Pau gave itself some breathing room by beating Vannes on Saturday during the thirteenth day of Top 14, which also confirmed the good first leg of Bayonne, getting on the podium before the Toulon match.
The first part of « boxing day » rugby ends with the clash between Union Bordeaux-Bègles, in the lead, and Toulon, third before the start of the matches on Saturday. Three other meetings will take place on Sunday.
With their 48-24 victory and the offensive bonus in their pocket, the Palois, play-offs before the day, move up to 10th place and will watch with much more relaxation on Sunday the matches of Perpignan against La Rochelle and Lyon away to Racing 92.
Conversely, Vannes is not moving forward and the gap with the other teams looks a little more like a gap that is difficult to bridge. Saturday, despite a good start to the match and an effective conquest, the Bretons were quickly defeated.
To celebrate his extension made official during the week, Australian fullback from Pau Jack Maddocks notably scored a double.
. Bayonne smiles
At the top of the ranking, Bayonne ends the year with a smile, like their good first part of the season.
Sireli Maqala scores for Bayonne on December 28, 2024 / Gaizka IROZ / AFP
Bayonne defeated Castres 33-12. Territorially dominated in the first act and sometimes imprecise, the Bayonnais had a little doubt even if they were in the lead all the time. The fault in particular lies with a former member of the house, Romain Baget, who scored two tries after avoidable losses of the ball by his former partners.
The second try brought Castres back to just four points (16-12) a little before the hour mark before Bayonne moved forward again at the end of the game.
Best try scorer this season and still active on Saturday, the Fijian Sireli Maqala went there with his achievement to close the match and give more dimension to the score.
Bayonne regains third place before the Toulon match thanks to its seventh victory in the last eight Top 14 matches while Castres, eighth, continues a third match without taking a point.
. Montpellier surprises Clermont
The Montpellier Florian Verhaeghe (g) and the Clermontois Rob Simmons on December 28, 2024 in Clermont-Ferrand. / JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
Clermont had the possibility of joining Bayonne but the Auvergnats, the best team at the start of the season at home, fell to the Marcel-Michelin against Montpellier (22-18).
In a match without much momentum, Montpellier relied on the boot of the Scotsman Stuart Hogg (17 points) to punish Clermont's approximations. On one of his rare moments of confusion, which allowed Bautista Delguy to score a try after recovering a high ball, he was saved by the video, which canceled the try for a forward several times front game.
Montpellier has a fifth consecutive victory, the third in the Top 14, which allows it to move up to 7th place and aim for the play-off places in 2025.
