The tenth day of Pro D2 ended with the enhanced victory of Brive, at the end of a fantastic comeback. In the evening, Grenoble achieved the big blow of the evening in Ain, while Provence Rugby and Montauban moved to the top of the French second division.
The evening's tests: Béziers shined
Did you want a show? At the Raoul-Barrière stadium you were entitled to grandiose tests! Facing Dax, the ASBH tightrope walkers pleased their audience, scoring spectacular achievements, after crazy actions (50-17). In an already rather pleasant match, the Biterrois struck hard in the first period, first through Baptiste Abescat. Who said the forwards weren't agile? As he has shown many times in the Narbonne jersey, the one who arrived this summer at Béziers is capable of anything. This time, it was through a balancing act that he stood out. The score was 3-3 when he grabbed the ball behind a scrum in his own half, only to escape on the closed side. Combination or initiative? Impossible to say but Abescat buried himself in the opposing defense avoiding one, two, then three tackles.
On the edge of the touchline, when he found himself facing the last Dacquois defender at the height of 22 meters, he delivered an extremely well-measured and well-placed overhand kick. The ball was hanging in the in-goal and it was Béziers winger Pierre Courtaud who grabbed it to score the first try of the match. The one for the evening? Wait until you hear about Gabin Lorre's. Also eager for initiatives, the full-back recovered a rotten ball in his camp, before attempting a restart on the closed side. Thanks to his speed and his hooks, he took down the defenders before hitting a little grazing kick. Making a “big bridge” on Romuald Séguy, he recovered his own paw to flatten. We could also have talked about Doumenc's try, after a 60-meter action initiated by Gontineac, relayed by Marques and concluded by the former Montpellier… We could in fact have talked about all the achievements of the ASBH. Clearly, these Biterrois are incredible.
The turnaround of the evening: And Agen went on a rampage
Then there was this innocuous balloon; this candle struck by Rémi Brosset, under which Lucas Martins attempted a rather incomprehensible volley. Countered by Brosset, the Agen winger saw the unfortunate Billy Searle helpless mess up the ball and let the opposing back plant a killer try. Before that, Agen was well in the match. Scorers from the first minutes, Sébastien Calvet's men scared Soyaux-Angoulême for a long time on the Chanzy pitch (30-29). With the game in hand, the Lot-et-Garonnais put a bullet in their foot, with Brosset's try narrated above which completely restarted the match. And if it hadn't been for these cagades, would Agen have won?
Nothing less certain. However, this was a real blow to the heads of the visitors, who were never able to regain the advantage in the score during this match. The SA XV even thought they had the offensive bonus 10 minutes from time, on Hubert Texier's try. But Agen had the mentality to come back and snatch a defensive bonus. In the end, there was only one point of difference, that of regrets.
The slap of the evening: Grenoble sinks Oyonnax
Perhaps we have to face the facts: Oyonnax simply does not have the level to get involved in the fight for the top of the table in Pro D2. Feverish since the start of the season (worst away team in the championship), the Oyomen relied on their solidity at home. But this Friday, it was in a packed Charles-Mathon that the Aindinois fell against Grenoble (23-38). A setback which can be compared to a big slap in the face, as the locals showed their limits against an Isère team which had nevertheless been slightly reworked. Much more solid in conquest and calm in their game, the Grenoblois were very realistic in achieving the big move of the day.
On a mission, like a sublime Marc Palmier facing the poles, the visitors maintained a convincing success until the end. With these four points, the Isérois are eyeing first place in the ranking. Oyonnax is, for its part, close to the red zone before a trip to Valence Romans…
Conclusion of the evening: Provence Rugby is gaining momentum
Without really making much noise, Provence Rugby is the new leader of Pro D2! The Provençaux did not go into detail on Friday, crushing Aurillac 39 to 20. An unsurprising success, which proved one thing: Mauricio Reggiardo's men are gaining strength and taking power almost discreetly. With only one defeat in the last six matches, the Aixois are far from the little worries of the start of the season, when their level of play was not exactly the same as that of last year. Now well and truly conquerors, Jules Plisson's teammates are tied with Grenoble and Montauban. The next meeting, against Biarritz, will be a perfect assessment of the current level of Provence Rugby.
The mentality of the evening: Montauban, everything of a true leader
The USM played at scaring itself throughout the evening. However, the reception of the promoted Nice could seem like a formality for a Montalban club at the top of the division. But Sébastien Tillous-Borde's men have never managed to fully evolve at their level, multiplying the inaccuracies. It didn't take that much for Jules Solinas, solo scorer of Nice's first try, and his teammates to come close to a big blow to Sapiac. Just before the break, when Montauban had just regained the advantage at the end of a first act where he stammered his rugby, the Maralpins scored a try in the corner to take the lead and thus believe in an exploit.
But the leader could count on one man, Simon Renda, to sound the revolt. Already author of an achievement earlier in the meeting, the center was going to deliver all the green and black people by flattening the swelling once again in the Nice goal and thus offering a precious success (34-30) to his club . Thanks to this victory, the Sapiacains maintain the lead tied on points with Grenoble and Provence Rugby.
Player of the evening: Nevers clings to its Rock
Le Pré-Fleuri has found its hero. Against VRDR, Nevers played the match of fear while the Nivernais club was in the unenviable last place before kick-off. In this context, Xavier Péméja's men needed a man to stick his head out. As a symbol, it was the position-for-position replacement of Christian Ambadiang, who left in the off-season for Castres, who took care of it. Gabin Rocher, only 20 years old, took responsibility to score his team's first try coming out of the ruck and thus give his team the advantage after nine minutes of play.
More importantly, while Mawalu had just restored the advantage to Valence Romans with a superb action at the half-hour mark, the pocket winger reacted by being at the conclusion of a beautiful movement by the locals. The hardest part was done for USON who even went for the offensive bonus in the second half (27-17). This five-point success finally allows them to breathe, climbing to twelfth place and leaving this red lantern seat to their evening opponents.
The evening’s recovery: These Brivists are crazy
Far, very far from its level during the first half, Brive was logically led by nine points at the break by serious Columérins. To tell the truth, the partners of a particularly strong Mathis Galthié were almost poorly paid as they seemed so superior to their opponents. But the Brivists, after taking 42 last week, could not stop there. And were able to show their best face during the next forty minutes.
Aggressive in the good sense of the term in defense, conquerors in conquest, in advancing on each ball, the second period was a model of its kind for Pierre-Henry Broncan's men. Quickly, the objective was no longer even victory, assured in a quarter of an hour and three tries scored, but rather the offensive bonus as the domination was total. An additional point that the Coujoux were finally going to obtain at the end of the Corrèze night, the brilliant Mathis Ferté being the author of a festival since he was 22. A 49-15 success which puts them back in fourth place in the ranking, two small points of the head. Above all, CAB was the author of an impressive 43-0 in the second period.
