Cold shower for Racing 92. Already beaten during their last two Top 14 meetings, against Stade Toulouse then against USA Perpignan, the Racingmen were crushed this Saturday, February 17 on their lawn at La Défense Arena against Montpellier ( 20-44). However, the Montpellier residents were in last place in the standings before this meeting, with only one point won on the road.
But despite the return of Thomas Laclayat, who was released in the second half due to a rib injury, which will undoubtedly cost him his presence at the Blues gathering on Monday, the Ile-de-France residents never managed to find the solution.
MHR only needed three minutes to take the lead. After a lot of pressure from the Montpellier forwards, it was winger Ben Lam who found an opening to flatten between the poles. Six minutes later, the other winger, Gabriel Ngandebe, scored a second try taking advantage of a completely missed and unscrewed overhand kick from Clovis Le Bail (3-14, 9th minute).
At the very end of the half, Nico Janse van Rensburg added a third try for the MHR by scratching a touch and flattening the left side. On the Racing 92 side, apart from two penalties from Tristan Tedder, nothing to eat.
The second period began with a try from another South African, scrum-half Cobus Reinach, who widened the gap even further. The Ile-de-France residents still reacted thanks to two goals from Wame Naituvi and Eddy Ben Arous, but it was far too timid to hope to reverse the trend. Montpellier therefore won a precious victory, even adding an offensive bonus thanks to a try from Christopher Tolofua after the siren, abandoning the place of red lantern to Oyonnax.
Stade Français retains its first place
Like Racing 92, Stade Français had doubts for a long time. But the Stadistes, after being dominated and led during the first period, ended up winning (32-19). Facing USA Perpignan at the Jean-Bouin stadium, the men of Laurent Labit and Karim Ghezal first watched helplessly the performance of the Italian Tommaso Allan, before taking advantage of the talent of Mathieu Hirigoyen, author of a double in the second half.
While he announced on Wednesday that he had put his international career on hold, exhausted after a difficult year physically and mentally, Tommaso Allan proved this Saturday that he had lost none of his talent. Imperial against the poles, the Italian with 80 caps first scored two penalties, before scoring USAP’s first try in the 34th minute between the posts, responding to that of Paul Alo-Emile, registered at the 18th minute.
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At the end of a huge second half, the Parisians scored a third victory in a row in @top 14 ????
???? Le Derby ????⚡#SFPUSAP | 3️⃣2️⃣-1️⃣9️⃣ | ???????????? pic.twitter.com/Uswepp26cx— Stade Français Paris (@SFParisRugby) February 17, 2024
Returning to the locker room with a deficit of nine points (7-16), Stade Français finally shook for only a few seconds. In the 42nd minute, Mathieu Hirigoyen scored the Stadistes’ second try, taking advantage of Halaifonua’s hard work.
Two penalties from Zach Henry later, the third row scored twice in the corner, before Rory Kockott, in all the good moves this Saturday afternoon (and despite a yellow card received in the 30th minute), gave the score its final pace. Thanks to this improved victory, Stade Français retains the lead in the Top 14, tied with Stade Toulousain, five units ahead of UBB (46 points).
