Faraj Benlahoucine, Media365, published on Sunday January 26, 2025 at 11:22 p.m.
Badly off to a good start, trailing 0-17, Toulon ended up having the last word in the shock of the 15th day of Top 14 this Sunday (45-26). The RCT consolidates its third place while the Maritimes occupy 6th place.
The poster for the 15th day of Top 14 pitted Toulon and La Rochelle this Sunday, two top 6 teams eyeing the podium. A shock to which the Varois liberated by Fabien Galthié in the middle of the week were invited. So, Gabin Villière, Gaël Dréan, Dany Priso, Esteban Abadie and Matthias Halagahu started the game while Antoine Frisch took his place on the bench. So many strong reinforcements while opposite, the Yellow and Black were deprived of their French internationals Grégory Alldritt, Paul Boudehent, Uini Atonio and George-Henri Colombe.
However, this did not prevent Ronan O'Gara's troops from marking their territory. Early tries from Hoani Bosmorin (2nd) and Dillyn Leyds (14th) contributed to the 0-17 lead gained by the Maritimes. An explosive start which had the gift of waking up Baptiste Serin. Starting at the scrum, the former Bordeaux player was responsible for scoring his team's ten points in the first period (10-20, half-time)thanks in particular to a try full of mischief, following a penalty played quickly alone (22nd).
-Dréan top scorer in the Top 14
The speech given during the break by Pierre Mignoni then bore fruit because upon returning from the locker room, the XV de la Rade presented a diametrically opposed face. The Rouge et Noir raised the cursor, a change of attitude allowing them to find the path to the La Rochelle goal five times. Esteban Abadie (47th), Facundo Isa (59th) Leicester Fainga'anuku (70th) and Mattéo Le Corvec (80th+1) stood out. Like Gaël Dréan at the conclusion of a major movement (51st) giving him the head of the ranking of Top 14 try scorers with this 11th personal banderilla.
So, with the manner, the RCT defeated La Rochelle with a score of 45-26. An improved victory allowing the Toulonnais to consolidate their third place (48 points)three lengths from Stade Toulousain. Further down in 4th position, Aviron Bayonnais is now relegated to nine points. La Rochelle (36 points) remains 6th, two points behind Clermont, 5th.
