Pau won away from home for the first time this season. Qualification was at this price, with a huge match from Romain Ruffenach.
Pau won away from home for the first time this season. In addition, the Béarnais clearly laid down the law in the melee. And, we almost forgot, the club is already qualified for the round of 16.
At the end of Sunday afternoon, no one would have had the idea of being choosy in the ranks of the Section, even if the two teams scored two tries each.
But this 25-14 score does not lie about the difference in level between the two teams. We noted the title of man of the match awarded to Dan Robson but also the magnificent game of hooker Romain Ruffenach, author of some classy gestures and a nice interception. “Our start to the match was sluggish, but we were able to get back on track to finish successfully. You’re telling me about my interception. … Above all, I was in the right place at the right time and then, I had a little luck on this one. For the rest, I was keen to take this match the right way, and to have as much fun as possible. And I came out exhausted.”
An opposing game put to the laser
Brandon Fajardo, interim coach for the continental campaign, could count himself lucky. Under his rule, the Section easily escaped from the pools despite the usual turnovers, but also the return of a certain Théo Attissogbe.
“The job has been done and done well. I have just had the statistics and I see that we are very dominant in the two critical areas. I am talking about line defense and the ability to score. The Dragons have spent two times more time than us in the opposing 22. If we won, that means we were able to achieve results quickly.”
He just regretted two opportunities missed by Grégoire Arfeuil author of a forward and by Quentin Valentino.
But Pau held up particularly well to the Dragons’ long offensive sequences. Then after the break, the French were able to move up a notch by putting more intensity on the impacts, as the coach had requested. And this is how the gap widened. “We supervised the style of this Welsh team well. We worked on what we call the “third player”, a story of circulation around the rucks, all this ability to clearly designate what to scratch or not. Today we won five balls from scratches. “
Brandon Fajardo also talked about man-to-man duels, defensive mauls and direct play. It was therefore an abundance in the bag of the Palois who did not even bring back too many injured people with the exception of Mehdi Tlili who came out after a big impact to the shoulder. But a priori, the acromio is not affected.
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