This Sunday evening, Lyon and Toulouse parted good friends with a draw 17-17. In this meeting, Setareki Bituniyata and Davit Niniashvili were able to make an impression in their corridors. Here are the notes from the meeting.
The tops
- Setareki Bituniyata : 7,5/10
With Toulouse struggling to find progress for a large part of the match, the Fijian winger was one of the only ones to put the Lyon defense in difficulty. His statistics prove it: in 10 races, Bituniyata beat no less than 8 defenders. Above all, don't forget his 2 crossings and his 100% defense (3/3). A great match from the former Brive player, who unfortunately injured his knee. An injury which put an end to a magnificent performance. We would have liked to see him until the end on the pitch.
- Davit Niniashvili : 8/10
We will keep repeating it, but Davit Niniashvili is a hell of a player! Against Stade Toulouse, the Lou winger caused havoc in the defense thanks to his speed and support. But he also, and above all, shone in the air, perfectly illustrating Lyon's domination in this sector of the game. Defensively, he stood out with some well-felt “cartouches”, and above all a precious snatch on Vergé when this last came dangerously close to the goal line in the first period. Finally, he was decisive on the Lyon try scored by Ioane by putting pressure on his opposite number, Capuozzo, with a low-footed play. In short, a complete match for the future Rochelais, very close to scoring his 3rd try of the season after a refocusing kick from Couilloud.
The flops
The right pillar had a complicated evening against Lou. In the first act, the Spanish international stood out… but not really for the right things. Merkler was penalized three times in the first forty minutes. First for an illegal clearance (15th), then in scrum (31st) and during the last action of the first act in a carried ball (40th). Rebelote in the 48th minute for the right-hander, who was once again caught by the patrol for offside in a maul. A very difficult evening for Merkler, replaced in the 56th minute. In defense, we note his six tackles (for eight attempted).
- Baptiste Couilloud: 4/10
The second best scorer in the championship has already delivered better performances than this Sunday evening. Always comfortable in quickly ejecting balls, he weighed less than usual near the rucks. Several times he made mistakes in his kicking games. Zero crossings and zero beaten defenders: the French international is used to other standards. In Lyon's weak time, the captain was unable to reverse the trend, and his choices raised questions in the last ten minutes, where a penalty seemed more within Léo Berdeu's ropes than the one missed in the 76th minute.
Lyon's notes:
- 15. Alexandre Tchaptchet: not rated, replaced by Méliande (23rd): 5/10
- 14. Monty Ioane : 7/10
- 13. Semi Radradra : 4/10
- 12. Josiah Maraku: 5/10
- 11. Davit Niniashvili : 8/10
- 10. Léo Berdeu : 4/10
- 9. Baptiste Couilloud: 4/10
- 7. Becca Saghinadze : 7/10
- 8. Arno Botha : 6/10
- 6. Dylan Cretin : 4.5/10
- 5. Tomas Lavanini : not noted, replaced by Shvangiradze (31st) : 6.5/10
- 4. Killian Geraci : 4,5/10
- 3. Jermaine Ainsley : 5/10
- 2. Sam Matavesi: 6.5/10
- 1. Hamza Kaabeche : 6/10
Toulouse notes:
- 15. Blair Kinghorn : 5,5/10
- 14. Ange Capuozzo: 4.5/10
- 13. Paul Costes: 4/10
- 12. Pita Ahki: 6.5/10
- 11. Setareki Bituniyata : 7,5/10
- 10. Juan Cruz Mallia: 5/10
- 9. Paul Graou: 6/10
- 8. Anthony Jelonch : 7/10
- 7. Mathis Castro-Ferreira not rated since replaced by Théo Ntamack in the 28th minute: 6/10
- 6. Léo Banos: 5/10
- 5. Clément Vergé: 5/10
- 4. Joshua Brennan : 6/10
- 3. Joel Merkler : 3,5/10
- 2. Peato Mauvaka : 5/10
- 1. David Ainu'u : 5/10
