the essential
Espoirs-Reichel elite – 7th day The Narbonnais finished strong, but did not manage to bring down Montpellier. The draw is logical (20-20).
If we are to believe the closed faces of all the protagonists at the final whistle, the score of parity which sanctioned the debates did not make anyone happy. On the Narbonnais side, it is a new victory which narrowly escaped, with the same causes and the same effects. Rarely able to breathe on the scoreboard, although in the lead for a long time, the RCN was in fact exposed to a lightning comeback from the Héraultais, and had to fight to snatch this draw in the last minutes.
The bad news for Racing comes from the rapid injury of Bénito Delacruz who leaves his comrades after five minutes of play. Only a penalty salutes the domination of the visitors. Then the Racingmen revolted by relying, once again, on their pack, impeccable in touch, and dominating in closed scrums. The MHR is penalized three times near its line, and the third Narbonnaise penalty hits the mark, with a maul which sends Moulahya behind the line. Gomez hits the post on the conversion, but Racing is off to a good start (5-3). He had the opportunity to widen the gap after a long sequence near the Hérault posts, but the drop requested by the coaches was not attempted, and the ball was finally lost. It must be said that if the Aude forwards do the job, behind them things inevitably get stuck. The MHR even narrowly missed an interception on a risky jump, but it was the Narbonnais who created a big opportunity when Capeau played a penalty quickly and intelligently, before forgetting Clauzel and Molanga at his height.
After a penalty from each, the Aude pack still hurts its rival, and, helped by almost all of the three-quarters who come to push, it deposits Labit in the promised land. The transformation is still missed, and the break still not achieved. Still alive, Montpellier, five minutes later, threw a chill by scoring, in quick succession, two tries which seemed to emphasize the physical decline of a Racing team that was too easily pierced (13-20). The worst is looming for an Aude team which, thanks to its scrum, nevertheless finds the resources to first get closer to the Hérault line, before striking with a try from Yvan Delacruz (76th). In the money time, the RCN once again puts its rival at fault and comes to the MHR camp, without being able to obtain this much-hoped-for penalty…
