In a match where the three-quarters of La Rochelle once again showed great qualities, La Rochelle easily won against the Section paloise with the offensive bonus. The two wingers – Leyds and Nowell – put on a show, while Kane Douglas made his first start in the third row. Conversely, captain Thibault Daubagna missed his game, like the entire Béarnese pack.
The tops
This is what you call a great start to the season. The English international has had a string of very good matches at the start of the season and the Pau team paid the price in Deflandre. He started his game perfectly by finishing off a good maritime launch on his wing, and multiplied the classy actions in the first half, like on his team’s 4th try where he once again broke the Section’s defense on a recovered ball. After a difficult start, Jack Nowell is swimming in this well-established La Rochelle collective, and is pulling out all the stops. With matches like that, the leaders of the yellow and black club must be delighted to have extended the contract of the man with 45 caps with the Rose. His teammate on the other wing Dillyn Leyds, who scored a hat-trick, also played a great game as an unbeatable finisher.
For his first start in front of his new crowd, Kane Douglas had his 20-year-old legs! The former Bordeaux-Bègles player, starting in the third row, delivered a consistent performance, as comfortable in defense (10 tackles, 0 missed) as with the ball where he made his team move forward several times thanks to his power, a determination logically rewarded by a try in the first half. A second consecutive match as a starter after Toulouse to definitively integrate into the La Rochelle project: what if the Australian was the real good move of the off-season?
The flops
The Pau right pillar symbolised his team’s difficulties in the closed scrum. Like his teammate Papidze (replaced after half an hour of play by Bibi-Biziwu), he was caught several times in this area. For the rest, his fault put an end to the first good sequence for Pau (7th), and he missed three tackles in the game for two successful ones.
- Thibault Daubagna : 4/10
The captain of the Section Pauoise did not have his best match on the Marcel-Deflandre pitch. Although he was unable to express himself with the ball due to La Rochelle’s domination, and he often played behind a pack that was pushed around by the opposing power, we will remember that his yellow card for Berjon’s try (double penalty) cost his team dearly, which had nevertheless managed not to be left behind in the score in the first half, particularly because of the clumsiness with the foot – surprising and unusual – of the young striker Hugo Reus.
The complete notes from La Rochelle:
15. Parasite : 7,5/10
14. Nowell : 8,5/10
13. Daunivuci: 5/10
12. Dante : 6/10
11. Leyds : 8.5/10
10. Reus : 4,5/10
9. Berjon: 7.5/10
7. Boudehent : 7/10
8. Bullshit (cap.) : 8/10
6. Douglas : 8/10
5. Skelton : 6/10
4. Lavault : 5,5/10
3. Anthony : 6/10
2. Bourgarit: 6.5/10
1. Penverne : 7/10
The complete notes of the Pau Section:
15. Maddocks : 4/10
14. Grandidier-Nkanang: 4.5/10
13. Gailleton : 4/10
12. Manu : 5,5/10
11. Luc : 5/10
10. Desperes: 5/10
9. Daubagna (cap.) : 4/10
7. Credoz : 4/10
8. Pelesasa, unrated (replaced by Zegueur 13th: 6/10)
6. Heat : 4.5/10
5. Tagitagivalu : 3,5/10
4. Picquette : 4/10
3. H. Williams : 3/10
2. Ruffenach : 5/10
1. Papidze : 3/10
