This last match of the 16th day of Pro D2, the first lifting of 2025 after a holiday break, offered a good showing for Maurice-Boyau between the 2nd, Brive who traveled to the 6th, Dax. Two teams who finished the year 2024 very well with winning streaks. The question was therefore whether the truce would kill the momentum of one of the two clubs. One thing is certain, the Dacquois momentum continues with a nice improved success against Brive (22-9) in a match played in continuous heavy rain. Very realistic and diligent, the Landais thwarted Brive to continue their rise in the rankings.
The rain in Dax is not a surprise for the regulars of the Top 14 and Pro D2 games and it did not arrive by surprise and during the meeting for this clash of the top 6 between the 2nd Brive and the 6th, its host dacquois. It rained before and during the meeting, without loss of intensity, on the contrary. Also, the pursuit of the beautiful game was certainly not sought by the two coaches, Jeff Dubois for Dax and Pierre-Henry Broncan for Brive. But one of the two left much more disappointed after 80 minutes. Dax won with merit and bonus against Brive while rarely being manhandled by his opponent despite being a master of the fundamentals in this championship.
A clinical Dax against clumsy Brivists
However, it was Brive who benefited from the first hot attacking balls in the match with a presence within 22 m from the kick-off. But with this rain, the passing game, as short as it was, was a risk which prevented the Corréziens from scoring after five minutes in the Landes camp. The opposite was not true since Dax scored a try on his first non-touristy excursion into the opponent’s 22m. On a lucky 5m touch because it was blocked but conciliatory, the ball returned to the launcher Louis Barrère who was able to bypass the coujou package to score forcefully on the left (9th, 7-0). Five minutes later, the Dacquois even doubled the lead thanks to Pelepele Lemalu who finished under the posts a good job from scrum half Sylvère Reteau author of a mischievous drill in the axis (14th, 14-0).
The Brivists tried to react by relying on their strengths in conquest as the best ball stealing team in touch or to obtain penalties in scrum but if this proved true, it was not converted into points due to too many technical approximations. Curwin Bosch reduced the score a little with a penalty while Dax moved to 14 after the yellow received by the pillar Ferreira, three times sanctioned in scrum (19th, 14-3). The break was reached on this score.
-Dax is calm, Brive loses track
The second period began on the same basis, rainy and without flights in the game. Brive was always on the lookout and after an aborted attempt, was satisfied with three new points signed by Bosch from a penalty (49th, 14th -6), to stay in the game to which Romuald Seguy responded almost immediately (55th, 17-6). The minutes passed without noticing a change in configuration after the numerous changes while Brive has a very solid bench. However, Brive took advantage of its best opportunity in the match with playing times chained within 5 m of US Dax but escaped balls then recovered at the last minute only allowed a new penalty to pass at the foot of the posts ( 69th, 17-9).
It was a trivial fact of play which would decide the (final) turn of the match. A scuffle away from the ball between Taniela Sadrugu and Noah Nene showed on video the bad gestures of the first on the second leading to a direct red card. The opportunity was then too good for Dax to end the match in numerical superiority and chase down a deserved bonus. He intervened two minutes from the siren through his captain Jean-Baptiste Barrère this time after a touch from 5 m and a carried ball (78th, 22-9).
A beautiful rainy evening with five points for Dax who came back two points behind his evening opponent and continued his good series with a fifth victory in six days. The Landais never cease to surprise while Brive sees the entire top 6 return behind its back.
