In another lively evening of Pro D2 with three away victories and a draw, Biarritz and Montauban took first place in the championship, Nice finally got its head above water while others were worrying down below table. For his part, Oyonnax has still not convinced.
The performance of the evening: the FCG, the mastery that was necessary
Grenoble managed this evening perfectly with a complete collective performance and a scorer who transformed each Béziers mistake into points to allow his team to take cover. Thomas Palmier scored almost all of his team’s points: 20 out of 25 at the final whistle. Finally, this FCG succeeded, completely outwitting the locals to the point of losing their composure. This is evidenced by the numerous uninteresting clashes in this match. Lorre’s double and Arroyo’s siren try won’t do anything. The accumulated delay was far too great for Pierre Caillet’s men who have been alternating hot and cold since the start of the season. Béziers moves away from the top 6 while Grenoble settles there a little more comfortably.
The series of the evening: Soyaux is still doing well
This team from Soyaux-Angoulême has definitely not finished surprising us. Trailing at the break, Alexandre Ruiz’s men did not show their best face in the first 40 minutes, letting the locals take the upper hand. Returning from the locker room, these Angoumoisins launched a new revolt rewarded by a try from Masibaka on a carried ball. In all its splendor, the SAXV then seemed to be heading towards a new victory far from its bases. But unfortunately we will still have to settle for a draw. The second in a row for Ben Botica and his teammates. Despite everything, Soyaux extends its good away series with three victories and a draw. To definitively enter the race for the top 6, all that remains is to win at home, as strange as that may seem…
Gestures of the evening: the good Fortune(l) of Montauban
Montauban offered itself a new victory far from home thanks to a rather controlled first half, individualities and kicking games… And yes Jérôme Bosviel is still in the game but it was not he who launched the hostilities . It all started in reality with two penalties of more than 50 meters from Thomas Larregain in great form for his return to the field. The Montalbanese full-back allowed his team to return to the locker room with a 7-point lead, helped by a drop from Thomas Fortunel a little earlier. In a more tense second period, this same Fortunel scored three precious points to get back to 28-19 after the Drômois try. A gap in the score which was not really to the taste of Jérôme Bosviel who slammed a drop of more than 40 meters of which only he has the secret. And to finish in style, “Fortu” served Espeut with a pass to the foot, extended… to the foot by the Montalban center who scored the final try of this meeting. As the icing on the cake, the USM opener made a final corner conversion to win 32-31. You will have understood, Montauban still holds its lethal weapon and climbs to first place in the ranking with Biarritz.
Icon Sport – Alexandre Dimou
The feat: Nice gets its head above water
We’re not going to lie, those who missed the first 40 minutes of this meeting didn’t actually miss anything. A poor 3-3 at the break and a very unexciting match. But it seems that you should never sell the bear’s skin before having killed it and this Aurillac – Nice once again confirms the proverb. In the second half, the promoted team woke up, taking full advantage of their numerical superiority after a yellow card from Delarue for head-to-head contact in a ruck. The rest was more complex with a renewed energy from Aurillacois piqued. But then, the locals will only confirm a worrying start to the season by completely collapsing against the Niçois who once again showed their character by scoring two tries in quick succession. A second success far from their bases which allows Paul Auradou’s teammates to leave the red zone, unlike Stade Aurillacois which sinks into it alongside Valence Romans.
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Pro D2 – “We knew how to take advantage of their yellow cards”: reactions after Nice’s victory at Aurillac
The essay of the evening: Biarritz, good feet, good eye
We were playing the 55th minute of play, and the BO was two points behind against Agen reduced to fourteen. The Biarrots were going to manage this numerical superiority perfectly, by going after the outsiders. Thomas Dolhagaray looked up and saw that his winger Zach Kiribige was alone on his wing. He then kicked him in his area of the field, which the Englishman recovered after a rebound. Rather than going into a physical confrontation against Franck Pourteau, the former Wasps player would in turn use his foot, with a beautiful little overhand, to go sprawling in the Agen in-goal . With this try, Biarritz took the lead for the first time in the evening, and would never let go again. Thanks to a new try from Kiribige, the Basques would secure the victory (30-26) to take the lead in Pro D2, tied with Montauban.
The anomaly of the evening: Oyonnax still can’t do it outside
After the first seven days of Pro D2, only one team has failed to take a single point away from its bases: Oyonnax. A statistic which may surprise, as the former Top 14 resident seems capable of performing better in Pro D2. But in the Landes, as since the start of the season, Joe El Abd’s men were unable to score when they had the opportunities, notably with an incorrect throw five meters from the Dacquoise line while the two teams were tied. It didn’t take much for Dax to make Oyo pay for his lack of efficiency. First by a destructive ball carried, then by two tries in quick succession which allowed Jeff Dubois’ players to have a temporary offensive bonus after half an hour of play. If the Rouge et Blanc slowed down slightly, losing this additional bonus point, they were however never put in danger by the Aindinoise comeback, winning 25-15. For Oyo, this new hitch away from Mathon makes it slide in the rankingsin twelfth place.
Player of the evening: Willie Du Plessis, class is eternal
From the outset, the opener placed the ball in the arms of his winger Alexandre De Nardi to score the first, and only, Mons try of the evening. A wonderful way to open the scoring for a Mont-de-Marsan team which had to win to avoid falling into a negative spiral. What’s next? 17 more points, all scored by the boot of the opening half for a victory without bonus for each side (22-14). The helmeted 10 guided his team to a capital victory, in a match between two teams who missed their start to the championship. But with a Du Plessis of this level, both in the game and against the poles, it is difficult to see the Landais getting stuck at the bottom of the ranking for too long.
