew how to take advantage of the opportunity by coming to mix with his forwards and getting the better of Nacika thanks to a hook towards the inside (5-10, 32nd). Despite the yellow card received by Aletti, Dax turned in the lead (40th + 1).
Soury sounded the revolt
After the break, Séguy made a first break (5-13, 42nd). Faced with the ambient empathy, the Grenoble staff made early changes. Touched in the left shoulder, Davies left his place to Clément. The young fly-half made his mark as soon as he came on with a penalty (8-13, 57th).
Another substitute broke through the screen: Bastien Soury. The ex-Toulonnais brought all his rage to the end of the game. Following a maul, the hooker resisted two opponents before passing his arms to Escande. The scrum-half carried the ball well before shifting Hulleu (13-13, 63rd). The winger has already scored three tries in this championship.
In the money-time, Clément showed his composure to ensure a short but precious success (19-13, 68th and 80th + 1). In a week, for the last match of this first block, Grenoble will travel to Biarritz. The next day, Dax will host Soyaux-Angoulême.
