At the opening of the 5th day, under the intense rain at the Aguiléra Sports Park, Biarritz better understood the playing conditions to achieve an improved success against Grenoble (35-15). The Basques were able to count on a great Dakuwaqa.
At the end of the first block, we wondered who was going to rest with a smile between these two ambitious Pro D2 players. And to tell the truth, there wasn’t much to laugh about at the Aguiléra Sports Park. Intense rain continued throughout the game. Before the match, Mathieu Acebes set the tone: “Get ready, it’s going to be hard.” On the other hand, Isère captain Antonin Berruyer was a little more incisive: “There are crappy conditions, greasy terrain, we crossed the whole of France. You have to show personality.”
Words that were in vain. Dominated from start to finish, Grenoble experienced an ordeal in Biarritz (35-15). Thanks to five tries scored, including a last one from Motoc just before the siren, the Basques even pocketed the offensive bonus. Thanks to this success, the Acebes gang, with 17 points, took the lead in the championship. Grenoble (5th, 12 points) will come out of the qualifying places.
The Biarritz forwards showed the way
Confident following a good start to the season, the BO, despite the playing conditions, showed ambition by favoring touches over points. The choice paid off: after a maul carried from school, Clément Martinez concluded the collective effort (7-0, 8th). The hooker, who arrived this summer in the Basque Country, is already on three tries with his new team.
If Clément was able to reduce the gap to the score (7-3, 18th), Biarritz, dominant, was close to taking off. As a tightrope walker, Dakuwaqa collected a pass at the foot of Dolhagaray before diving in the corner. Granted, the video was ultimately denied the try. Faced with the return of Wilfried Hulleu, the Fijian was forced to kneel out of bounds (25th). A first warning without cost, but which announced a future in the fog.
Hulleu, in fact, also provided respite on the other side of the field. Following a maul, Couilloud hit a low kick. In the race, the Grenoble winger beat Fariscot to flatten his fourth try of the season (10-8, 32nd). Under the deluge, Dolhagaray, impeccable in the first period in his role as scorer, scored three new points just before the break (13-8, 38th).
A festival of essays in ten minutes!
Returning from the locker room was very lively. Injured in a thigh, Hulleu gave his place to Lestrade. Another winger shone in the person of Kaminieli Rasaku. In the chaos, Grenoble found the solution thanks to the mischief of Couilloud. Offside, the scrum-half was put back into play by Acebes’ counter on a play at the foot of Farnoux. Baptiste’s brother extended the action, and Rasaku beat Dakuwaqa (13-15, 45th).
Biarritz had no time to doubt. On a first-hand launch, Lebrun pretended to make a carried maul before placing the powerful Dakuwaqa in an interval. After breaking two tackles, the Fijian third line found the way to the goal (20-15, 48th).
Discreet until then, Baptiste Fariscot ended up leaving his box. Soury, on the back foot, escaped possession. An opportunist, Plantier pushed for action. In the race, the winger was the fastest (25-15, 50th). Five minutes later, Fariscot offered himself on a diagonal at the foot of Dolhagaray. He was caught in the air by Fusier, and thus dropped the ball backwards. Jaminet was the most attentive (30-15, 55th). Grenoble even suffered the double penalty, since the center was warned by Pierre Bru. Too imprecise, often penalized with more or less 20 faults, the Isère residents drank the chalice to the dregs. On a poorly managed ruck at the goal line, Escande’s partners were surprised by Adrian Motoc. The second line, all mischievous, put sufficient pressure on the ball to glean the offensive bonus (35-15, 79th). On October 11, Grenoble will host Valence Romans and will owe a reaction to its supporters. A little later in the evening, Biarritz will travel to Brive for a top-of-the-table clash.
