The challenges: regaining 1st place
The FCG won first place in Pro D2 thanks to a fairly exceptional second block (24 points taken, out of 30 possible), but it lost its seat without even playing. Thursday evening, in the advanced match of the 12th day, Brive (3rd) dominated Montauban (2nd), with an offensive bonus (37-22) to temporarily take the lead (38 points). But Grenoble (36 points) can regain its throne this Friday evening if it beats Colomiers.
Above all, the Dauphinois will aim for a fourth victory in a row (after Agen 37-10, at Oyonnax 38-23 and Soyaux/Angoulême 37-7) to launch on the best possible basis a third block which will lead until Christmas.
The FCG group
To start the third block of the season, Friday evening, FC Grenoble will host Colomiers at the Stade des Alpes (9 p.m.) with a majority of the players who won 1st place in November.
The starting XV: Farnoux – G. Cros, Mouton, R. Fusier, W. Hulleu – (o) Davies, (m) Bar. Couilloud – Guillaumond, Martel, A. Berruyer (cap) – Phillips, Ployet – C. Thomas, Sarragallet, Raynaud.
Substitutes: Rossi, Gauthier, Pertaia, Javakhia, Baz-Marcos, Escande, Palmier, R. Trouilloud.
The opponent: Colomiers looking for a second wind
For seven days, in this Pro D2 2024-2025, Colomiers Rugby achieved a remarkable performance, with at least one point taken in each match and a promising sixth place.
But as it plunged into the fall, the club at La Colombe got bogged down, notably with two painful defeats before the mini-truce (at Brive 49-15 and against Béziers 44-40).
“We are not in a state of alert, but we are still not far away,” Anthony Coletta, one of the Columérins captains, told us this week. If the Haut-Garonnais do not want to sink into a negative series, at the start of a third complicated block (receptions of Provence and Biarritz), they must quickly recover.
That said, Julien Sarraute and Fabien Berneau did not move all their forces to Isère, leaving a few usual starters at home (Larrieu, Timu, De la Vega, Nu’u, etc.) to field eleven players trained at the club on the match sheet. A good bet, from the champion of the championship.
The man to follow: Victor Guillaumond
As in the past, he had a promising start to the season, before being slowed down by physical problems. But this time, no pubalgia, as in the last two seasons, which hampered his progress.
Victor Guillaumond (23 years old) quickly got back in the saddle and participated in the rise of his team in October/November. Three ends of the match certainly (at Montauban, at Oyonnax and against SAXV), sometimes even in the second line to help out, but with enough quality and character to make his coaches want to start him.
It’s up to him to seize his chance, with his aerial qualities and his combativeness, to gain further credit with the Rouge et Bleu.
Extra info: with the jokers… in the stands
Recruited in November, to compensate for injuries to Brandon Nansen, Thomas Lainault, José Madeira, Pio Muarua and Richard Hardwick, second row Ryno Pieterse and Cameron Holt arrived in Isère.
According to our information, the South African and the Australian should experience their first evening at the Stade des Alpes this Friday… but in the stands.
The declaration
“Our objective until the break is clear: to perform well and continue to be uncompromising at home. Then move well and bring back points wherever you move. If we want to meet the objective at Christmas, it’s by taking as many points as possible each time. » From Antonin Berruyer, 3rd line and captain of FC Grenoble.
Direct confrontations: Colomiers does not succeed in Grenoble
Grenoble and Colomiers often faced each other in the 20th century, but in the first division (group A, then top 16) and in the Yves-du-Manoir challenge.
In the 21st century, their clashes are confined to Pro D2, with 17 duels listed. And it is the Columérins who lead the record: nine victories to eight, including two in Isère (23-20 in 2019 and 22-15 in 2021).
But the last time that Dauphinois and Haut-Garonnais met, the visitors left the bonus to FCG at the Stade des Alpes (29-10), on May 10.
Senegal
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